We Have Been Made Worthy
Fifteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time
July 11, 2021
In the second reading for this Sunday, from Ephesians 1:3-14, Catholics are told that they have been chosen from all eternity to be daughters and sons of God. However, the translation in the lectionary is so confusing that the message hardly comes through. This fundamental and foundational revelation is more clearly expressed in the translation in the New American Bible. Let us listen to the word of the Lord.
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens! God chose us in him before the world began, to be holy and blameless in his sight, to be full of love; he likewise predestined us through Christ Jesus to be his adopted sons- such was his will and pleasure – that all might praise the glorious favor he has bestowed on us in his beloved.
It is in Christ and through his blood that we have been redeemed and our sins forgiven, so immeasurably generous is God’s favor to us. God has given us the wisdom to understand fully the mystery, the plan he was pleased to decree in Christ, to be carried out in the fullness of time: namely, to bring all things in the heavens and on earth into one under Christ’s headship.
In him we were chosen; for in the decree of God, who administers everything according to his will and counsel, we were predestined to praise his glory by being the first to hope in Christ. In him you too were chosen; when you heard the glad tidings of salvation, the word of truth, and believed in it, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit who had been promised. He is the pledge of our inheritance, the first payment against the full redemption of a people God has made his own, to praise his glory. (Ephesians 1: 3-14)
COMMENTARY:
The letter to the Ephesians begins with a hymn praising God for revealing God’s plan of salvation. The hymn has a strong baptismal character in its reference to sonship, forgiveness of sins, incorporation into Christ, and the seal of the spirit.
Out of love God initiates the revelation of his plan that the heavenly mysteries are now to be made present in this world. We have been made adopted sons and daughters of God with every spiritual blessing being bestowed on us. We are told that this is not just an afterthought, that we have been chosen before the world began, from all eternity. This has always been God’s plan. We were created to be daughters and sons of God. As Christians, our selection as sons and daughters of God is more fully revealed in Jesus Christ when God sends his only begotten son into the world as a human being for our redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Our personal initiation into God’s plan of salvation in Jesus Christ comes through our baptism when we were joined with Christ and the Christian community as sons and daughters of God. At baptism our adoption as daughters and sons of God has been sealed in the Holy Spirit. This selection is permanent, an irrevocable offer of God’s love. It cannot be taken away, not even by sin. We are marked as chosen sons and daughters of God with an indelible character, which we receive at baptism.
By choosing us from all eternity, by creating us to share his love, by revealing to us God’s plan, by sending his only begotten son to become human, to suffer, die, and rise from the dead, God has made us worthy. This is our destiny. We live out our destiny when we participate in the Eucharist and receive communion. As sons and daughters of God in Jesus Christ, it is our destiny to celebrate the Eucharist. Our worthiness is not something that comes from us or that we merit. Nonetheless, we have been made worthy through our adoption as daughters and sons of God.
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens! God chose us in him before the world began, to be holy and blameless in his sight, to be full of love; he likewise predestined us through Christ Jesus to be his adopted sons- such was his will and pleasure – that all might praise the glorious favor he has bestowed on us in his beloved.
It is in Christ and through his blood that we have been redeemed and our sins forgiven, so immeasurably generous is God’s favor to us. God has given us the wisdom to understand fully the mystery, the plan he was pleased to decree in Christ, to be carried out in the fullness of time: namely, to bring all things in the heavens and on earth into one under Christ’s headship.
In him we were chosen; for in the decree of God, who administers everything according to his will and counsel, we were predestined to praise his glory by being the first to hope in Christ. In him you too were chosen; when you heard the glad tidings of salvation, the word of truth, and believed in it, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit who had been promised. He is the pledge of our inheritance, the first payment against the full redemption of a people God has made his own, to praise his glory. (Ephesians 1: 3-14)
COMMENTARY:
The letter to the Ephesians begins with a hymn praising God for revealing God’s plan of salvation. The hymn has a strong baptismal character in its reference to sonship, forgiveness of sins, incorporation into Christ, and the seal of the spirit.
Out of love God initiates the revelation of his plan that the heavenly mysteries are now to be made present in this world. We have been made adopted sons and daughters of God with every spiritual blessing being bestowed on us. We are told that this is not just an afterthought, that we have been chosen before the world began, from all eternity. This has always been God’s plan. We were created to be daughters and sons of God. As Christians, our selection as sons and daughters of God is more fully revealed in Jesus Christ when God sends his only begotten son into the world as a human being for our redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Our personal initiation into God’s plan of salvation in Jesus Christ comes through our baptism when we were joined with Christ and the Christian community as sons and daughters of God. At baptism our adoption as daughters and sons of God has been sealed in the Holy Spirit. This selection is permanent, an irrevocable offer of God’s love. It cannot be taken away, not even by sin. We are marked as chosen sons and daughters of God with an indelible character, which we receive at baptism.
By choosing us from all eternity, by creating us to share his love, by revealing to us God’s plan, by sending his only begotten son to become human, to suffer, die, and rise from the dead, God has made us worthy. This is our destiny. We live out our destiny when we participate in the Eucharist and receive communion. As sons and daughters of God in Jesus Christ, it is our destiny to celebrate the Eucharist. Our worthiness is not something that comes from us or that we merit. Nonetheless, we have been made worthy through our adoption as daughters and sons of God.