2 Kings 4: 42-44 (New Jerusalem Bible)
Ephesians 3: 14-21 (Common English Bible)
This epistle addressed to the Ephesians is credited to the Apostle Paul, written around 62 AD. Ephesus is located near the western shores of modern day Turkey. Paul at this time was in prison in Rome, arrested for preaching about Jesus. The Emperor Nero could not tolerate any potential threat to the Roman Empire, which Jesus seemed to be.
This passage focuses on prayer during the beginning of Roman persecution of Christians. The devotional style of this prayer within this letter to the Ephesians was to develop the theme of God’s power in us and for us. Also, this intercessory prayer in Ephesians 3: 16-19 reveals Paul’s desire to obtain not just the mental knowledge of faith, but also the holistic spiritual life like Jesus.
The pastoral tone of the prayer is represented by the image of bowing down to pray. Instead of the usual Jewish custom of standing up during prayer, these verses model the alternative of kneeling to pray. When my family and I attended the Episcopalinan Church in Jeffersonville, there were kneeling benches at every pew.
Before words are spoken to God, one must come before God with the right attitude, acknowledging God’s supreme dominion as the universal God of all people. The cosmic presence of God envisioned in this writing, is beyond any religion. One cannot pin God to any faith or nation.
Like the Ephesians, we can easily become discouraged and lose heart during difficult times. We live in a world that rejects the teachings of Jesus, even though they call themselves “Christians.”
Except for Jesus himself, Paul was one of the first believers to fall victim to the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, he was not the last. Throughout the centuries people have read about the martyrs who gave their life because they spread the Good News of Jesus.
Even today from other nations, mainly in Africa and the Middle East, we hear about people imprisoned because of their faith in Jesus. We should be glad that in America there is no legal persecution of any faith. We have freedom of religion, or no religion. Paul wanted to write to the believers in Ephesus to strengthen and encourage them. Centuries later, another prisoner of faith, wrote a letter to encourage his beloved religious community. His name was Martin Luther King Jr.
Early in 1963, Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference were working to call attention to segregation and injustice in Birmingham, Alabama. And, when the people of God confront evil within any city, state or nation, they often find themselves in prison or worse.
Dr. King was arrested and jailed for his social work. While Dr. When King was in jail, a group of white religious leaders published a letter in The Birmingham News. Their letter was titled “Call for Unity.” But it was anything but true unity. They sought to maintain the evil of segregation. That group of white pastors thought Dr. King and his group were outsiders stirring up trouble, and should go home.
After reading their article, Dr. King decided to pin his own letter responding to their newspaper message. Written for the April 12th issue of the same newspaper that published the white clergy’s article, Dr. King titled his epistle, “Letter From Birmingham Jail.”
In his lengthy letter, Dr. King responded to their concerns. Dr. King wrote, “why wasn’t the white clergy concerned about the police and their violent attacks against Black children, women and men?” Dr. King knew that God stood with the oppressed and against unjust laws like segregation. His letter was also encouragement to the men, women and children who were willing to go to the front lines of the civil rights movement. A God of love is for all people and genders.
Paul’s message was also about the love of Christ. Originally, the cross was avoided by the first Christians because it was a device of torture and death. The fish symbol was used instead as a sign of the Jesus faith. But later, an early church leader named Jerome (342-420 AD) redefined the cross as a symbol of God’s love. The upper arm of the Cross points up, the lower arm points down and the crossing arms point out to the widest horizons. Jerome said the love of Christ reaches up to include the holy angels, and it reaches down to include even the evil spirits in Gehenna (“hell”). And its length covers all people who are striving upward way.
Paul summons all of Christ’s adopted sisters and brothers to come together in order to fully grasp Christ’s love and its broad horizon across the world and perhaps even other planets. Exploring the immense scope of Christ’s love is very much a universal project.
When we examine 2nd Kings, it’s a continuous part of 1st Kings covering a long period of time. The writings cover the period from the death of King David (970 BC) to the release of the exiled King Jehoichin from the Babylonian captivity in 560 BC. Within this combined larger book it also covers the division of Israel into two kingdoms - Judah and Israel.
During this time there arose a prophet called Elisha. He is an important figure within the history of Israel and is also mentioned in the gospel of Luke and the Book of Sirach. The latter is a book found in the Apocrypha, and those books are between the Old Testament and New Testament. While Elisha was considered a mysterious figure he did perform numerous impressive miracles.
There is a connection between this reading and the gospels. While Elisha was trying to feed 100 people with bread and oil to bind the bread, centuries later Jesus fed the 5,000 with fish and bread. It can be argued that Jesus was not only fulfilling the promises within the Hebrew Bible, but actually surpassing Elisha’s feeding.
The Holy Eucharist is an example of this miraculous feeding. What follows the Eucharist after the spoken Word, is a sharing of the sacraments, bread and wine. We become what we consume, the Body of Christ. The eucharistic meal itself is a kind of miracle, declaring who we are and our position as the beloved children of God. This should strengthen us to do justice in the world, both local and international. The miracle lies in what the eucharistic community does within the wider world. They cross social boundaries, disrupt unjust systems and proclaim love without borders.
We don’t have to conjure magic to believe in miracles. If we use what we have with a spirit of generosity, God will take care of the miracles. Just look at the success of the Monday evening dinners at this church.
Elisha’s model offers us a life full of hope. It is not a life without challenges because we see Elisha constantly in the midst of challenges. Elisha did not look away from problems and he was often overwhelmed by people coming to him. Yet Elisha’s reliance on God allowed him to share his hope through the God of abundance with those around him and respond to their needs.
God continues to respond to the cries of the marginalized, starved and oppressed by the false gods of consumerism. We are invited to participate in miracles. It might be more correct to say our participation in miracles can be seen in reviving a dead neighborhood. God does not act alone without human activism to bring life from death.
AMEN
