All Tied Together
Ephesians 4:1-16
I wonder if “We need to talk” always raises anxiety? Whether it is between partners, parents and children, friends, or neighbors, my suspicion is that it always raises the heat of that moment. Sometimes, though, we do have to have difficult conversations with those we love and for whom we care. William Sloan Coffin tells the a story about learning how to have such a conversation: “I remember several years ago a freshman asking if he could give me some advice. ‘Go ahead,’ I said. ‘Well, Sir, when you say something that is both true and painful, say it softly.’ Say it in other words to heal and not to hurt. Say it in love” (Credo 152). To love and seek another’s wellbeing will involve challenging moments and topics, so how we speak matters.
The writer of Ephesians works hard to follow her own advice as she takes up that very task. This passage in the letter attempts to help the faithful people in Ephesus, and all others who hear these words, to understand the central idea of the unity of the body of Christ. This unity is a mark of Christian maturity. The author emphasizes this importance of this unity through her repeated use of the term one: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God! It is a loving attempt to offer encouragement to the people in Ephesus and in the church still today to grow towards maturity of faith, and recognize that we are one body, the one body of Christ. Martin Luther summed this same idea up when he wrote, “We are not now what we shall be but we are on the way.” We struggle with this idea in our modern context; we struggle with it to the point that growing into maturity in faith can be challenging for everyone. With our emphasis on the individual and individual desires and rights, we struggle to talk about what it means to be a part of something larger than us; and, not just as an individual component of the larger thing but as an integral element of the whole. The author’s use of the one body image with Christ as the head works to make this clear and offer us a more wholistic understanding of this unity.
Reflection Questions:
When have you had to have difficult conversations about hard subjects with others around you?
What is helping you grow towards a maturity of faith? What gets in the way of this growth? How does being a part of the one body of Christ change your perspective about these elements?
How can we do better at accepting our own place in the body of the church, or in God’s plan for us, even if we aren’t comfortable with that plan or that role?
Are there times when our own wrestling with God can throw other parts of the body into discomfort or confusion?