Reading from Ephesians, 5:1-20
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3 But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. 4Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. 5Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be associated with them. 8For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light — 9for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.
10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 11Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; 13but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, 16making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, 19as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Meditation
“The wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient.” How harsh this sounds to contemporary ears! How unforgiving it seems to “have no part in the works of darkness.” Here we come to the heart of the great either/or in the gospel, named by C. S. Lewis in his titular phrase “the great divorce.” To be imitators of God, living in love as Christ has loved us, is to be children of light. The old self was darkness, while the new self is light. In order to be in the light, we can’t be in the darkness. These are mutually exclusive. “Inclusivity” as a vague, general value has no place here, for the hope of all people is nothing else but that light.
The gospel then is wonderfully paradoxical. On the one hand, it will ultimately exclude all who want to remain in darkness. But on the other, it offers participation in the light to every person, its invitation universally inclusive, and its promised life as children of light radically egalitarian. The gospel is simultaneously the most exclusive and the most inclusive proclamation in the human world.
So we must be careful how we live; fornicators and the greedy — those who grab, claim, or steal as theirs what is not — have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ. St. Paul doesn’t say this in order to condemn, but to instruct. The whole purpose as children of light is to receive that inheritance, an inheritance so rich in what is right, good, and true, that we have no more need to steal, hoard, or keep things in the dark in order to satisfy our needs and desires. How foolish it would be to squander such riches! Let us love that inheritance, for its infinite value is worth every smaller sacrifice of what our “old self” thinks we need to retain.
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