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Before Sunday …

Pentecost VII

Psalm 22:22-30

Isaiah 57:14b-21

Ephesians 2:11-22

Mark 6:30-44

Ephesians 2:11-22

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands – remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer stranger and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

There she stands on the TV screen – slender and beautiful, smiling and radiant – as she tells you exactly how much weight she has lost on the latest diet plan, pill, or program. Up flashes a picture of her “before” state – lumpy, flabby, and misshapen – and then the two pictures are placed side by side to show the results with even greater drama.

Sigh.

Yes, in just 2, 3, or 4 weeks, I can be just as radiant and slender as she. I, too, can place my pictures before others, showing just how wonderful it is to go from “before” to “after” in such a brief period of time. Inches off my waist, muscles rippling, even my teeth (somehow) looking brighter and straighter – the new me!

Sigh – I’m so discouraged. I think I’ll go have me a big bowl of ice cream.

And so it goes. We have become jaundiced (and rightly so!) to all of the jaded commercialism of the “before and after” marketing of so-called “miracle” products. Whether it’s weight loss, financial success, or learning a new language in one weekend, we’ve heard it all before.

So when Paul writes of the before: “…at one time…” describing our pitiful condition without Christ (“separated … alienated… strangers… having no hope and without God in the world”), and then writes of the after: “But now …” we are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” – it triggers within us a certain cynicism that fosters unbelief.  “Yeah, right” we tell ourselves, “I’ve heard that before.”

And if it were up to us (like a diet, or financial discipline), we would have a basis for our cynicism. But the Gospel is not about what we have to do. It’s about what God has already done. And while this may make God the subject rather than ourselves, it is a necessary step toward God’s radical “makeover”. As Michael Horton puts it in his work, Christless Christianity, “Christ came not to help good people become better but ‘to seek and save that which was lost’ (Luke 19:10, NKJV). If this is a crushing blow to our pride, it is also the most hopeful and marvelous news we could hear.”

The “before” and “after” of the Gospel is real. It can happen! But not by straining more to become better, but by acknowledging that Jesus Christ has done for us what we could never do for ourselves – make us citizens of His Kingdom and members of His family.

A Prayer –

Almighty Father, who has accomplished for me that which I have needed most – my redemption – grant me grace to see me as You see me in Christ – in the glorious “after” of your redeeming love: Forgiven, loved, accepted, and made whole in Him. And may I enter Your presence on Your Day with Your people with true joy and praise for all You have done for me in Him who is my only Savior, Redeemer, and Friend, even Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

 -- The Rev. Marcus B. Robertson