A couple of questions about the Ephesians reading in Sunday’s Lectionary. Here is the last art of the passage…
“1:20 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
1:21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.
1:22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church,
1:23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
It is a great encouragement to read this stuff when you start believing (however mistakenly) that the world’s gone mad. But I have a couple of problems, both to do with the fact that Christ is in the hands of people who are all too human. Christ “is far above all rule and authority and dominion”, and I’m reminded of the passionate demands of Trump’s chaplain that the forces of evil (i.e. the Democrats) be overcome. Surely this is to be prayed for earnestly if Christ is above all authority? And if Christ is above all authority, you don’t have to play fair – you can lie and cheat and break the law and filibuster all you like because you are serving a greater power? Not true. Because however much you name Christ, it’s not necessarily true that you’re serving him. At the very least, you have to know and keep his teaching. The more your vanity is engaged with the project, the less likely it is that you’re serving a greater power.
Secondly, the church “is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” That’s all very well – and the community of Christians is the best thing we’ve got as a witness to the love and forgiveness and honesty of Jesus. But the reality of the church – this rag-tag band of saints, child-abusers, hypocrites, fence-sitters, narcissists and down-to-earth daily servants of Jesus – is that we’re not always very good at being the body of Christ. It’s not just the institutional church – it’s people, and even Christians are sometimes utter bastards.
I do see the possibility of change – after all, we are the body of Christ.
May God protect everyone from the wrong that church people do.
May God forgive us, and help us all to begin again.