The words that were just read are stunning words.
They were written by Paul to the church in Ephesus,
a church established over a three year period on his many missionary journeys.
Ephesus was the commercial, political and religious centre of western Asia.
And the church there became the strongest Christian church of the 1st century.

Paul wrote to them while he was in Rome.
He wasn’t there as a tourist.
Not even an accidental tourist.
He was there as a prisoner.
He had been arrested in Jerusalem and was held there for two years,
charged with disturbance and profanation of the temple.
But before he was to be transferred for trial before the Council in Jerusalem,
because he was a Roman citizen, he appealed to Rome, to the Emperor.
His appeal trumped the local authority
and he was sent by ship to face the charges in Rome.

Upon his arrival, Paul was allowed to rent a house and receive guests,
though he was constantly guarded for two years under house arrest.
Paul was a prisoner because of his beliefs and teachings about Jesus.

And it was there, as a prisoner, that Paul wrote many of his letters
which are now a party of our scriptures.
But even there, under those circumstances, he was able to write:

“ … I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Even there, Paul was able to write:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

It was while he was there that he wrote his friends in Ephesus.
And that is why the words are so stunning. 
Even there, the prisoner writes:

“For this reason I kneel before the Father,
from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
I pray that out of God’s glorious riches
you may be strengthened with power through God’s Spirit in your inner being,
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
may have power, together with all the saints,
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—
that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Even there,
        the width and length and height and depth of Christ’s love for him
                kept him.

Even there,
        the width and length and height and depth of Christ’s love for him
                filled him with a thankful heart.

Even there,
        the width and length and height and depth of Christ’s love for him
                                      caused him to rejoice.

Even there,
        it was the love of Christ he experienced
                that filled him with such faith that nothing could quench it.
Paul didn’t just possess a faith.  Paul’s faith possessed him.

Paul’s words are good words for us to think about today
        as we celebrate, in this place, the 173 years
                that this life-giving and life-changing love of Christ has been proclaimed.
                        That’s the good news.

What was so impressive about Jesus, for Paul,
and what should be so impressive about Jesus, for us,
is that Jesus was God
speaking in a language we can understand
and acting in ways that heal and help and save us.
                           Jesus was God among us.
                                   That’s the good news.

And for Paul, the truth of the message is that
        the story of Jesus doesn’t end with Jesus.
                It continues in the lives of those who believe in him.
                        That’s the good news.

And so, on this day, it is this unending love of Jesus  ~
        the width and length and height and depth of it  ~
                that I want to speak of.

On this day, it is this unending love of Jesus  ~
        the width and length and height and depth of it  ~
                that is the best good news the church has to share.

And it’s good news to hear
because there’s bad news out there, just as there was bad news in Paul’s day.
It’s the bad news of our daily living  ~
the tough, difficult, defeating, wounding stuff of life.

In the song “Fix You” by the English band Coldplay,
        we hear these words
                and we know the experience …

When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

We know the experience.
And we could add our own words to that song:
                the broken-heart parts
                        the life’s unfair parts
                                the I’m at my wits end parts
                                        All of the bad news parts.

But in the refrain of the song ”Fix You” we hear the words,
and they are the words and experience of those
who have opened their hearts to the love of Christ …

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

What that says to me is that the God who is with us in Jesus
        will be the light that guides us …
                will be the fire that burns inside us …
                        will try to fix us.
                                Not the problem.
                                        Not the struggle.
                                                But us.
                                                        For it is Jesus who says,
                                                                “I am with you always,
                                                      to the very end of the age.”

Even there, in those places, it is this unending love of Jesus  ~
        the width and length and height and depth of it  ~
that continues to the heal and help and save us.
                        That’s the good news answer to the bad news.

In another song, “In My Place,” also by the band Coldplay,
we hear these words
and we know the experience …

In my place, in my place
Were lines that I couldn't change
I was lost, oh yeah

I was lost, I was lost
Crossed lines I shouldn't have crossed
I was lost, oh yeah

Yeah, how long must you wait for it?
Yeah, how long must you pay for it?
Yeah, how long must you wait for it?
Oh for it?

