By David Radcliff (Director, New Community Project)
Ephesians 3:1-13 “…the mystery of Christ…revealed by the Spirit…”
I admit I almost always prefer the gospels – the story of Jesus’ radical life of reaching out to the poor, the young, the sick, the hungry, the outcast – and angering the authorities in the process – rather than Paul’s writings – someone who mostly focused on Jesus’ death and organizing life in the new church. So I was a bit disappointed to see my assigned text from Ephesians. HOWEVER, when I read this passage, I saw that Paul, too, had a radical streak. First, he’s writing from jail – so he must’ve been doing something right to make people that mad at him. And he then writes of a “mystery” – hmmm…mysterious. What is it? That God’s love is for all, and that Jesus welcomes everyone into his church. This was scandalous in those days, as God was thought to be reserved only for the Jewish people. And the Romans had their gods, and the Greeks had theirs, and… you get the drift. So to have one God who welcomes all people – well, that was a page out of Jesus’ playbook. And of course it’s just as scandalous today. Churches often make a name for themselves more by who they keep out than by who they let in. And political leaders get elected by lifting up one group – race, income, religion – above others. A Brethren girl I know got in trouble with her friends by standing up for the poor. That didn’t stop her.
Good News: It’s no mystery – God loves everyone, and all are welcome among Jesus’ followers.
Discussion Question: Is it human nature to form exclusive groups? Why do we do it? Have you ever stood up for someone who is seen by others as “unworthy” – made fun of or otherwise pushed out? Think of a time when Jesus got in trouble for including someone others wanted to exclude.
Go one step further: Jesus welcomed women into his movement and treated them with respect. Today, girls and women around the world are often treated like second class citizens. On this page, there’s a zoom presentation telling about trafficking, bride burning, poverty and other things that affect girls – and what we can do about it. https://www.newcommunityproject.info/give-a-girl-a-chance
David, I accidentally copied my post above twice on your website here. Please get rid of the second one. I tried to delete it myself, but had some problems doing that. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Posted by: Jeanne Smith, McPherson, KS
jsmithks@cox.net
Friend David, our Brother in Christ:
I just read my post above and noticed that I copied it twice here on this page. Feel free to delete one of them as you see fit. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Most sincerely,
Jeanne Smith, Ed.D., McPherson, KS
Dr. A. Herbert Smith, Professor of Religion & Philosophy, McPherson, KS
McPherson College, KS
Brother David, your post here is a challenge for we Christians to reach out to the world’s needy.
A number of years ago, my husband, Herb Smith, and I gave our Outreach Team at the McPherson Church of the Brethren $1,000. We asked the team to divide it up between our members in $20.00 bills. We gave each recipient a mandate to make the money grow for a church charity of their choice.
Our members choose charities such as Church World Service, Foods Resources Bank, CCEPI, i.e. Rebecca Dali’s charity for girls in Nigeria, Heiffer Project, Trees for Life (a charity that plants fruit and nut trees for the poor in India).
We, also, had a booth for the Mt. Hope Shelter for compromised women and girls. Also, Lucy Bowman, one of our youth, had a booth for Malala, the young girl who stood up to the Talaban for girls’ rights to go to school. Another charity , Mobility International, builds and sends wheelchairs to the poor who live in impoverished countries. These wheelchairs are given to the recipients free of charge. Note: As of this year, Herb and I, along with our college students, have delivered 27 of these Mobility Carts to people who cannot walk in Ethiopia.
Last year our Outreach Team decided to get a total of all that we had given in our Alternative Christmas Gift Markets over the years, and it came out to $313,000, plus this year’s earnings.
Since you, dear Brother in Christ, herald reaching out to the poor and foresaken, I thought this might be of interest to you as you travel to so many of our churches. Feel free to share it with other churches as you see fit.
Brother David, your post here is a challenge for we Christians to reach out to the world’s needy.
A number of years ago, my husband, Herb Smith, and I gave our Outreach Team at the McPherson Church of the Brethren $1,000. We asked the team to divide it up between our members in $20.00 bills. We gave each recipient a mandate to make the money grow for a church charity of their choice.
Our members choose charities such as Church World Service, Foods Resources Bank, CCEPI, i.e. Rebecca Dali’s charity for girls in Nigeria, Heiffer Project, Trees for Life (a charity that plants fruit and nut trees for the poor in India).
We, also, had a booth for the Mt. Hope Shelter for compromised women and girls. Also, Lucy Bowman, one of our youth, had a booth for Malala, the young girl who stood up to the Talaban for girls’ rights to go to school. Another charity , Mobility International, builds and sends wheelchairs to the poor who live in impoverished countries. These wheelchairs are given to the recipients free of charge. Note: As of this year, Herb and I, along with our college students, have delivered 27 of these Mobility Carts to people who cannot walk in Ethiopia.
Last year our Outreach Team decided to get a total of all that we had given in our Alternative Christmas Gift Markets over the years, and it came out to $313,000, plus this year’s earnings.
Since you, dear Brother in Christ, herald reaching out to the poor and foresaken, I thought this might be of interest to you as you travel to so many of our churches. Feel free to share it