Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Jesus as a fragrant offering. It reminds me of a letter to Dr. Laura that circulated on the Internet a while ago in which the writer goes through a litany of Levitical edicts which we would have to obey if we truly were to take the Bible literally. The item on the writers list that struck a cord here is item #4, When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is, my neighbours. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them? I am struck by the word odor here and in the passage from today.
I have a rather sensitive olfactory system. I can enjoy a full range of fragrances and smells. I am not sure if others are affected so but I thoroughly enjoy smells from the fresh cut field of grain or grass to the smells of a farm to the enchanting and sometimes intoxicating fragrances worn by my colleagues or at social functions. Balsam fir, a fire in a fireplace, the smell of summer sweat on the beach. If anyone could lead me astray, it quite possibly will be at the hands of a fragrance that I find alluring.
Where does that leave us with this passage? Smells can transport us to other places and times. It s the reason the some churches choose incense as part of liturgy. It can transport you, it evokes images and experiences. I can still recall a wooden box that contained my brothers bead bracelet. I opened the box to be overcome by a the smell of suntan lotion which transported me to summer. Memories flooded in and a smile came across my being.
But not all fragrances are sweet and alluring as the neighbors in the letter to Dr. Laura attests. The stench of a dump, burning flesh or a skunk is not something people are racing out to copy for a cologne.
So the writer of the passage, being fully aware of what a burning sacrificial animal does smell like, intentionally is trying to say that the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ was a fragrant offering. He is speaking of those smells that I find alluring and perhaps you do too or the fragrance business would not be so immense. From dryer sheets, to air fresheners, we love pleasant smells. It does have the power to transport us.
We should also ll be aware of the power Jesus has to transport us. His fragrant offering is one which can take us anywhere on our journey to wholeness. His message of love, forgiveness, inclusion and hope is so powerful it far exceeds any 'transporter' Star Trek can come up with. I suppose that's the idea of the incense in church, it can help us realize this and for that time, take us away to a holier perhaps a more conducive place of worship and thought.
Perhaps today I will be a bit extra attentive to the smells around me. I already have a heightened sense but today I will revel in the good and take in the bad and use it as a means of transport to a deeper level of mediation, prayer and connectedness to the world in which we live.
I have a rather sensitive olfactory system. I can enjoy a full range of fragrances and smells. I am not sure if others are affected so but I thoroughly enjoy smells from the fresh cut field of grain or grass to the smells of a farm to the enchanting and sometimes intoxicating fragrances worn by my colleagues or at social functions. Balsam fir, a fire in a fireplace, the smell of summer sweat on the beach. If anyone could lead me astray, it quite possibly will be at the hands of a fragrance that I find alluring.
Where does that leave us with this passage? Smells can transport us to other places and times. It s the reason the some churches choose incense as part of liturgy. It can transport you, it evokes images and experiences. I can still recall a wooden box that contained my brothers bead bracelet. I opened the box to be overcome by a the smell of suntan lotion which transported me to summer. Memories flooded in and a smile came across my being.
But not all fragrances are sweet and alluring as the neighbors in the letter to Dr. Laura attests. The stench of a dump, burning flesh or a skunk is not something people are racing out to copy for a cologne.
So the writer of the passage, being fully aware of what a burning sacrificial animal does smell like, intentionally is trying to say that the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ was a fragrant offering. He is speaking of those smells that I find alluring and perhaps you do too or the fragrance business would not be so immense. From dryer sheets, to air fresheners, we love pleasant smells. It does have the power to transport us.
We should also ll be aware of the power Jesus has to transport us. His fragrant offering is one which can take us anywhere on our journey to wholeness. His message of love, forgiveness, inclusion and hope is so powerful it far exceeds any 'transporter' Star Trek can come up with. I suppose that's the idea of the incense in church, it can help us realize this and for that time, take us away to a holier perhaps a more conducive place of worship and thought.
Perhaps today I will be a bit extra attentive to the smells around me. I already have a heightened sense but today I will revel in the good and take in the bad and use it as a means of transport to a deeper level of mediation, prayer and connectedness to the world in which we live.
So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
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