Ephesians 2:1-10 (NRSV)
You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Devotion – Resurrection: Not Just for Jesus, but for Us, too!
When I was young and attended Sunday School, every Easter I would hear the Easter story read from the pulpit and/or recounted in Sunday School. As the story I heard, I imagined Jesus, dressed in white, long-flowing robes, rising and floating up into heaven to sit at the right hand of God. That image stuck with me until I was in college when I took a course in the New Testament.
As I studied the Gospels and Paul’s letters, I learned of another form of resurrection, a spiritual resurrection, for US! In this passage, Paul is writing to the Ephesians who Paul described as having strayed from Christ’s teachings to following “the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else” (Eph 2:3). Paul makes the case that because of God’s great love for us, He shows us his mercy and “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). He continues, “For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works…For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life” (Eph 2:8-10).
Thus, my own mental picture of Jesus’ resurrection as a young child has been supplanted by the Apostle Paul’s description of a spiritual resurrection which incorporates us, not only in the future, but now! As a part of the resurrected body of Christ, we are equipped to do God’s works of love, justice, and caring. Christ, through his teachings and earthly actions, provides us with a model of how we should live our own resurrected lives.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for the gift of your son who models for us how we should live. Help us to be mindful of this gift and our responsibility to serve those in both spiritual and physical need through feeding the hungry, comforting the sick and lonely, welcoming the immigrant, housing the homeless, and serving your children as you would have us to do. Be with us as we accept your gift of our own spiritual resurrection here on earth as we live our lives as you would have us to do. In Christ’s name I pray, Amen.
Harriet Hopkins