We know the experience.
        We’ve all crossed lines we shouldn’t have crossed.
                In our place there are lines we cannot change.
                        And we wait for it.  Forgiveness.
                                We pay for it.  The lines crossed.
                                        In the language of scripture,
we all know the mess and misery of sin.
That’s the bad news.

And good news is what we need.
What we need is a song, singing out to us,
that we are forgiven.
             
And even there, in that place, it is this unending love of Jesus  ~
        the width and length and height and depth of it  ~
that sings its song:
a song of forgiveness …
  a song of second chances and new beginnings …
          a song of hope.
                                                That’s the good news answer to the bad news.

It’s one of my favourite stories,
this story of a minister who one Sunday morning went to the pulpit
                and as he looked out over his congregation
                        he was surprised to see a particular man sitting there  ~
                                the kind of man he never expected to see in church
                                He was a high roller in the city.
                        A man of influence and power.
                An avowed atheist who never hesitated saying so.
        And here he was that Sunday morning,
and the next … and the next.

And the minister sat in his study each week
        preparing his Sunday message
                with this particular man in mind
        because he felt that if somehow he could persuade him
the man could be a great power for Christ in the community.

And sure enough, one Sunday morning,
        after his message was finished and an altar call had been given,
                the man lifted himself from his pew
                        and walked down the center aisle
                                and committed his life to Jesus Christ.

A few days later, the minister visited the man
and their conversation became friendly and relaxed.
And the minister got up the courage to ask the question:
“Which one of my messages was it?” he asked.
“What idea was the turning point for you
that started you in the other direction?
If you can answer that
it might help me to help a lot of others.”

The man said to the minister,
“Sir, I have appreciated your messages
and I wouldn’t hurt your feelings for anything,
but it was none of your sermons,
it was nothing you said.

“It is that fact that for over forty years
        I have lived with one of the kindest,
                most loving individuals God ever made,
                        and for nearly as that long a woman just like her.
                                I want to be able to love like my wife and my daughter love.

                                I want to know the forgiveness and hope
                        that my wife and daughter know.
                I want to experience the peace
        that my wife and daughter experience.
I want a God in my life like the one my wife and daughter worship.”

For that man, in his place,
it was this unending love of Jesus  ~
                the width and length and height and depth of it  ~
that he longed for.

At the beginning of today’s service,
        as we stood together after our first hymn,
                we read together an Affirmation of Faith.
                        We proclaimed its words as people
who have experienced the worst of life,
                                        who have known sorrow and struggle,
                                                who have crossed lines we couldn’t change,
                                                        who have at times be lost in bewilderment,
                                                                who have ached for a song of hope sung for us.
                                                                        We proclaimed these words:

In a world that struggles to believe,
we boldly profess our faith in God through Jesus Christ.
In a world that hopes for the best,
we believe that Jesus Christ offers the world its best hope.
In a world where many feel unloved and unwanted,
we proclaim God’s love in Jesus Christ.
Because of Him, we believe that life is worth the living
and that everyone is worth something in the living of it.

In a world where many have lost their way,
and where life’s meaning is hard to find,
we believe that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
In Him, the way to the truest kind of living can be found.
The world has a great need for Christ;
we proclaim that it has a great Christ for its need.
He is, for everyone and for always,
the Son of God … the Saviour of the world.
Thanks be to God for this inexpressible gift. 

That’s the good news today:
this unending love of Jesus  ~
                the breadth and length and depth and height
                        of this inexpressible gift
that makes all of the difference in the world.

And because of it, we can affirm with Paul:
“Now to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to God’s power that is at work within us,
to God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Thanks be to God.

 

SOLI  DEO  GLORIA

 

 

SCRIPTURE

Ephesians 3:14-21 (New International Version)

A Prayer for the Ephesians

 14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of God’s glorious riches  you may be strengthened with power through God’s Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
 20Now to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to God’s power that is at work within us, 21to God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.