Ephesians 5 : 21-33 (NRSV)
Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Saviour. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendour, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind - yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.
Daily Byte
It is sad to see how this passage has been used to justify the oppression and abuse of women. When we make this passage all about women ‘submitting’ and men being ‘the head’ we have completely missed Paul’s point. What Paul is really saying is that, in a society in which women counted for less than men, love would call Christ-following men to treat their wives differently - laying down their lives, sacrificing their own needs and desires, their ‘leadership’, in order to service and love as Christ did. When men, and women, love one another as Christ loved us, the world sees the Gospel in action, and they are drawn to its saving power. What a pity that we’ve allowed our brokenness to turn this passage into the reflection of the oppressive systems in the world! But, here’s the mystery: when two people love each other sacrificially, their union reflects the intimacy that God’s worshipping people enjoy with God.
In what ways have human relationships hindered you from receiving God’s love? In what ways have they helped? How do you feel about the idea that human sexuality is a metaphor for worship? In what ways can you allow your worship to become more passionate, more ‘erotic’, in the sense that you totally give yourself over to God? Try to hold this idea in mind when you worship alone or in community today.
Pray As You Go
It feels strange to think of you as a Lover, God;
to come to you with the vulnerability of intimacy.
Sexuality has been so devalued in our world,
reduced to bodies and acts,
stripped of meaning and connection,
so it seems wrong to think of your love in those terms.
But, when we think of you coming to us,
like a long-married couple:
familiar and committed,
one in every way,
then it begins to make sense,
and we hear your message.
You love us with passion and longing,
even as we long for you,
and want to lose ourselves in you;
and , as a good marriage brings life and love to others,
so you want our love to make the world
a more loving place for all.
Amen.
Today’s devotion is taken from Rev John van de Laar’s outstanding book ‘The Hour That Changes Everything: How worship forms us into the people God wants us to be.’ Used with permission
To order copies of this book and for other superb worship resources visit http://www.sacredise.com
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