Listen

God has given his grace to each one of us measured out by the gift that is given by Christ. That’s why scripture says, When he climbed up to the heights, he captured prisoners, and he gave gifts to people.

What does the phrase “he climbed up” mean if it doesn’t mean that he had first gone down into the lower regions, the earth? The one who went down is the same one who climbed up above all the heavens so that he might fill everything.

Ephesians 4:7-10

Think

Christ came down to our level. The thought of Christ becoming like us can make us feel… uneasy. Christ became like us? The same “us” who wage war and devastate the planet? Why would Christ want to be anything like us? An answer can be found in our scripture reading.

Christ descended to our level through Jesus, who lived like so many people in this world. He lived in a small town and went fishing with his buddies. He attended weddings and funerals. He cried when his friends died, and he asked God why he had to suffer under an oppressive government.

This is the same Christ that “climbed up above all the heavens” and whose presence filled all things. Christ came down to us to show us a way up! Not just some of us, but ALL of us as one united body of Christ.

Jon Chacko

Pray

God, I thank you for Christ Jesus, who loved us so dearly that he lived and suffered just like each of us in order to show us unity and peace as one body. Amen.

Go

We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load.

Richard Gillard in “The Servant Song” (1977)