Sts. Simon and Jude
Eph 2: 19-22
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Citizens With the Saints
Once again Paul is talking about being chosen. If you have read that past couple of Friday reflections, you know there is a thread going through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians of being called, of being chosen.
In my reflection on this passage, I am startled by the line you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints…. I can’t help but think of today’s migrants and refugees being bussed and flown to Martha’s Vineyard, New York City, Washington, DC, and Chicago. I read that they are citizens with the saints but can’t square that with how we treat migrants and refugees as pawns in an endless and divisive discourse over how to receive these men, women and children.
Throughout Ephesians, Paul calls us to live out being chosen and called by God. So, I ask myself, are they or are they not my brothers and sisters?
—Tom Drexler is a graduate of Marquette University High School and Creighton University, and works in advancement with the Midwest Jesuits.
Prayer
Good and gracious God, you have called me, and you chose me. As I listen to your words, and spend time in conversation with you, open my heart to respond to all those around me who, like me, are called and chosen by you. May I always see you in my brothers and sisters around me. Amen.
—Jesuit Prayer team