Living in the Realm of Spirit

Devotional Reflection, Monday, January 3, 2022

The week of the second Sunday after Christmas

The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.

Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:

21For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. 22You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 941)

AM Psalm 68; PM Psalm 136

1 Kings 19:9-18; Eph. 4:17-32; John 6:15-27

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Office Epistle, Ephesians 4:17-32

17 Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. 18They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. 19They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20That is not the way you learned Christ! 21For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. 22You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27and do not make room for the devil. 28Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up,* as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.*

David’s Reflections

Kenneth Leech, an Anglican priest who ministered for years in metro London, has sharp words for western culture and the church. "Western society has become a very unmystical and indeed a very unspiritual society. And this is not only true of society as a whole. The Church, deeply compromised and conformed within that society, shares and manifests its characteristic features." *

Today’s Epistle draws sharp distinctions between the manner of life typical of the writer's own culture and a manner of life appropriate for Christians. Our translators, attempting to proffer us an inclusive language translation, have dulled the force of the appeal and imagery by the rendering in verses 22 and 24. The underlying Greek calls on us to put off the “old man” and put on the “new man.” To translate “old self” and “new self” significantly alters that imagery. Better to render the expression “old humanity”/”new humanity.” The author works with corporate concepts; he addresses not the individual’s behavior but that of humankind apart from faith (old humanity) and after faith (new humanity).

The writer (either Paul or a close disciple) sees life in terms of spheres of existence. The cultural world of his day is variously called “Adam” (Romans 5), “the old man” (here and in Colossians), “the flesh” (Galatians 5). Both Jews and non-Jews belong to this old and dying sphere, the old creation if you will (Romans 8). Yet, God in Christ has begun a new creation. Christ is the Last Adam. Those who have faith in Christ now live in the beginnings of God’s new creation. The church is the visible manifestation of this new world that God has begun. The church makes visible the new realm of “spirit” as over against “flesh,” the old realm.

The writer here appeals for us not to put off some old individual self and put on some new individual self. Rather, we are challenged to disengage ourselves from the values and pursuits of the old humanity of which we have been a part and to clothe ourselves in the new humanity, the countercultural movement that the church represents.

Wherever the church mirrors the values and pursuits of the culture around, she has betrayed her calling into God’s new creation. As Leech puts it, the church is “deeply compromised and conformed within that society.”As Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 5, “If anyone is in Christ, new creation. The old has passed away. Look! The new has come.” (My somewhat literal rendering of the Greek.)

Episcopalians tend to feel anxious about creating sharp boundaries between us and those outside the church. Yet, the boundary indeed exists. Christ’s coming, death and resurrection, have created it. The boundary is faith, faith seen as commitment to and trust in Christ. Obviously, Christ immersed himself in the world of his day and made war on artificial boundaries of pride and elitism. But, he maintained his unique identity and sense of mission and witness. The very fact that he did so created a tension that pulled people toward God’s saving love and toward saving faith while others chose to push away from his call.

Through our hospitality, evangelism, and mission, we seek to make that boundary as permeable as possible without removing it. We obviously desire to see people transformed and united with a faith community; yet, we cannot deny that a boundary separates us from that old realm.

The detailed appeals in today’s reading sound a wake-up call, a challenge to evaluate the core values we embrace and live on a daily basis. Just how much difference does faith make in our lives? Just how different is our approach, behavior, and assumptions from those of people with no faith? Where do we need to wrap ourselves more fully in the new humanity being created by Christ?

Can we immerse ourselves in the world without getting waterlogged with its values and pursuits? Can we maintain permeable boundaries without losing our identity? If we can, then our loving and caring presence will serve as witness. It will create that tension that calls others to faith in God’s saving love without creating artificial walls of elitism, pride, and an inflated religious ego.

* Kenneth Leech, "Foreword," Julia Gatta, A Pastoral Art: Spiritual Guidance in the English Mystics (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1987), p. 2.

The Collect of the Day, Second Sunday after Christmas Day

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 214)

A Collect for Protection

O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, 124)

For the Nation

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 258)

A Prayer for Light

Grant us, Lord, the lamp of charity which never fails, that it may burn in us and shed its light on those around us, and that by its brightness we may have a vision of that holy City, where dwells the true and never-failing Light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 110)

A Collect for Mission

O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 124)