Ephesians structure

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I’ve been going slow with Ephesians, first because there are a lot of words to savor, but also because it is what I do. Some people just chug through scripture. I slowly swim. And both ways are fine. I hope you like swimming with me. And I hope that going slow gets us insights otherwise lost.

Today, however, I thought we should pop up for an overview.

My study bible (Harper Collins, NRSV) says that “Ephesians is especially concerned with power as ultimately grounded ….in God and enforced through Christ.” It uses images of God as a Father, and I suspect that is because the culture then (and now?) was used to this image as a Father having power and order and love. Certainly, the Roman culture of Ephesus would listen to words about power. Can we find a useful words about power? Can we find other messages?

The commentary by Thomas B. Slater (Smyth & Helwys, 2016) breaks the book into two sections. The first section is chapters 1-3, which is the opening salutation, the words of blessing (Eph 1:3-14), and then (Eph 1:15-23), a thanksgiving section. Chapters 4-6 are the second section, and seem to be about community.

And note that community would have been important. Community is important still! If you leave what you have believed all your life for a new belief, will you lose your family and friends? Will your new friends truly care about you, a new comer? As a part of this new-fangled thing, being a Christian, how do you organize your own family? Does being a Christian impact everything, everywhere?

I think some of the community section will reflect there/then and hit our ears strangely. But we’ll see!

So — today — an overview!

FTGOG

Interrupted by Kate Bowler

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Kate Bowler is amazing, my friends. Here is a link to her latest post (lasted to me anyway). I think the best part is the part about “don’t let AI take the joy away” (to paraphrase). Kate writes of S. M. Sacasas that the conversation is: “Keep writing badly, keep drawing badly, keep making whatever can only be made by wasting your own irreplaceable time on it.” To which I say “yes!” I don’t need to be the best however that would be defined (impossible). I just need to create, with joy, and for me in order to feel both alive, grounded, I need to create for the glory of God, of the mystery and grace and wonder and awe.

Do you — whatever your creativity is — and do it with joy, my friends. Otherwise life is just task task task sleep task….. Let us promise to flame with life.

FTGOG

Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23

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Ephesians 1:15-23 is really a joyful prayer; of course, confusing as Ephesians simply is! I think I’ll just zero in on a few things.

I really love that Paul prays for the Ephesians (and us?!) to have “a spirit of wisdom and revelation” as we grow in the faith. And that this wisdom is with “the eyes of your heart enlightened.” Enlightened enough to see hope. (verses 17 and 18)

Hope is really powerful.

Hope was exactly what I found, on that day more than 30 years ago, that day that in despair I prayed. I felt beloved. I felt such hope!

I’m not sure how I feel about the word “power,” which comes up in verse 19 twice! I think this means Jesus has power — or God — and they work this power for good, for caring — for hope.

And then in verse 21, the power that Jesus has can defend against earthly or cosmic threats, then, now, and in the future.

That’s a lot of power, when we started out with the gift of hope. Does providing us the comfort of hope mean we need to be assured that God/Jesus has the power against anything to provide hope? What’s confusing is that a lot of bad things have and do happen — this power must not be acting-like-a-magic-wand power? See, I’m really confused actually.

In fact, I was recently at the yearly conference of the Network of Biblical Storytellers, which was wonderful! I was talking to an acquaintance, and I had forgotten that she is a pastor. Most people at the conference are pastors or scholars. Not many of us are lay people. It is a lot of work to learn biblical stories by heart. My friends, it is so rewarding! So when people ask me at the conference if I am a pastor or a scholar, I joke by saying, “Oh I am a civilian.”

My friend was actually not amused. “I’m not in a battle,” she said.

I said, “Well, the powers and principalities of the world must be more of a battle for you pastors, than for us civilians.”

And she said, “We are all fighting that battle together. We are all, ordained or not, striving for good and to help.”

And this rocked me back on my feet!

It’s not that I hadn’t heard that at my church. It’s not that I am not trying to be good and full of hope. But I hadn’t thought about being on the front lines, so to speak. If this is a battle? If life and death and the life to come is not just given to me — freely and beautifully — as an inheritance, but perhaps also given as something that needs strength to hold.

Strength to hope.

