Word to the Wise
Thursday, October 14, 2010 - Thursday in the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
[Ephesians 1:1-10 and Luke 11:47-54]Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.......[Ephesians]
A common expression for "creative thinking" that one hears today is, "Think outside the box!" This is meant to challenge a person or group to go beyond their accustomed frames of reference and view a subject from a new and different angle. Another expression, similar in nature, says, "Go beyond your comfort zone!" These two expressions come to mind in reading the majestic opening words of the Letter to the Ephesians. They seem familiar but somewhat vague and one could easily drift off to other thoughts while listening to them or reading them. But St. Paul's words contain a frame of reference that can challenge us to "think outside the box!" Scripture scholars tells us that the literary form of these words is a familiar one - a Hebrew blessing - but most of us are not skilled in recognizing these things. The challenge for a great many of us is to think "transcendently" - to bring our minds outside of everyday cares and worries. There is a complete vision of creation and our place in that creation contained in the blessing. We are challenged to see ourselves as the beneficiaries of God's loving plan which is realized through Jesus Christ! The ability to "transcend" is a gift that we humans do not share with the rest of creation. We are part of that good creation but we are gifted with the ability to understand our role and place - to take a "God's eye view," as it were. We can "step back" and take a "cosmic perspective." That perspective can either make us proud or humble. It can exalt or intimidate. Every new set of photos from the Hubble telescope reminds us that creation is far greater than our tiny planet! Yet God's love has come to us in the form of Jesus Christ to give us a particular place in this great plan. Ironically, the human ability to transcend is what may have led to human failing because we think we can become the God who made us! We think we can "opt out" of the plan simply because we can make decisions within our human frame of reference. History and experience have shown this way of thinking to be folly. If the vision of Ephesians does not move us to love and worship, what resources do we have to deal with such things as globalized injustice and disasters? Ephesians puts us all in the same boat instead of leaving us to sink or swim, each on his or her own! AMEN
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