Ephesians 5:8-14—Christians
live in the light of Christ. Christians are the children of light. Paul writes
to people who have become Christians. He refers to their former lives of sin as
“darkness.” Now they are children of light and are to live as lights in terms
of what is good, right, and true.
There is a contrast between before and after Christ, between God
and Satan, light and darkness, good and evil. Christians are to have no part in
the works of darkness but rather they are to expose evil to the light. In his
closing words, Paul calls for the dead (“asleep”) in sin to rise in the light
of Christ.
Ephesians 5:8a functions as a brief identity reminder where the
author reminds the audience that formerly they were darkness, but now they are
light in the Lord. Verse 5:8b is a call to action because of their light
identity. They are to walk as children of light. So once again Christian
identity and reality are the foundation and springboard for distinctive
Christian conduct. Verse 5:9 elucidates of what such conduct entails. The fruit
of our light identity involves conduct, which is pervasive goodness,
righteousness, and truth. Goodness recalls the good works God prepared for us
(2:10) while righteousness and truth involve conduct, speech, and relationships
as established in Christ (4:21-25).
While such conduct is quite general in character, 5:10 reminds us
that this also involves the ongoing discernment of behavior, which is pleasing
to Christ. Quite often to post-Reformation ears, behavior, which is pleasing to
Christ, smacks of works righteousness. That is not the case for this author.
Good works and Christ pleasing behavior are important aspects of living the
Christian life precisely because God prepared such good works for us to do and
because we are to emulate God and Christ as indispensable components of our
walk of life (5:1-2).[2]
Collect for Thursday of the week of
Lent 3: Father, help us to be ready to celebrate
the great paschal mystery. Make our love grow each day as we approach the feast
of ou7r salvation. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 3]
Amen-16 March 2023
[2] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-in-lent/commentary-on-ephesians-58-14-4
[3] Collect for Thursday of the week of Lent 3, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. III © 1005 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau. Delhi, NY
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