Nathan Soderblom Ephesians 3:14-21 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. This theologian and ecumenist was born in Trono Sweden on Jan 15, 1866, the son of a pietist pastor. He studied at the University of Uppsala and was ordained a priest of the Church of Sweden in 1893. He served as chaplain to the Swedish legation in Paris from 1894-1901, and while he was there studied comparative religion and received his doctorate from the Sorbonne in 1901. From 1901 to 1914 he was professor of the history of religion at Uppsala. In 1914 he was elected Archbishop of Uppsala and Primate of the Church of Sweden. Soderblom was attracted to the liturgy and the piety of the Roman Catholic Church but at the same time was influenced by liberal Protestant scholars. He sought to achieve an “evangelical catholicity” among Christian communions through practical cooperation on social issues. During WWI he intervened on behalf of war prisoners and displaced persons. This and his advocacy of peace through church unity earned him the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1930. His interest in Christian unity began during his student years and increased following a visit to America in 1890. As a result of his efforts the Universal Christian Council on life and work was formed at a meeting in Stockholm in Aug 1925. This body, together with the predominantly Anglican Conference on Faith and Order, merged in 1948 to form the World Council of Churches. As archbishop, his remarkable zeal and energy were directed largely toward counteracting the growing alienation from the church of both intellectuals and labor. Soderblom saw the value of the ancient worship of the church catholic and encouraged the liturgical movement. He also valued the work of liberal Protestant scholars and believed social action was the first step on the path toward a united Christianity. His concern was for a greater involvement in social and ethical issues as well as for a deepened devotional life. He died July 12, 1931. Here is one of his writings entitled “The Living God”: “God’s revelation is not finished – it continues. Here a most essential distinction must be made. Heaven was not shut up after the manifestation of God recorded in the Bible . We see it open over the Bible and in the Bible as nowhere else, and go to it in order to see the eternal Light shine through the grey mist of existence. God is ever revealing himself. God’s continued revelation is history. Of course, I hold that the Church is God’s work and God’s instrument. The religious value of the Church is sometimes overrated, but often also underrated. God has entrusted the Church with the divine privilege and the tremendous duty of giving to the world in word and deed and sacrament the Grace of God. Our belief in God’s continued revelation in history makes us consider, more diligently and more reverently then before, the value of men, means and institutions, which God has given to the Church in the course of history. But God’s revelation is not confined to the Church, although the Church has, in the Scripture and in its experience, the means of interpreting God’s continued revelation. The Church ought to open its eyes, more than it does, to see how God is perpetually revealing himself. The Evangelic statement that God has revealed himself once for all in the Bible is true and must be maintained in its true sense about divine action recorded in the Scriptures. But we often fail to learn the lesson of the Bible, that our God is a living, a still living God, who has not become older and less active than in earlier days.” In Paul’s letter to the Ephesian Church, he writes that every family on earth and in heaven bears the name of The Father. Paul continually lifts up love in all his letters. It is through love that we live out our faith. And for Paul, it was love for all. Paul encourages the Church by saying that they are filled with the Holy Spirit so that they can go out into the world, and accomplish things that that never imagined could even be possible. This work is the social ministry of the Church. And it is in this ministry that the faith is lived out. And Paul makes it clear that this ministry is to all people, in and out of the community. Paul wants the people to know what is the breadth and length and height and depth of love. And that is found by participating in it. In verses 3:18-19, we note that true knowledge is only to be enjoyed with all the saints, i.e., in the fellowship of the Christian society. And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. We are divided in this world. But we are united in Christ. Like Nathan Soderblom, we are called to work for Christian unity. We are called we are called together to act socially in the world. Here We Stand – We are called to work together ecumenically. We should always be trying to work with others on social issues. And so, Paul speaks the same words to us. We are called to live out the faith by ministering to everyone possible. We have the capability to accomplish things we never dreamed of. And we here know that is true. We’ve seen it. But we are being called to so much more than what we’ve seen. We have only touched the surface. First we are called to dedicate our lives to these tasks. We dedicate our lives out of love because Christ dedicated his life to us out of love. And the example the Soderblom gives us is that we need to learn to work together with many others to accomplish these tasks. He breaks to all barriers to accomplish unbelievable tasks. We have to learn to work together with ourselves, and then work together with other groups and individuals to accomplish the unbelieveable. When we start to put this all together, into one package, we can accomplish the unbelieveable. Small groups or a few people cannot get done the unlimited. It takes everyone working together. It takes all of us. Then we move out to include others, until a time when we dedicate our lives to fulfilling the love that Christ has given to us and to the world. This unity comes in our social work together. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father. We are strengthened in our inner being with power through the Holy Spirit. We have already received the riches of God’s glory, and we area called to share them with the world. Christ dwells in our hearts through faith. Living in Christ’s love, we are being rooted and grounded in love. We have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth of this love. We know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. We are filled with all the fullness of God. God’s power is at work within us to be able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine. We know this is true because we have seen it. And there is some much more out there for us to accomplish. To God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 23:39:45 +0000
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