And thus “eyes of the heart” to grow into.

FTGOG

Let’s pluck a few words from Ephesians 1:3-14 to start

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Ephesians is beautifully wordy; it feels both elegant and formal as well as rich with meaning to me. Whoever wrote it gives me a feeling of caring and wanting to write well. But, well, sadly, a lot of the writing may have been clear back then, but it is confusing now. Let’s look at a few words in 1:3-14 and just see if zooming in helps.

In verse three, of Ephesians 1:3-14, “in the heavenly places” is also translated sometimes as the “heavenlies”, which makes even less sense.

For the question of what are spiritual blessings (verse 3), I think we can assume not worldly things like power or riches. I wonder if we can think “our daily bread” which is a community effort? No one has bread unless people work together. Or perhaps looking at 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 might help. Or even better, Galatians 5:22. How I long for all of those gifts!

I, personally, like the comfort of pre-ordering the saving of us and the world that I think “before the foundation of the world” and “destined us” in verses 4 and 5. I like that God didn’t just switch to Plan B after a bunch of problems, but that the world was always loved and we were always loved. Which doesn’t mean bad and unjust things didn’t and/or don’t happen. But having a God who changes to Plan B, then Plan C, etc. is not a steadfast God. This is not only a way to have these “new believers” in Ephesus connect to the same God as the Jewish people did and do, but also to give a sense of connection and history. I realize that for those people absolutely comfortable with free will in a way that I am not, this sounds just odd indeed! I feel that free will means you will choose the wrong thing and make a muddle. If things are pre-ordered, well, even if I do make a muddle, then it will turn out ok. (Which doesn’t mean that I should make muddles, or that the muddle is cost-free. There will be costs. See this free will stuff, I don’t like thinking about too much.)

More importantly, for the people of Ephesus and maybe you and me, a sense of history was very important. This was not some cult. This was not flighty puffs of imagery. This Jesus stuff had history.

Jesus isn’t a fixer like an angry brutal mob boss thing. Jesus — and God — are giving us this “fix” –this “adoption” — “according to the good pleasure of his will…his glorious grace…freely bestowed” through the work of Jesus, who here is called the “beloved.” (verses 5 and 6) God is offering us this adoption, this care, out of “good pleasure.”

Adoption was a serious thing in Roman culture; it made you just as much family as anyone else in the family, which might not have been true of all cultures back then, since this is noted so specifically. Even adults could be adopted. (via a commentary by Smyth & Helwys, by Thomas B. Slater)

So being “adopted” by God — how blessed is that? I think the intent is comfort. And the feeling is belonging. We don’t need to be afraid. We can feel good.

Let’s note that the “beloved” was apparently a common title for Jesus early on. And it refers, of course, to God the Father addressing Jesus as his Beloved (e.g., Matt 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22, and other places). I feel that that is a wonderful title for Jesus! I like a low Christology instead of a complex high Christology! This is my discernment; however, there may be more complexity here than I understand. There are other Letters where the writer refers to us as “beloved”; and sometimes I try that in prayers: “Holy God, please bless my beloved….” It is a way of holding you and me together and trying to never use prayer to be judgmental. For example, “Holy God, please bless my beloved person and help them face any fret with peace and comfort” is far kinder than “Holy God, stop person from foolishly worrying too much.” At least to my ear!

And that’s enough to start. It is really convoluted stuff, I think!

FTGOG

Let’s start Ephesians!

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So last week’s post was the who-where-what of this Letter. This week, let’s just dive in and see what happens?

So with a Letter, you start with Salutation. I wonder if I can make a whole meal of the salutation?

The author identifies as “Paul” but scholars think it could a disciple of Paul. And they considered this a way of honoring their teacher back in the day. Will this letter sound or echo Paul? Will Paul here be praising the Ephesians or urging them to do better? The Letters of Paul seem to me to be one or the other? To keep things simple, I’m just going to refer to the author of the letter as Paul.

Apparently this letter is to the “saints” but that was a term of community back then. It did not mean “the good people!” It meant more like “all members of this church.” And yet this is qualified by “faithful.” And this gets interesting because some ancient manuscripts, apparently, do not have Ephesus. It is “saints who are faithful” where ever they may be.

