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What is God up to?

Part of the work of a pastor is developing and guiding moments of public celebration of God. This could include weddings, baptisms, Christmas, and Easter worship. As well as funerals.

As the world around us is taking steps for gathering after a long period of shelter-in-place, the importance of celebration seems more precious. Gathering to celebrate is set against the need to control. The disruption from the pandemic has spun much of the world into a struggle for control. Amidst the endless dates about following science and medical guidance, to the divergent opinions of our preferred news outlets, celebrating God seems a remote interest for most people these days. Giving focus, however, to what matters to God holds the key for moving forward.

When the Apostle Paul wrote the Letter to the Ephesian Christians, it was during a similar time of tension and struggle. There was just as much “us-versus-them” stuff going on, in the church as well as between Christians and the culture.

Paul begins this letter by reminding the Ephesian Christian community to remember and celebrate what God has already provided. We were chosen in Christ before the world was formed; God made a plan to adopt believers as God’s own children; and God chose to bestow grace upon us. Everything that is most needed has been provided already – redemption and forgiveness through Jesus.

Why would God choose to bless us so greatly, long before we had any knowledge of God’s existence or awareness of this love? I choose to believe this is an ongoing thing. This outpouring of grace and love is still at work, like the rising and setting of the sun each day. This amazing gift of redemption and grace is still unfolding!

What is God up to? What is the goal or purpose of this gift? And why extend it so extravagantly to all people and to creation itself?

Do you know the story of the tower of Babel (Genesis 11)? It’s a cautionary tale of the human desire to reach the heavens and be like God. To control the world. The effort backfires. As punishment for the arrogance of humanity, which spoke one common language at the time, God destroyed the tower and scattered the people to the ends of the earth. It’s understood as an origin story for why there are so many languages around the world.

Ephesians 1 describes the goal and purpose of God’s gift of redemption and grace as having the opposite effect of the Tower of Babel. That is, the goal of God is to bring the world together in unity. Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 describes this mystery, as well as the call to be partners with God in this mission to bring the world together.

So, if God’s goal is to bring the world together into unity through the gift of redemption and grace, which has been provided in Jesus, what are we doing to support it? This is a key question for all time. When I consider the difference makers in history who have done great things to bring about cooperation out of division, healing out of brokenness, reconciliation out of war, resilience out of trauma, and hope out of defeat it seems this theme is front and center in the story.

Furthermore, it seems these extraordinary people found a way to celebrate God first. Even when all around them was mired in division and struggle. For by celebrating God, they were able to focus on God’s goals and purposes, rather than their own need to control outcomes or determine who their enemies should be. As they gave themselves to being partners with God in celebrating the gifts God has already provided through the redemption and forgiveness in Jesus, they discovered new and creative ways to be devoted to God’s work of reconciliation. We need to make the same effort as we seek to reopen businesses and churches. Put the good of all above our own goals.

The Delta variant is still taking lives and impacting the young. The three main vaccines are very powerful against this variant, but slightly less than they have been against the original virus. That means there remains risk for all of us.

As much as I would love to gather as normal to celebrate, caution is needed. While I believe in God’s call to bring people together to celebrate the news of redemption and grace, paying attention to the risks is part of the call, too. Knowing that God cares about building unity in our communities, it inspires me to make the effort to be careful. I trust the time to celebrate freely is coming, and I look to God to grant us patience as we try to take the steps to get there safely.

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Source: https://www.mtairynews.com

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