e-vo for week of July 8

Dearest e-votees-

I will be out of the office next week so here is an early dispatch of the e-vo. May you be blessed. And may you, in turn, be a blessing to others.

Peace,
Karl

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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:3-14, NRSV

Often when I pray with people--whether over dinner or at the side of their hospital beds--I have some portion of the prayer recounting some of the blessings we have received from God (every breath, every sight, every sound, every moment, every smile, etc., etc.). There is also another part of the prayer which asks God to help us be a blessing to others with the blessings we ourselves have received from God.

The appointed epistle lesson for July 12 is a wonderful text for laying out some of the blessing we have received from God. The text even opens up with talking about God being blessed and us being blessed. The word that is rendered blessed is a compound word in the original Greek. It is "yoo-" which means "good" and "-logos" which means "word." Literally it means "good word." It is the source of our word "eulogy" which are the kind words we speak over departed folks at their funerals.

God doesn't wait until we are dead to speak eulogies (that is good words, that is blessings) into our lives. God speaks life into us through the living and active words of scripture. That life is something that we are invited to share with any and all who would receive it. We are to take the blessing from God's lips and breathe it into the lives of others--all who would hear.

Let's not wait until our friends and loved ones and even our enemies are dead before we invoke eulogies over their lives. May we receive God's blessings and be aware of those we have already received. And may we give God's blessings and help others be aware of those they have already received. And may we do this all to God's glory.


God, continue to bless us. Continue to shape us into people who speak blessings into the lives of others. Amen.