Today is the commemoration of Jesus going to prepare a place for us, of Jesus leaving his disciples to be with God, to be in a better place to set us and our affairs of redemption and salvation right . It is also on a special milestone for me, so Paul’s prayers of Ephesians 1:15-23 is fitting for reflection.
The letter begins with praise and thanksgiving to God. It celebrates the spiritual “blessings” available to us as believers in Jesus. It reminds us that:
1 God acts through Jesus,
2 It is Jesus who reconciles us to God
3 We belong to him , and salvation is at work, so we wait as the rest of His plan unfolds through our faith and love of God and neighbour.

A part of it says “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.”

The prayer reminds the Ephesians and us that our identity is in Jesus and all have been called into a life of faith. The wisdom and revelation deepens as we come to know Jesus, and understand God and how we should relate to him. This relationship comes from being constantly reconciled to Jesus and therefore to one another. Our hearts may then see the hope of what what we believe is God’s plan for us. And God has a plan for each of us. I for one am able to see it from time to time. Not necessarily as in what is going to happen, but definitely in how God has orchestrated the different things I have done which not only makes me a better person, about allows me impact others. I can see how God has provided persons in my life that I can call on for information and help as I need it. I see that God has given me connections and lifelong friends that can provide support. I see how God has prepared me and is still preparing me for every step of this earthly journey.

I invite you to reflect also so you too can see the revelation of the goodness that God has provided for you – the wisdom God gives, and the enlightenment one feels.

As in all of Paul’s letter he remembers his various congregations in prayer and in thankfulness for their continued faith and love. Paul undergirds them with his prayer and we too must constantly undergird each other in prayer. Paul hears about their faith, which means it is seen by others. It is active. It is not kept to themselves. He also hears of their love for others which again would be seen and active. The implication here is that transformation is taking place. And so Paul prays for continued wisdom from God to walk in the way they have started; That they will continue to allow God to work through them for the good of their community, so that the community will know God’s wisdom, riches, hope, and power; that this will be seen in and through their relationship with others; as they express God’s justice loving-kindness mercy compassion and walk humbly before God praying this same prayer for others.
Today on my birthday, and the Feast of Ascension, I in particular and we in general are reminded that our task is to walk in their footsteps. We too must hear the faith and love of others, we must show our faith and love so others can hear it and come to know the same faith and love too. We must continue living in thankfulness. We must continue to seek God’s wisdom as we come to know him more and more, as we are constantly being brought back to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord and he is in charge. Let us acknowledge that God guides and we just need to put our hands in his, our faith in him and allow God to lead.

I pray for myself and for all of you as Paul prayed for the Ephesians
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation as we come to know him, so that, with the eyes of our heart enlightened, we may know what is the hope to which he has called us, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. May we understand that God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. That God has put all things under Jesus making him the head of his body the church, the fullness of him who fills all in all. May we seek to understand how to live this more and more. Amen.