May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call
We are called to receive knowledge of Jesus through a spirit of wisdom and revelation. It is when we know the hope of our call, the riches of our inheritance, and the surpassing power at work within us that we become witnesses to the Son of Man, able to acknowledge him before others. The Holy Spirit is the one who leads us into all truth (see John 16:13) and who reminds us of everything Jesus taught (see John 14:26). What we see in the reading from Ephesians is that this truth is not just data that is downloaded into us. The Holy Spirit gives us faith, which is more like a new program that runs in us, making us capable of experiencing, knowing, and doing things we could never do on our own, "the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe".
or about what you are to say.
For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.
When we are grounded in the revelation of Jesus that the Holy Spirit brings to us we do not simply become people who acknowledge him with our lips but whose hearts remain far from him (see Isaiah 29:13). We become able to acknowledge him with our very lives. We see that the Holy Spirit does sometimes inspire lengthy discourses about the identity of Jesus, such as in the martyrdom of Stephen. For us too, the same Spirit sometimes gives the wisdom and knowledge to teach about Jesus in ways that transcend our own abilities. But even more beyond the message of his words, the Spirit enabled Stephen to give his life as testimony to Jesus. That above all else, was what he was taught to say. The message was one of love.
but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will not be forgiven.
The reason that the sin against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven can be interpreted in many ways, most with a sense of truth. But let us consider that if we reject the Spirit we are rejecting God's ability to reveal himself to us. We are rejecting the very way he wants to make us able to acknowledge him, to live for him, and to become loving in a way that we can only become if we have our hearts enlightened. We should pray that we remain open to the Spirit even in difficult times, "before synagogues and before rulers and authorities". It is relatively easy welcome the Spirit in times of joy and consolation. But we are called to guard against closing ourselves to him when times are more difficult. The only way to make it through such times with the victory that God desires for us is for us is to learn from the Spirit how to speak with both word and life.
in accord with the exercise of his great might,
which he worked in Christ,
raising him from the dead
and seating him at his right hand in the heavens
What is the hope of our call? Is it hard for us to see right now in the midst of pandemics and political turmoil? The Spirit wants to reveal that hope to us today. He wants to teach us about the power that can work within us and make us confident, knowing that death has already been defeated. This doesn't make us less able to respond to the needs of the world but more able. He himself teaches us what to say.
We ourselves are seated in heavenly places with Jesus (see Ephesians 2:6). The point is not simply to sit and watch the world, still less to look away, but to become witnesses to a reality that is greater than the circumstances that surround us. May the Spirit of the Father and the Son open our hearts to know the full hope of our call, the full riches we have to offer to the world, and the power that is at work in us to enable us to offer them.
on the lips of children and of babes
you have found praise to foil your enemy,
to silence the foe and the rebel.
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