Sunday Sermon 7/15/12

The epistle today is the opening of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. It is a summary of the essence of early Christianity. It has been the subject of intense scrutiny and debate, indeed many argue that Paul expanded much of the message of Christ beginning with this letter.

One compelling aspect of the epistle is its breadth. It starts with the beginning of creation and sees the entire sweep of history in light of Christ and His message. This places man in a huge but defined context, a universe with man as an understandable part in an overall divine vision.

One may believe this or not but it must be seen as the basic question of man: What is his purpose? Where does he fit? And when one decides not to believe Paul's summary, one needs to provide an alternative. This search has been the self-appointed tasks of philosophers since. The ancient Greeks, with a real but disjointed theology, tried to create an understanding of the world on the basis of rational thought alone. The philosophers of the time tried to make sense of the world but also wanted to provide guidelines for man towards a life of contentment. Indeed, there is an argument that the rise of Christianity distorted philosophy and subjugated it to theology. Now, with the decline of Christianity, philosophy must re-shoulder the burden of explaining man and the life he should lead.

The is an undeniable malaise abroad. All peoples--except for the very religious groups--are struggling for meaning in their lives and the number grows. As an example, in Italy it is estimated that in the next thirty to forty years, sixty percent of children born will have no brothers, sisters or cousins. They will be born into a world alone. The reason? The notion is that Italy, indeed all of the West, have lost its sense of purpose and that family and children are the result of optimism that has been lost.

Paul's epistle is one of the most important statements ever written because it summarizes the Christian alternative to the ancient search of Man for Man.