Once Ruled By Our Passions, Now Freed By Grace

On this Friday in the season of Easter, we hear from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: 

You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.  (Eph. 2:1-10).

We all know people who may have been, or who are today, slaves to their passions.  For some, it may be the bottle.  For others, it could be gambling away the family’s daily bread.  There are some who just cannot be faithful; they are “men about town.” It was the same in Paul’s day.  We are all sinners.  We have all fallen.  But the good news, Paul tells us, is that God, in his rich mercy and out of love, has taken us with our failings, with our sinfulness, as we are, and by grace, has saved us through his son, Jesus.  God has taken us in our brokenness and elevated us to be in God’s space as his sons and daughters.  Jesus has freed us from everything which binds us and robs us of our humanity.  God has changed us and transformed our lives and has shown us the way of life.

Let us pray:  O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

We will honor our graduates this Sunday, 20 May, at the Eucharist.

Sunday, 27 May, is Pentecost. Please remember to wear something red that day as we celebrate the birth of the Church.

11th ANNUAL GOSPELBY THE SEA, Saturday, 9 June at 6 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church on 1903 Church Street.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially, Marty Carson, Patricia, Robert, all of those who are suffering from ailments of the throat or esophagus, those seeking employment, and all of those who have no one to pray for them.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550