Ephesians 4:1-16

Pentecost +9 – Year B

Ephesians 4:1-16

I, a practitioner, invite you toward a life worthy of a calling to humility and gentleness, patient bearing with one another in love, and maintaining a Spirit of unity in bonds of peace. [verses 1-3, edited]

It is those who walk the talk who are able to intentionally model the interconnections between body, spirit, and hope. Whether on the way up (sprouting, birthing) or on the way down (wilting, dying) we have a gift to live out. Whether we do or not is quite another matter.

The gifts we have come to and those yet to come are never quite categorical. In fact they usually are in the process of breaking categories. Without crossing lines our gifts are no more life-giving than only talking holy happy talk. We are called to take a long view, not like children seeing everything through the lens of their stage of life. A part of this long view is speaking love truthfully and growing up as did Jesus, with an eye on G*D's presence with every ligament of creation. Wherever those two ways of living come together, we have the high calling of "practitioner of life".