Today’s readings celebrate God’s loving vision for healing, wholeness, and unity. They invite us into deeper reflection on what this vision means for the life of the church. The letter to the Ephesians describes how Christ, through the cross, broke the power of  dependence on inheritance as it played out in faith.  History – birth, law, commandments and ordinances – had set up the house of Israel as the only true people of God. It seemed Gentiles would always be estranged from God, but through Christ the extraordinary happens and God’s family is broadened and expanded to include everyone from every cultural background.

Here, in Australia, we live in an egalitarian culture or, at least we like to think that we do. We like to think we are uncomfortable with the idea that a person’s role, or wealth, or status determines their value to the community. But this is not necessarily the way we live. To often our news programs are filled with the most trivial matters concerning the lives of celebrities.

More importantly the goodness and mercy of God are with us everywhere, in all places, in all circumstances, at all times. Our cups, our lives, overflow with the goodness of God.

What if we were to take the words of Psalm 89 and apply them to everyone? What if our churches taught that the words in this Psalm speak of how God sees all of humanity and that as a community of the faithful we are going to live the truth of this with each other and with all we come in contact with directly and indirectly?  In what ways does our church community become a place where divisions are demolished?

Blessings

Reverend Shan