Fr. Mike
speaker
73 appearances
1 recordings
1 series
first heard Dec 2024
last heard Dec 2024
Fr. Mike’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) · Day 347: Witness to Unbelievers (2024) · 12 Dec 2024
podcast
Paul's letter to Ephesians chapter two, where again, St. Paul's summarizing this process of moving from death to life. He says in verse three, among these, we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, And so we were by nature, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Again, he says we, which means Jewish Christians, Gentile Christians.
This is where we used to live. But then he goes on to say, what happened to all of us in verse four, but God who I love this. Oh, but God. This is, if you want to just write something, put it on a throw pillow or maybe tape it up above your mirror over your sink in your bathroom, is these two words, but God, B-U-T, capital G-O-D, but God. So we were dead. We were dead in sin.
We were dead in our broken human nature. That here we are again, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 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. But grace, you have been saved and raised us up with him. He made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
that he might show us the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us. And then so good for grace. You've been saved through faith. This is not your own. This is not your own doing the gift of God. Again, grace. We've been saved through faith. And last thing I just want to, ah, gosh, again, knowing that, knowing that the point of Ephesians is here. We're united.
We're one Jewish Christians, Gentile Christians. We're all part of this one family in God that he highlights the fact of the Gentiles. So the beginning of chapter two, yep, we were all by nature, children of wrath. But then he highlights the Gentiles and he says this. Oh, it's so good. Remember, he says, remember that you were at that time before you met Jesus.
Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, right? So they weren't part of the promises of Israel. Strangers to the covenants of promise. And here's the line that Pope Benedict wrote about. He said, having no hope and without God in the world. Now think about this, having no hope and living without God in the world.
This is how so many people live right now. One of the missionary impetuses, right? Impetai? I don't know. Missionary mandates for us is that we know this. We know that all of those who don't know of Jesus Christ, who don't know who God really is, the idea of hope is just wishful thinking. The idea of hope is just optimism, but that's not what hope is. Hope is, I know I can trust in another.
It's that trust placed in another. But those who live without Jesus live without hope and they live without God in the world. Not that God doesn't love them. Not that God doesn't show himself in hidden and shadowy ways. But the depth of who God is and the breadth of who God is and the height who God is, you know, people who don't know Christ live without hope and without God in the world.
Even those who have heard about Jesus, but have never encountered Jesus live without hope and without God in the world. And this is how all of us, every single one of us, that's why Paul goes on to say, but now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ.
So we're no longer strangers and sojourners, but your fellow citizens with the saints and the members of the household of God. And this is the key, right? Is that every one of us at one point were alienated from God. At one point, every one of us did not belong to God. We belonged to the evil one. but God has rescued us.
Whether they were originally Jewish or whether originally Gentile, God has rescued us in Christ Jesus and made us one in him. So we are no longer strangers. We're no longer sojourners, but now we're brothers and sisters. We are sons and daughters of the father. And that's so incredible. I love to just end this with the last line of chapter three, where St.
Paul says, now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. I think that's a great prayer to end today. It's just a gift to be able to go through the beginning of St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians today. I'm praying for you.
Please, please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.
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