Walking this path

After Ephesians 4:1-16 

Walking this path, disparate people

being knitted together into one,

one garment, one body, a body

that works as an intention

of the Lord, the body of the Lord,

pierced, a body with a purpose,

a body with a presence.

 

Disparate people, walking this path,

learning the way, teaching each other

the way forward, the older serving

the younger serving the older serving

the child serving the parent serving 

the sick serving the ailing serving

the aging serving the despondent

serving the strong serving the mother

serving the father serving the child

serving the older.

 

Disparate people walking a path,

walking in humility, walking

in gentleness, walking in patience,

walking in love for others,

walking in unity, walking

in peace, walking as one body

and one spirit and one hope

with one Lord and one baptism

and one God and one Father

of all.

 

The people endure the journey

as they endure each other, loving

one another. Enduring one another

makes them one.

 

Photograph by Iswanto Arif via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Monday Readings

 

The Death of the Literary Feud – Willian Fear at The Critic Magazine.

 

The Mosaic Makers of Hackney – Spitalfields Life.

 

The Two-Parent Advantage – W. Bradford Wilcox at CityJournal. 

 

Do We Need Regime Change of a Change in Heart? – John Horvat at The Imaginative Conservative.

The path to oneness

After Ephesians 4:1-16

It begins with speech,

or speaking, not merely

uttering words but

speaking truth in love,

which assumes careful

consideration of the thoughts

expressed and words spoken.

Speaking truth in love leads

to growth, growth in every way,

growth into the head, for it is

the head that makes the body

grow, the whole body, joined

and held together, each and 

every part it comes with,

and each part working

as it should, in harmony,

together as one.

 

Photograph by Lukas Vanatko via Unsplash. Used with permission.

The point is

After Ephesians 4:1-16

This walk, this oneness,

this training, all these

resources assembled,

all of this has a point:

achieve unity of faith,

achieve unity of knowledge,

become mature (i.e., grow!)

in the maturity of the ideal

of the One, leaving behind

the immaturity of childhood,

the tossing by every wind

and wave by every new thing,

passing fancy, human deceit,

human cunning, schemes

of men (and women too)

masquerading as truth

and light. That’s the point:

maturing enough to leave

all that behind as useless

and unnecessary and

downright counterproductive. 

 

Photograph by Jukan Tateisi via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Support logistics

After Ephesians 4:1-16

When we were called up,

and assembled into our unit

formed for basic training,

which could be and often is

rigorous and uncomfortable,

he didn’t leave us leaderless

or without resources.

We weren’t an army

without officers or leaders

or a supply train, 

a formless mass to be

tossed about by every wind

and wave. The call included

rather extensive resources:

apostles, prophets, evangelists,

shepherds, teachers, people

gifted to come along side

and lead the troops for the work

we were called to.

 

Photograph by Diego Gonzalez via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Oneness

After Ephesians 4:1-16

One body

one spirit

each one called to

one hope

one Lord

one faith

one baptism

one God

on Father

one grace

one gift

one sacrifice

given to each

one of us.

 

Photograph by Tania Malrechauffe via Unsplash. Used with permission.

A body's walk

After Ephesians 4:1-16

If you ever wondered,

mused, or thought (aloud)

how a body works,

the prisoner has an answer:

worthy of the path

you’ve been called

to walk, which means

humbly and gently,

patiently and lovingly,

bearing with one another

in love (even if you don’t

like each other’s politics),

because you’re eager,

eager to maintain,

maintain the unity,

the unity of the spirit,

the spirit in the bond,

the bond of peace. 

 

Photograph by Andraz Lazic via Unsplash. Used with permission.