“. . . we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ . . “ That is from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, our epistle lesson for today. Take time to read it all the way through. Now, read it again—slowly. Pause and breathe after each sentence (Paul writes in long sentences). Let the words sink into your being. This is a meaty passage. You may even want to read it a third time.

I realize reading in this way is countercultural. We tend to read to get to the end, to get it behind us, to see what the bottom line is, to determine what action is required, if we read at all. We don’t have time to read something once, much less two or three times. With the advent of text messaging, we don’t even use words to communicate anymore in our need for speed and brevity. Speedreading doesn’t work with scripture, however—not if we want it to make a difference in our lives, and Paul is definitely talking about changed lives in our lesson today.

The apostle calls us to grow up “until all of us come . . . to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” Each and all—growth happens individually and within community. Imagine for a moment what your family would look like, your church, your community, this country, the world, if we each and all were to lead the life that Paul urges: a life “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Does that sound like heaven on earth? It is what we pray for when we say, ”Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” It is what God, the “Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all,” desires for us, each and all—not just some, but all, really all.

Remember that song out of the 60’s: “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me”? That’s where it starts—with me, with you, but we can’t do it alone. Only as we allow God’s healing and life-giving presence in us to transform us from within, can we begin to “grow up in every way . . . into Christ.”