DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Ephesians 5:1-8
(01/7 or 01/20)
Saturday of the Thirtieth Week after Pentecost
Walk in Love: Ephesians 5:1-8, especially vs.1,“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.” In
the original Greek, the word for ‘imitators’ is ‘mimitei’ - a cognate of our ‘mimic.’ As
Orthodox Christians we are God’s beloved children, meant to act like our
Father Who formed us from the dust as living souls, blowing His spirit of life
into us (Gn. 2:7). To mimic God is
to control our inner life and direct our bodies as He wills. Hence, the Apostle begs us to
“...walk in love, like Christ...” (Eph. 5:2). Not any love will do, but only love,
“...as Christ...loved” (vs. 2). Foremost the ‘walk’ of our
Lord Jesus Christ was a sacrifice of God, an outpouring of Self
on our behalf (vs. 2). Hence, Saint
Paul uses imagery from ancient Jewish worship in the Jerusalem Temple:
holocaust offerings, totally consumed, symbolizing complete surrender to God by
the worshipers. Our Lord’s
death on the Cross is ‘the prototype’ of such sacrifices (see Php. 2:7,8).
Think of the ‘walk’ of our Savior: pure
Himself, He stepped into the waters of a Baptism of repentance, and assumed all
the sins of the world. He walked in
the desert of temptation to defeat the devil by whom
we are so often snared. By the Sea
of Galilee, He discipled fishermen, tax collectors,
and sinners like us, loving all He met with His kind of love. Among the crowds, He healed, taught and
disputed day after day, until the time to go to Jerusalem and complete His
sacrifice for everyone (Lk. 13:33). Our Lord’s every step was a
‘walk in love.’
Yes, we live among many who reduce love to physical
satisfaction, who get their way ‘by hook or by crook,’ and who
never quiet the host of desires swirling in them. But Saint Paul calls us
‘saints’ (Eph. 5:3), ‘holy ones’ united to Christ; for
in the Lord there is grace to love truly, to defeat temptation, to acquire pure
motives by continence, and to be persons worthy of blessing.
Today, the social tide of the coarse, the crude, and the
cruel encroaches on everyone, pushing away the sacred. But we are the People of the Holy
Mysteries. Our Eucharists
of praise and thanksgiving (vs. 4) have “...in remembrance...all those
things which have come to pass for us...” through the mercy of our
gracious Savior Who still ‘walks’ among us in love.
How may we enjoy “...any inheritance in the kingdom
of Christ and God” (vs. 5)?
It will not be by lust, impurity, nor by
coveting (vs. 5). Such are sure
signs of a materialist-oriented personality. In cultures where idolatry is openly
embraced, immorality is usually coupled with false religion and
debauchery. The growth of Satanism
and witchcraft in modern society signals a resurgence of corrupt religion. Do not be deceived!
Conversations, images, and the media are full of deceit and
“...empty words...” (vs. 6), whether in political
speech, advertising, entertainment, or news broadcasting. But “Thou art baptized. Thou art illumined. Thou hast received anointment with Holy
Chrism. Thou art sanctified. Thou art washed: in the Name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The door is wide open to us to
“...be sheltered in the shelter of [God’s] wings” (Ps.
60:4). Social decline may arise in
any nation, but the dread judgment seat of Christ is certain to come for
everyone when “...the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience”
(Eph. 5:6).
Living actively in society, we become involved with the
non-believers all around us who are sorely debased. The Apostle Paul counsels us:
“...therefore do not be partakers with them” (vs. 7). Being infected, tainted, caught up, and
aligned in one’s self with today’s
mounting paganism is easier than walking “...as children of light”
(vs. 8). Perhaps “...you were
once darkness...” (vs. 8), as Saint Paul puts it. Well, “...put off the old
man...” (see Eph. 4:22); for “...now you
are light in the Lord” (v. 8).
We have God’s grace to walk in love as Christ’s own.
Adorn me, teach and enlighten me. Show me to be a dwelling-place of Thy
Spirit.
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