Ephesians 2:1–10 

Re-evaluation

From infancy we learn about sequences, processes, and the connections between actions and their consequences. As we grow, we move from understanding simple connections, such as the way a gentle touch topples a tower of building blocks, to processing more complex connections, such as the relationship between misbehavior and punishment. We learn that unhealthy habits lead to sickness, and that sickness leads to death. We learn to use caution when crossing streets and working with heavy machinery because accidents can also lead to death. Oddly enough, it can be said that life itself leads to death insofar as not a single person in history has survived old age indefinitely.

But the Lent season demands that we re-evaluate the ways in which we understand these sequences and connections that we spend our lifetimes putting together. As Paul writes in Ephesians 2: You were dead.…we were deserving of wrath, but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive again in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

From being born of a virgin to walking out of his own grave, Jesus Christ turned the rules that govern earthly life upside down and gave the world hope of unmerited salvation. Through Christ, God gives grace that covers sin and the hope of life after death, not because we deserve it, but because God’s love and mercy are bigger and stronger than the sequences that we have observed on earth. This means that, through baptism, our tower of hope will not topple! Death is not the end!

Prayer:  Merciful God, we are in awe of your mighty love and power. We ask that you soften and strengthen our hearts, so that pride cannot turn them. Truly, Lord, we need you every hour. Thank you for sending your Son to bring life from death and a way for us to receive your gift of saving grace. It is in Christ’s holy name that we pray.   Amen.