| Lectionary - Proper 12 - Epistle | | Date Created: Jul 24, 2006, 08:49 AM |
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The Epistle reading for this coming Sunday is Ephesians 3:14-21.
This week's epistle passage is an amazing cross between poetry and prayer. The first couple of verses are a bit opaque for English-language readers, though: "I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name." In the Greek, "Father" and "family" have the same rootword sounds, in English they're entirely different.
To understand the effect, consider the English phrases, "He is the Gift which is the pattern for all givers" or "I kneel before the King from whom every kingdom on earth derives its identity" or "The Trinity which communes with each other and is the pattern for all communities on heaven and earth."
What Paul is saying in Ephesians is that the good we perceive in families/community groups is a mere reflection of the community-making Father-like authority-in-love of God. It's not that we see good things in the world and imagine a God who is our minor goods perfected, but rather (thus far agreeing with Plato, though disagreeing profoundly in other areas) God is the true pattern which we see dimly reflected in the best of what we experience. |
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