It may have been listening to a podcast that put me into the right state of mind. The podcast was from Lead Time (Tim Ahlman and Jack Kalleberg), dated October 29, 2024. Its topic was “Navigating Ethical Challenges: LCMS in a Politically Charged World with Rev. Dr. Joel Biermann.” The Rev. Dr. has been an LCMS pastor since 1985 and a professor at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis since 2002. The podcast, which I recommend you check out, wanders into many topics.
About midway through the podcast I pulled into STL’s parking lot and joined the other guys who gather there every Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. to discuss God’s Word (men, I recommend you check this out, too – fresh coffee, an hour of lively conversation, and great Gospel insights. It definitely is worth my 20-minute drive.) I listened to the final minutes afterwards while driving to the dry cleaners.
On Wednesday we are currently reading through the book of Ephesians. This week we read Ephesians 3.1-3: “For this reason I, Paul,. A prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles – assuming that you have heard of the stewardship (administration, dispensation) of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.”
What struck me in this passage is how Paul, while clearly talking about himself as he tells his “God story”, is at the same time saying, “It’s not about me. It’s all about Christ Jesus.” He says, “I, a prisoner of Christ Jesus,” “God’s grace that was given to me,” and “made known to me by revelation.” And, while recounting all that he has received, he recognizes its dual purpose. The first purpose – that Paul would be blessed “in Christ with every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1.3) – is clearly described in Ephesians 1. And the second one, equally important in his life, he describes as “the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you.” (Ephesians 3.2) As he had freely received God’s grace in Christ Jesus, so he was called to share that same grace with all who needed it.
As this sunk in, I realized that Paul’s story is really no different that ours. Everything he says about himself in these three verses you can say about yourself (and I can say about myself). We may not be in literal “house arrest” as we think Paul was as he wrote this epistle, but we certainly are servants/slaves (prisoners) of Christ. His grace was given to us through the mystery of the Gospel being revealed to us (read Romans 10.17). And the stewardship (administration, dispensation) of this Gospel has certainly been entrusted to us all (you’re likely acquainted with Matthew 28.18-20).
Now, we generally think of Paul as being a zealot both before and after his conversion, but as a post-conversion zealot I do not picture him as the type who stands in the streets of Greektown with a sign saying, “Repent or go to hell!” Yes, he was hated and persecuted by many. But his message was received with joy by more whose lives were transformed by his winsome sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
It’s not about Halloween that I am writing to you today (not that I’m against it). It’s not about All Saints (though maybe it is). “It’s not about me” (please say that with me) … though, in a way it is about us. IT’S ABOUT JESUS … his grace given to us … and his calling us to be good stewards (It’s not about hoarding) of that grace. It’s what “all of us saints” – like Paul – are all about as we await our Lord’s return.
It’s NOT about …