Could be you and me.

And the Salutation ends with a blessing: “Grace to you and peace…” —

Hey, this could be a blessing across time and space for us to have grace and peace as well!

And I wonder if the saints in Ephesus were excited to get this letter? To hear it being read? Were they awed that the famous Paul wrote to them? Were they already known by Paul?

My feelings regarding any letter by Paul are wariness. Is it going to help me or hurt me in terms of loving Jesus?

FTGOG

Bible study

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I am in the summer slump where I don’t know what to study in scripture! I don’t know what the lay reading that I am assigned for in late August will be. I don’t know what the Messy Church in September will be. I do know that the Pastors are going to have a bit of a spotlight on Ephesians sometime in the fall.

WHEW! I’ll start on Ephesians!

Here’s what I know to start:

Ephesians is said to be by Paul, but scholars do not think it is Paul himself but a disciple (or a group) that learned from him.

It is unclear exactly when this was written, but late in the first century perhaps?

It is a letter, but maybe a public letter not to a specific person.

Where was Ephesus? It was then on the coast, but now the ruins are in modern-day Turkey.

So here we go, poking into Ephesians.

FTGOG

A Prayer for Summer

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Holy God, You already know what to do, what our prayers will be, what our hurts are, what needs healing, what needs hope; for us as people, for us as a group of people, for us as a world of people. As overwhelming as it feels to me, I can rest knowing You are not overwhelmed. You may be heartbroken or overjoyed or deeply amazed, but You are not broken or overwhelmed. You will keep your mercy for us — your steadfast love deeper, higher, richer than anything I can imagine — all of us, even if I, in my limited knowledge, would want you to cast out, with gnashing of teeth, quite a number of us!

Lord, you are merciful.

Lord, you forgive us.

Lord, you see us in goodness, in flaws, in hope, in despair, in truth.

Even as I tremble at the unknown future rumbling down on us, I know that You are already there.

And where you are, Hope lives.

FTGOG

Interrupted by “Stoic wisdom”

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You know how you are the internet and one thing leads to another? That’s how I ended up on “Stoic Wisdoms” and this substack — I can’t find an “about the author” or how this person is an expert. But I still want to share this post because it is quite interesting, but perhaps to me it is interesting on a slant. I’ll explain all this. I think starting by saying “I don’t really know what stoicism is” is important. And this blog post from Stoic Wisdoms is a blog “spreading Stoic wisdom and inspiring motivation. Embrace life’s challenges, find inner peace, and cultivate resilience.” This person isn’t just sharing what they think. They have provided references and links for more.

“The 5 Most Important Skills to Learn in 2026” April 6, 2026

In short: Critical Thinking, Attention Management, Financial Literacy, Adaptability, and Self-Reflection

In each section, the author explains (and links to more) what they mean. I found this quote really interesting:

“The Stoics drew a sharp line between principles and methods. Principles are the deep commitments that define your character: honesty, courage, justice, self-governance. These don’t change. They shouldn’t change. They’re the fixed point around which everything else can rotate.

Methods are how you apply those principles in specific circumstances. And methods must change, because circumstances change. The person who confuses their methods for their principles will fight to preserve a particular way of doing things long after that way has stopped working, because abandoning the method feels like abandoning the principle.”

The five skills this Stoic Wisdom writer discusses seem to me aimed at strengthening one to live a wiser life, not grabbing power or following fads or sleepwalking through life, but being awake. Perhaps I need to find time to explore this all more. Perhaps I don’t really understand! But keep reading!

Because here is where I slant a bit. I have stumbled recently upon the term “moral injury.” Here is a simple definition (as best I understand it) from several sites, but I’ll link to Syracuse University site: Moral Injury is the damage done to one’s conscience or moral compass when that person perpetrates, witnesses, or fails to prevent acts that transgress one’s own moral beliefs, values, or ethical codes of conduct.

I think or wonder that perhaps right now we all are living in a time and place where all our souls and hearts are being deeply wounded.

This is the ache I feel when I saw pictures of the destruction of the White House, and later the destruction of having a “cage fight” there. Even more seriously, the ache and tension and almost physical hurt I feel that our country is in an unjust war with Iran. The ache and pain of seeing — witnessing — so much, too much, of the destruction and the lies that this administration is spreading.

