Ephesians 4:1-16
I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love this Epistle reading today. I particularly like this part, “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ…”
We must grow up in every way into him, into Christ. This is our goal – to spiritually mature into him, into Christ. Are we aiming for this? Do our lives represent this concept?
In the early 13th century, a movement of women known as the Beguines began in the Lowlands which is now Belgium, Holland, northern France and southern Germany. They set out to live what they called the Vita Apostolica or Apostolic Life. They chose to leave their lives of privilege to live together in simplicity sharing their means with one another and serving the poor. They cared for the sick and particularly the lepers which were at an epidemic level at that time. They had no ecclesiastical authority or male oversight, and they were revered as Holy Women. Inspired by the story of Mary Magdalene who Jesus told to “Go and tell,” they wrote of their mystical experiences in common language of the land. Mystic scholar, Bernard McGinn, wrote that the Beguine mystics gave rise to the “earliest large-scale emergence of women’s voices in the history of Christian thought.”
I wrote my master’s thesis on these extraordinary women who existed for over 800 years and over a million women identified as a Beguine. At one point in the sixteen century their individual communities had up to 1500 women in residence. Imagine! What I continue to be stunned by is how few Christians know their story.
My favorite Beguine author is Hadewijch of Brabant. Her writings were discovered in a convent in the 1800’s. In one of her visions Jesus came to her and told her, “Go forth and live what I am.” I love this – live what I am - which is another way of saying we must grow up into him, as it says in today’s Epistle. What does this mean to us today? How can we grow up into Christ?
I facilitate healing circles in CMC California Men’s Colony. One of the men in my group is a former Hell’s Angel. He has a swastika tattooed on his neck. He has shared with the group that he has done a lot of really horrible and hurtful things in his life. He was born into this life of violence and crime. He told us that when he came to prison, he was participating in the gang lifestyle and was a dangerous man. For his actions he was put into solitary confinement for a few years, and that is where he began to change.
Jason is now a completely different person. He is gentle and utterly remorseful. He is filled with shame for the hurt he caused. He is trying to get this hateful tattoo removed and plans to never hurt anyone again. He shares with great vulnerability in the group which is made up of mostly men of color. Amazing grace – how sweet a sound. I asked him yesterday what his family makes of this new version of Jason. He said that his dad is still a Hells Angel but doesn’t ride as he is not well enough. But then he took a moment and then quietly told the group that his dad had just recently told him he was proud of him. I sort of gasped – what a blessing. Jason’s healing will now help transform his family.
Jason’s story gives me great hope. If this man can sit in a group of men of color and speak with such vulnerability about the past harms he did and the swamp of racism he lived in, then it seems our society can heal and move past its racism too. Of course this will entail a reckoning with the harm inflicted. But that is another sermon for another day.
We can all mature into our better selves – all the way until our last breath. We can all keep evolving into something a little closer to the full stature of Christ. Why not? What else is more important? Imagine if all Christians everywhere sought to be Christlike. What would the world look like? It would be committed to the well-being of the least. Everywhere. I imagine there would be no more starvation anywhere. Everyone everywhere would be treated with dignity and respect. Healing would be a universal right. There would be no more wars. The earth would be treated with respect. It sounds like utopia – right? Well, it would be because it would be the Kingdom of God or, if you will, the Reign of God, as I believe we would be done with Kings and Queens. Everyone would know of their inherent worth and treated with respect and kindness. We would all be the Bread of Life for each other. We would all be Christ like and seek to love God with all our heart and soul and our neighbor as ourselves.
Sister Greta
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