Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors"Family"
Source: Awkward Family Photos
Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these
Jesus, Mathew 19:14
By speaking directly to wives, children, slaves [in Ephesians 5 & 6, Paul is] giving them a level of status and dignity. By giving them names and their own responsibilities, he’s making a move that would stand out against the ancient culture.
Tim Mackie
Note: No Christian Formation this week!
Sunday worship at 10:15 AM (childcare thru 2nd grade available)
In-person worship and live stream
Dear Grace Family,
Awkward Family Photos is the collaborative effort of two friends who wanted to create a friendly place where people could come together and share some "not so perfect" family moments. The pictures on the website can be a welcome relief from filtered and cropped Instagram photos and carefully written Christmas letters about perfect families (and, what's even worse, perfect Christian families!).
In 1st century Ephesus, there was an abundance of popular literature on how to live "the good life". Much of this literature came in the form of household codes, which gave instruction for how a household—a fundamental social unit that consisted of biological family members plus any slaves owned by the family—should be run.
Household codes were all about keeping and maintaining order. A well-run household was what many aspired to have. I imagine if they would have had social media back then, there would have been household influencers which were there to inspire your household to greatness.
It is fascinating to see what Paul does with the household codes of his day.
On the one hand, he doesn't merely adopt them and claim that the Greco-Roman way of ordering life was the Christian way of doing life. To do this would be to take on an "assimilation" model.
At the same time, he doesn't just cast them away and try to create some kind of cultural expression of Christianity that has nothing to do with 1st century Ephesus. This would be a "fortress" approach to the Christian life.
As a wise pastor, Paul takes those household codes and turns them upside down by putting Jesus in the center of them. He wants the Ephesians to live into their cultural structures of the day—he is telling them to be "in the world" to use Jesus' words. But ,he is also subverting these structures by putting Christ at their center. Paul also wants them to not be "of the world".
This week, we continue our look at Paul's Christ-transformed household codes by considering his words to children and parents.
I hope to worship with you Sunday!
This Sunday: Ephesians 6:1-4 (NIV)
“Children & Parents"
Here is the Order of Worship.
Warmly in Christ,
John
P.S. No Christian Formation this week!