I wonder what you would say are the most important features of a flourishing church? Lots of different words might come to mind: welcoming, focused on Christ, loving, prayerful, sharing in fellowship, outward looking, serving. There may be many more qualities or activities you would want to highlight as essential for a flourishing church. In our reading from Paul's letter to the Ephesians this morning, three features of the church are most emphasized: unity, diversity, and maturity. Paul urges the Christians at Ephesus, that, as the body of Christ, they are to be united in Christ, to contribute their diverse gifts for the common good, and to grow in maturity.
First, they are to be united. In fact, they are already one in Christ, but they are to live up to who they are. 'There is one body and one Spirit...one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.' Our unity as Christians is based on the unity of God. We are members of the one body of Christ, because we all confess Christ as Lord, we are baptized into the same faith, we are united in the one Spirit, and we worship the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The basis of our unity isn't our education, our common politics, interests, or social activities; the basis of our unity is in God. We are united in Christ, one in the Spirit, and children of the same heavenly Father.
That's simple then, we might think. But the challenge is living up to who we are. The deep theological truth might be that there is only one church and we are all united in Christ, but when we look at the reality of church life we see something different. Christians have often been divided from each other, sometimes in very bitter and violent ways. Paul, while emphasizing the truth that we are one because we are all drawn together in the one God, nevertheless recognizes the daily reality that there can be tensions, divisions and struggles within Christian communities. So he urges the Christians at Ephesus to 'live a life worthy of the calling you have received with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.' Living out the unity which the Spirit gives us demands effort. It also demands humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance and love. We may be all too aware of the opposite dynamic, that when we seek to promote ourselves at the expense of others, when we are impatient, irritable or harsh with one another, then splits and divisions are likely to grow. So let us pray for the grace we need and make an effort to keep the unity we have in Christ through the Spirit.
After he has addressed the Ephesians as a community, Paul moves his attention to each individual member. Unity is essential for the church, but so is diversity. The church is not to be marked by a lifeless or colourless uniformity; rather we are all called to grow in the image of Christ in our own particular way. The church is to be a united, yet richly diverse community. Here at St Ursula's we are not simply a group of like-minded people who share the same interests; we are not an English-speaking club. We belong to one another because we belong to Christ and are united in him, but we are also a diverse community; we come from different nationalities, cultures and backgrounds, we have different personalities and temperaments, and we also have different gifts.
Paul reminds the Ephesians that each one of them has received a particular gift to build up the body. The ascended Christ gave gifts that some would be apostles, some prophets and evangelists, some pastors and teachers 'to equip the saints for the work of ministry'. The gifts mentioned here are not the only gifts the church needs. In the New Testament there are several lists of gifts and at least 20 different gifts are mentioned altogether. These gifts are very varied, from teaching to encouragement, from evangelism to administration. The important thing is that all gifts are used for the common good. The church does not only need pastors, teachers and evangelists. Every member of the church is called to use their gifts and all the saints (that is all of us) are to be equipped for the work of ministry.
The work of ministry is not just the job of the Vicar, or Chaplain or Pastor, but every member of the church is involved in ministry in different ways, using the gifts they have been given for the good of all. One commentator writing on this passage in Ephesians points out that the biblical image of the church is that of a body in which every member plays its part. The church is not like a pyramid with all the power and authority in the hands of the vicar; neither is it like a bus in which the pastor is the driver and everyone else is simply a passenger. A recent article in the Church Times stressed that the church should have no passengers, but that we are all disciples. This has caused a lot of controversy. Several people have pointed out that there may>7i> be times when we do need to be a passenger for a while; that is, in a time of stress or pain, we may need to be carried by the faith and love of others. But generally speaking we are all called to active involvement, offering our gifts for the building up of the church.
But using our gifts is not the same thing as being hectically busy. I know that some people can become exhausted by taking on too many jobs at church; others can feel they have nothing to offer because they can't 'do' lots of things any more. But offering our gifts is more than being busy doing certain jobs or activities in the church. It includes giving our encouragement and our prayer. Those who are older, and often wiser in life and faith, may be particularly equipped to offer these gifts which are essential in building up the body.
Each of us is a part of the body and each of us has a part to play, not only through what we do but through who we are. We are reminded of this in the Everyday Faith process we are following in our Diocese. We are encouraged both to live out our Christian faith in our daily lives and to contribute our gifts to the life of the church.
As we make an effort to keep the unity of the Spirit, and as we offer our diverse gifts, then the church will grow in maturity. This is the third feature of the church which Paul emphasizes in this passage. The church as a body is to grow and mature; though of course this communal maturity depends on the maturity of each individual member. We all need to grow in both faith and faithfulness, to grow in knowledge of the Son of God, so that we become more and more like him.
We need to grow up; no longer to be like children who are 'tossed to and fro' by different doctrines and opinions. In many places in the New Testament we are encouraged to be like children: yes, we are to be childlike in trust, but not childish in instability. We all need to grow in understanding of the faith, in prayerfulness, in desire to follow Christ in our daily lives. This takes time and commitment and support from one another. One of the purposes of our Bible study sessions is to grow in maturity as we discuss scripture passages and share together the encouragements and challenges of living out what we believe.
Maturity is not simply about knowing more about our faith, or knowing more of the Bible, with our minds; our knowledge of the Son of God is a knowledge which is to impact our whole selves. It is about being 'rooted and grounded in love', and knowing 'the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, so that [we] may be filled with all the fulness of God.' (Ephesians 3: 17, 19). The maturity that comes from this knowledge will involve both 'truth' and 'love'. As we heard earlier: 'Speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ...' The Greek doesn't actually say 'speaking the truth in love' but simply 'truthing in love.' More than speaking may be in mind here: all that we say, do and are needs to combine both 'truth' and 'love'. If we want to mature as individuals and as a church we must learn how to hold truth and love together, how to embody both truth and love in our lives.
Some of us may be zealous for the truth, but commend that truth with little love; others of us may be so keen to maintain loving relationships that we are prepared to compromise with the truth. But as one commentator points out: 'truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love; love becomes soft if it is not strengthened by truth.' We need to remember that all we say, do and are, both as individuals and as a church, needs to honour Christ, the Son of God who is 'full of grace and truth' (John 1:14).
Unity, diversity and maturity.
As we think about our own church of St Ursula's, let us pray that we will make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit, use our many diverse gifts to build up the church, and grow in maturity, seeking to express in our own lives and in the life of our church the grace and truth of Christ.
Helen Marshall