The Father offers us more happiness than we can possibly imagine though Christ our Savior
Reflections on the readings for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 15, 2018): AM 7:12-15; PS 85:9-10,11-12,13-14; EPH 1:3-14; MK 6:7-13
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
The first chapter of the letter to the people of Ephesus contains a wonderful prayer:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who…chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world.…In love He destined us for adoption to Himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of His will, for the praise of the glory of His grace that He granted us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3-6). Paul wants all followers of Jesus to realize that everything comes to us from the Father through the love and sacrifice of His Son. Moreover, he urges us to recognize that this was the plan of the Almighty even before the creation of the world.
Our Creator always wanted us to experience His own glory. Yet because He knew – and knows – everything about His universe, He foresaw the way human sin would interfere with His plans for our good. The Father knew that only Christ could redeem us, but at the cost of His life. The idea that God “destined us for adoption” through the suffering and death of His Beloved Son is almost inconceivable, except that it is the truth. God calls each of us to share everlasting life with Him. How we respond is our own decision.
Suggested missionary action: St. Paul speaks of the Father adopting us through Jesus. Let us make an effort to assist parents of adopted or foster children who may need our prayer, encouragement and practical help.