Epistle to the Ephesians July 16, 2006
by Fr. Gus Carter

In the second reading today we begin the Letter to the Ephesians. This letter has been described as "God's message to the modern church." The letter emphasizes the universal role of Christ in creation and in redemption. Many Catholics have grown in their interest in Scripture. Could I suggest that in keeping with the Day of the Lord you might go home and read the first chapter of this epistle? Then you could read the remaining parts during this coming week.

The circumstances of the Letter to the Ephesians was the widespread belief in a gnostic philosophy that all material things were bad. Among many people there was a kind of despair about human life. Today's reading from Ephesians stresses the hope and joy Jesus Christ brings to a world that seemed plagued by evil powers.

The author of the Epistle to the Ephesians was probably not St. Paul but one of his disciples. He wrote a kind of circular letter to be read in the cities of western Asia Minor where the city of Ephesus was located. This letter is filled with phrases from hymns, prayers and statements used in the Christian liturgy of that time. The author was filled with gratitude for God's graces of reconciliation and recreation that comes to followers of Christ. He wrote to the congregations to encourage Christians and to celebrate the amazing plan God had revealed for the salvation of the world.

We Christians have been have given marvelous blessings through Jesus Christ. This has been God's plan since the foundation of the world. Out of God's love for us we have been chosen to be members of God's family, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. As God's children, we are called to eventually join the angels in rejoicing in and praising divine goodness forever. Our sins are forgiven and we share in the wisdom of our Creator about the meaning and purpose of human life. Through Jesus we have learned how to accept the Lord's graciousness in our lives. So that we may carry out this plan of God, we have been given the Holy Spirit, the power of God's love. As St. Paul said in another place, we are ambassadors of Christ, given the mission to spread divine love throughout creation.

From today's epistle we realize that after Paul's death, others took up his mission to bring the person and message of Christ to the world. Today's Gospel, telling of the missioning of the first disciples, reminds us that in our own baptism we, too, have been called. We have been challenged and privileged to carry out the plan of God to bring eternal happiness to the world.

The Epistle to the Ephesians emphasizes the true meaning of Christ's relationship to the Church. He is our head and Lord, requiring of us loyal obedience and service. Thus, Christian life calls us to the highest levels of morality, both personal and social. We are to put on the new humanity with Christlike qualities.

Among the things that we celebrate as members of Christ's body is that we have been chosen by God who desires to make us a holy people. As members of God's family, we are destined to praise God. Have we discovered in our own lives the foretaste of heaven that comes through sincere worship? We have been given wisdom and understanding which are divine qualities underlying the revelation of the mystery of God. Do we appreciate the gifts we have been given to live our lives through the perspective of Christ. As St. Paul also says, "Put on the mind of Christ. "

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has to be proclaimed with joy. Preaching the Gospel intends to make its hearers rejoice. The 'good news" is that God is near and that God is good for us. Jesus offered divine love to all. God's salvation is brought within the reach of all. The hymn we sometimes sing in church expresses an important truth: "AIl are welcome." Through our lives we are invited to express to the world the universal love of God.