e-vo for week of April 2

Dearest e-votees-

For the Wednesdays of Lent at Christ the Good Shepherd this year we are using the epistle texts from the preceding Sunday in our midweek worship.

For e-vos we will be doing the same thing. Blessings on your experience of Lent this year.

This week's lesson comes from Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, the 5th chapter.

Peace,
Karl

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8 For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— 9 for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. 10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; 13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Ephesians 5:8-14, NRSV

This text draws us into a world of opposites:

darkness vs. light

absence of light vs. presence of light

what is hidden vs. what is revealed

what is false vs. what is true

what is unrighteous vs. what is righteous

broken rebellion vs. restored relationship
Jesus, the light of the world, comes into our dark world to reveal, to make known, to expose, to call out, to summon forth, to evidence, etc., etc.

Our old Adams and old Eves scurry for the edges and the crannies and the crevices like the spiritual cockroaches they are.

Jesus shines light into us, onto us and through us. We are to be like the moon reflecting the sun; we are to be reflecting the Son.

When the light catches the eye of another the hope and prayer is that, like Matthew 5:16, they might see the light and give glory to God in heaven.

Jesus, who is God, has come to reveal God. We, who are Jesus', are sent to reveal God. May it be so in our lives.


God, shine, shine, shine. Amen.