Ekklesia

When I began working on my Master's at New Orleans Seminary, I started with a  bang.  I had been a decent student in college and a religious studies major and that allowed me to start with some advanced placement seminars that could help me finish my degree earlier.  They were tough and they made me feel really dumb but it did take some time off getting my degree.  I also started out taking summer classes.  When you took a summer course, you took a 10 week class and did it in 2 weeks. I took Greek Ephesians.  It was horrible!  Ephesians is great but don't try to translate it and read everything there is to know about it in 2 weeks and then stand up in class and tell everyone what you learned.  Yes, that is what I tried to do.  My oral and written presentation was to be on the church in the book of Ephesians.  I went back to my room, picked out a few strong preaching points on the people of God and wrote one of the most beautiful sermons that a guy with 5 sermons under his belt, an overrated Greek education, and a bunch of naivety could write.  I stood in class and presented it (or preached it.)  When I got done, the Gk. professor asked the class if they had any questions.  Of course, they didn't.  I had answered all of them while stirring their heart at the same time. Right?  Well, the professor didn't think so.  He then said- I have a question:  how many times is ekklesia used in the book of Ephesians- (ekklesia is the Gk. word for church)?  Now, at that time, that seemed like an appropriate question considering that is what I was to write on, however, that was not that important when I was writing my sermon/paper.  I paused, gave that look of calculation (you know, jabbing the air as if I could see the original text on papyrus photographed in my head and floating in the air in front of me), and said (with all the authority of a seminary student in his first class): "It is used........a lot."
Anytime I open the book of Ephesians, I think of that story.  However, even that thought does not take away the beauty and depth of the book.  Read what I read this morning: (I pray) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ...- Eph. 1: 17-20a
Even a horrible out of the gate experience in seminary cannot steal the wonder of the message of my hope in Christ.  May the eyes of our heart be enlightened to better understand all that we have when we have Christ.  Let's live like we know and see it today.