I am safe. I am privileged. I am ordinary! Yet there is no power I have to stop this spewing of hate and lies and destruction. I didn’t perpetrate it or want it, but somehow I feel stained by it. But I think this Stoic post is suggesting that this control over ourselves (the power to learn and care) is the power we have. If perhaps we in our own selves can’t stop hate and lies and destruction from this administration, we can feel and see and acknowledge the moral injury and not let it stop us.

We won’t stop caring.

We won’t stop learning.

We won’t stop feeling.

We won’t stop sharing.

Right?

I don’t mean “self help” exactly, or empathy exactly. I mean more like hope. I mean more like what Michelle Obama’s beautiful speech a few days ago (as I write this) articulated at the opening of Barak Obama’s presidential library. Toward the end (the whole thing is worth listening/reading) she said:

“when we truly see each other, when we strive to bring out the best in ourselves and one another, oh, there is no limit to how high we can go”

Of course generally what my blog is about is scripture and Jesus and church and wonder and creativity and storytelling and all that. I think the strength to see — to witness — and to hope is for me right there in my faith, not my own strength. (I just want to hide under the covers some days.) To see and listen. To help. To pray. To be centered enough that we are each of us God’s beloved child, and each of us is also a sinner, and we can each of us be forgiven, and we can each of us strive higher. It is not just my strength that I lean on, right? There is some tiny place of strength in me that comes from the triune God.

Although some days are harder than others, yes? Moral injury, I think and feel, is hurting each of us these days.

Let me pray: Holy Creator and Redeemer God and God of Love, ground us. Keep us open to learning, to seeing, to hoping, to acting as we can, to taking care of our house, to taking care of each other, to caring. Heal us, mend us, mold us, help us.

FTGOG

A simple Blog today

Interrupted by musing, My story, , , , ,

Hey my beloveds,

I want to share this delightful post by Kate Bowler. I thought I was the only one who freaked out each year on my birthday trying to figure out if I am improving and being the best me I can be. Whew, I’m not!

Also she brings in quotes from all sorts of people. Thoughts about aging, how we are each a bunch of layered people. And I remember from second grade (so I was what about 7?), in free time in class I worked on my book. I wrote very carefully at shaping each letter. I was writing about the Puritans. I have no specific memory of why the Puritans captured the imagination of little Virginia me. I was pretty serious about the act of writing my book! But I had no thoughts or worries about “marketability” or “Publishers” — I was just having fun doing my work.

I wonder if “just having fun doing my work” is something I can recapture? Re-imagine? Find some lovely courage around?

FTGOG

Ezekiel 3:10-15 and this year’s Epic Tell

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The annual conference of the Network of Biblical Storytelling is early this year, in July. One of the yearly highlights is the Epic Tell. I’m participating again this year with this bit of Ezekiel. It has been both fun and challenging to learn by heart. Often the Epic Tell is maybe 40 people doing a whole book of scripture. This year, our scholars have pulled out passages from Ezekiel and matched them with passages from Revelation. There are a lot of similarities and a lot of imagery in both. Perhaps putting them together will generate new insights.

So my part is Ezekiel 3:10-15 with wings and wheels and flying and terror. The first time the Spirit lifted him up and the glory of the Lord rose behind him, he hears sounds like wings rubbing together and sounds like wheels rumbling.

I think when he is sitting in Tel Abib, where he has been flown to, and he is sitting stunned, I think he is terrified. I think he is afraid to move; afraid that what’s behind him might still be there. I wonder if he darts little quick looks over his shoulder. Afraid to see. Afraid not to see.

And sure enough, in the book of Ezekiel at the end of seven days, the Lord comes back and is terrifying again.

In the Epic Tell, what follows me is Revelations 10:1-4, 8-11, which is another story about a prophet eating a scroll of the Lord (“tastes as sweet as honey on the tongue”).

A head of me is Ezekiel 2:9-3:3, which is Ezekiel’s eating of the scroll story.

I wonder if my section is between to make clear that there is terror in this story; that eating scrolls is fine and dandy but this is the word of the Lord.

FTGOG