Second Reformed Church, Coxsackie



Second Reformed Church, Coxsackie

July 12, 2009

Ephesians 1:3-14

St. Mark 6:14-29

Blessing for Blessings

Our lessons this morning provide us with - quite the contrast. While the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians encourages us to offer up a prayer of blessing to our God - for all the blessings we have received from God’s hand – Mark’s Gospel speaks to us of the brutal demise of God’s faithful servant John the Baptist.

It’s difficult for us - isn’t it – to reconcile our belief in a loving, all-powerful God who desires to bless us with every blessing under heaven - with the harsh reality of a servant of God suffering a terrible and untimely death. How do we make sense out of all of this?

Well, first we must look very closely at Paul’s words in this letter. Paul writes that God “...has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,...” The goal of all God’s work in Christ Jesus, on our behalf, is focused on our spiritual salvation - for it is our spiritual selves which continue on for all eternity – long after our bodies have returned to dust.

However, when we do receive with gratitude the spiritual blessings that God provides to us in Christ Jesus – it becomes a blessing for our physical selves as well. For example, God has blessed us with love for life. Now, while we are all born with love for life, sadly many lose this love - due to grief, pain or illness – and begin a journey in self-destruction – using such means as drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, physical self-neglect or suicide.

But, God blesses us by deepening our love for life as we live in Christ. The spiritual blessing of love for life encourages our spiritual selves to seek to live eternally; which is what God wants us to do - because God, who is spirit, wants to live eternally with us!

But, this spiritual blessing becomes a blessing for our physical selves as well. This inner love for life causes our physical selves to love and hold onto the life we now have – so that we strive to keep our bodies and minds healthy – and so that we appreciate with all our senses the beauty and wonder of life in this magnificent world.

The spiritual blessing of love for life nurtures within us respect for all life - so that we strive to protect and preserve not only all humanity – but all life in God’s Creation.

And, also, the spiritual blessing of love for life causes us to seek a means of ensuring that our lives will continue beyond this world – so that we strive to live in Christ - a life which blesses our Creator.

Now, one of the spiritual blessings Paul speaks about in his letter to the Ephesians is the blessing of our becoming God’s children in Christ. As a child of God we are free to receive grace for the forgiveness of our sins, so that we may be made right with our God. We are free to receive wisdom and insight concerning God’s will and purpose for the fullness of time. And, we are free to receive the promise of an inheritance – the inheritance of eternal life within God’s kingdom.

But, we do not receive that inheritance until we leave this world – and are “born” into life eternal.

As we acknowledge all the blessings we have received from God’s hand – we are really not able to imagine any blessings more precious or wonderful than those which enhance, protect, and preserve this life, which we are now living. And for this reason, we may think that our God is doing a terrible injustice by allowing anyone to suffer a death that is either harsh or untimely – especially those who have lived a life which praises God’s glory.

Indeed, while we are left with the failure to comprehend all things - and at times with the inability to reconcile our faith in God with the harsh realities of this world - we must acknowledge that, all that God has created – all life - is precious to God – even more precious than it is to those of us who have been blessed with love for life.

And, we must acknowledge too, that, even though we may not be able to make sense out of everything in this world, God does have a master plan for all creation. We know this through the wisdom with which the Apostle Paul was blessed – wisdom which tells us that God’s plan for the fullness of time is to unite in Christ Jesus all things in heaven and on earth.

And, for those of us who have been chosen in Christ we are blessed to live now with God’s promise – that through Christ, our life does not end with the demise or destruction of our bodies. Rather, our spiritual selves are freed to live for all eternity and to experience such blessings from the hand of God that we can not possibly comprehend while living with the limits of our physical minds and bodies - within a physical world.

God has blessed us with such a love for life that we can not willingly or easily let go of the life we now live in this world. And that is as it should be – because this life we now live is precious to God – just as an unborn child, living within its mother’s womb is precious to that child’s parents.

We have been chosen in Christ to be God’s children, living to the praise of God’s glory for all eternity. And, we have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing – blessings for the nurture of our spiritual selves – blessings to carry us from this life into life eternal.

In response to, both God’s desire for us, and God’s blessings showered upon us, how can we do any less than offer up a prayer of blessing to our God? And, how can we do any less than offer up our lives in praise of God?

Let us pray:

Loving Creator, we offer up a prayer of blessing to you because you have chosen us in Christ - even before the beginning of the world – to be your children, living for all eternity within the joy, peace and beauty of your loving presence.

And, God, we bless you too, for all your spiritual blessings which also serve to benefit us in this physical world. Lord, please continue to strengthen our faith in you and in your promises for our future, as you grant us the endurance to meet the sometimes harsh realities of this world. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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