July 25, 2021

Just As I Am

Elizabeth Mae Magill | Read Ephesians 3:14-21

(Image: Pixabay)

In the verses before this, Paul celebrates that he can bring God’s grace to the Gentiles. Paul, who persecuted Christians and saw non-Jews as on the outs with God, now has the work of sharing good news with the very people he once condemned. He is humbly grateful for this work; and this passage opens with bowing down before God, the source of our very names.

Sharing good news in a social context that prioritizes wealth and prestige is hard work. Thus Paul prays for the people of Ephesus to be strengthened by the Spirit and rooted in love. Knowledge, which gives a person privilege, is superseded by Christ’s love and the fullness of God.

It takes strength to remain confident that God loves us just as we are. Life today is filled with a flurry of pressures to do more, to be more, to want more and more. You don’t need to be the wealthiest person on your street to get prestige today. You can get that with the nicest house or car, or going on the most luxurious vacation, or by being connected to the most important people. At work we compete with one another over how tired or overworked or overwhelmed we are.

Yet what we do or what we have is not our ultimate source of power. That comes from God who overwhelms us with love, which we then can share with others. Paul insists we will accomplish more by the fullness of love than by anything else.

What does it take to do this? Trust that God loves us as we are. Ask for forgiveness for what we have done to hurt others. Scream and holler about the horrors of the world, and know that God did not want those things to happen. Take time away in the wilderness and reconnect to God.

Fill me, God, with your fullness. Help me to accomplish in love the work you have set before me. Amen.

Pray the Scriptures Using Audio Lectio
Read John 6:1-21

John 6:1-21

¹ After this Jesus went across the Galilee Sea (that is, the Tiberias Sea). ² A large crowd followed him, because they had seen the miraculous signs he had done among the sick. ³ Jesus went up a mountain and sat there with his disciples. ⁴ It was nearly time for Passover, the Jewish festival. ⁵ Jesus looked up and saw the large crowd coming toward him. He asked Philip, “Where will we buy food to feed these people?” ⁶ Jesus said this to test him, for he already knew what he was going to do. ⁷ Philip replied, “More than a half year’s salary worth of food wouldn’t be enough for each person to have even a little bit.” ⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ⁹ “A youth here has five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that for a crowd like this?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there. They sat down, about five thousand of them. ¹¹ Then Jesus took the bread. When he had given thanks, he distributed it to those who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, each getting as much as they wanted. ¹² When they had plenty to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces, so that nothing will be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that had been left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ When the people saw that he had done a miraculous sign, they said, “This is truly the prophet who is coming into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus understood that they were about to come and force him to be their king, so he took refuge again, alone on a mountain. ¹⁶ When evening came, Jesus’ disciples went down to the lake. ¹⁷ They got into a boat and were crossing the lake to Capernaum. It was already getting dark and Jesus hadn’t come to them yet. ¹⁸ The water was getting rough because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ When the wind had driven them out for about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the water. He was approaching the boat and they were afraid. ²⁰ He said to them, “I Am. Don’t be afraid.” ²¹ Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and just then the boat reached the land where they had been heading.

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Lectionary Week

July 19–25, 2021

Scripture Overview

The Bible is filled with the stories of imperfect people. David is a classic case. In Second Samuel he uses his power to have sex with another man's wife, tries to cover it up, and then plots the murder of her husband. How can this be the same man who penned this week’s psalm, which decries the foolishness of people who act in a godless way? Like us, David was a fallen person who needed God’s extravagant mercy. In Ephesians we read of this same extravagance given through Christ, whose power can do what we cannot—namely redeem all of us who are also foolish and fallen. The Gospel author demonstrates the power of Jesus through what he describes as “signs,” which Jesus performed not primarily to amaze the onlookers but rather to point them to his identity as the Son of God.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

Read 2 Samuel 11:1-15. Where in today’s world do you see the selfishness of powerful people bringing tragedy for people with less power?
Read Psalm 14. Do you number yourself among the wise who “seek after God”? Why or why not?
Read Ephesians 3:14-21. How does “being rooted and grounded in love” manifest itself in your life?
Read John 6:1-21. Where do you see yourself in this story?

Respond by posting a prayer.

This season, Whitney R. Simpson has given us the gift we must open: a clear, accessible invitation to connect with the divine spark that is within us. This is the best present: being present for Jesus’ birth, God made human.”

Learn more about our newest Advent resource, Fully Human, Fully Divine here.

—J. Dana Trent, author of One Breath at a Time: A Skeptic’s Guide to Christian Meditation

Just As I Am

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Just As I Am

Ephesians 3:14-21

John 6:1-21

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