Christmastide

January 3, 2020

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14

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 towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory. –Ephesians 1:7-14

The Greek word translated “trespasses” in the above scripture is  paráptōma (from 3895 /parapíptō, see there) – properly, fall away after being close-beside, i.e. a lapse (deviation) from the truth; an error, “slip up”; wrong doing that can be (relatively) unconscious, “non-deliberate.”*

I do not walk well on uneven ground. Leaving a burial at a cemetery recently with my brother, I was walking very slowly and deliberately to his car trying to avoid the natural dips in the grass. He said, “Are you OK?” I replied, “I just have to be very careful.” I literally did not want to slip up or down as the case may be. I do not know how much my cautious walking on uneven ground is from a real threat or the fear imbedded in my brain from a history of falls prior to my knees being replaced.

The challenge of working toward perfection in Christ is learning from our mistakes, not repeating them, and not letting our history prevent us from following the paths the Spirit opens for us. The word trespasses in our society commonly refers to not getting on someone else’s property. The Greek word from which trespasses is interpreter gets closer to the heart of our relationship with Christ. In our world today we face a great challenge in remaining close to the truth as truth is perceived as a commodity not a value. Yet, the truth of God’s love demonstrated through the life, death and resurrection of God’s son is rock-solid and something from which we must not fall away. In times when quotes are easily taken out of context and even other people’s words can be transplanted in videos of another person, we must cling ever closer to God and carefully consider everything with whether it passes the test of God’s love.

Prayer: Lord, strengthen us for our service to you in these trying times. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/3900.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.