The city of Rome is an amazing place to visit.  I have not been there myself, but I have heard much about the museums, the ruins, the fountains, the paintings, the statues, the architecture and of course, the wonders of the Vatican.

But there is another spot in Rome, just a mile or two away from the Vatican and its splendor that is not as beautiful, but just as intriguing.  To reach it you walk down a narrow side street to an aged building with a small sign hanging at the entrance.  This little building is thought to be the prison where the apostle Paul was held in the days before he was beheaded.  If you go inside, you will be led through narrow, low ceiling-ed hallways and finally to a small cell.  I am told that not everyone can even get into the cell because the opening is so small.  If you can get through the entrance, you will find that it is dark and damp and even in summer it is cold.  There is a small opening in the ceiling in which some sunlight can enter the cell. 

I wonder what the walls would say if they could talk.  I wonder what it must have been like to be Paul – to spend your final days in a place like this - separated from everyone who is important to you - and facing certain death.

If you were going to write a letter home, what would you say?  Would you ask them to send blankets and food? get you a good lawyer? a toothbrush? a file for the bars?

Would you complain about the dreadful conditions? about your arthritis? the rats? the jailers?  would you complain to your friends that they did not visit often enough?  What would you write if you were not sure you would ever be able to write again?

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This was the situation apostle Paul found himself in when he wrote the letter to the Ephesians.  Unlike Corinthians, which was written to a specific church, commentators think that Ephesians was actually a circular letter, one written to be passed from church to church for the good of all - something for everyone to read – something important enough for every Christian to hear.  The epistle of Ephesians has been called the crown of Paul’s writings and this morning’s scripture starts at just the point where the Paul’s letter switches from matters of doctrine to matters of practical ethics.

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He begins by saying “I therefore, a prisoner of the Lord” - not a prisoner of Rome (although indeed he was), not subject to earthly powers but subject even now only to heavenly powers. I therefore, a prisoner of the Lord – BEG you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.  This is serious stuff, something Paul wants to make sure we don’t forget.

            Now, having read Paul’s introduction, we need to skip forward to the end of this morning’s scripture.  Paul’s logic always seems a bit backwards to me because Paul is the kind of guy would wake the kids up one morning and say, “Get your suitcases out.”  After the kids had done that, he would say, “Okay, now pack your bathing suit and some shorts.”  Several hours and several hundred instructions – and probably several hundred complaints later, he might say, ‘Because we’re going to Disneyland’.

            Well for me, and probably for most of us, if he would just start with, ‘We’re going to Disneyland so get ready’, we’d be a lot more eager to follow instructions.  Paul does the same things to us here and we may all be more anxious to follow his admonitions if we first know where he is going.

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(16) If we skip ahead to the end, we see that the whole reason for these verses of scripture is for all of us to become as one community of faith living as one church of God – the whole body, joined and knit together, working properly and building itself up in love.  The word all is used 6 times in this morning’s passage and the word one is used 7 times and the word love – the goal of our maturity – is used 3 times.

Can we be Christians on our own – yes and no.  Yes, just as Paul maintains his faith in prison so can we keep the faith when we are far from other believers.  No, we cannot act in love or use our gifts in a vacuum.

(13-15) If we back up three verses we see that God calls us to grow up in Christ.  That we cannot be fully one church in Christ until we are mature in our faith – until we are all grown up: sure of our faith and our doctrine and not running after every new theological fashion trend or new or following after every new religious get rich scheme.

            My son came crying to me one day when he was a young boy.  ‘Mommy,’ he said, ‘I don’t want Jesus to come back soon!’ ‘Why not?’ I asked. He replied, ‘I don’t want to be a little boy in heaven.’  He was afraid that if Jesus returned soon, while he was still a little boy, he would never have a chance to grow up.  All children want to grow up.  I rediscover this every year when my niece Katy comes to spend a week with me.  Each time she comes to visit she is a little taller, a little more mature and a little more grown up – but never is she content to stay as she is.  She looks forward to her future and being grown up.

            But children don’t grow up by accident – or in an instant – and neither do Christians. 

            (7-12) If we skip backward again, Paul tells us how it is that we grow to Christian maturity.  He writes that we do it by exercising the gifts of the Spirit – each of us exercising the Spiritual gift or gifts God has already given us – each of us becoming an integral part of the community of faith – in the local church community, in the denomination, in the church in the world.

We grow up in Christ by exercising the Spiritual gifts that God has already given us.  Just as people may have natural talents for writing or painting or leading, having such a gift is useless if it is not used.  The same is true for Spiritual gifts. 

            Paul lists some of the Spiritual gifts here, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers - but this small list of gifts is only given to train the saints of God – you and me – to do the work of God in the world - and that is our real gift.  Some may think that the gifts of pastoring and preaching are among the greatest gifts, but Paul is telling us that these are in fact the smallest ones – useful only for helping equip the faithful for the real work of bringing all the world to the unity of Christ.

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The point of Paul’s urgent request is that we hold tightly onto the unity in Christ we already have.  Paul urges us not be content to be baby Christians, people uninformed about the things of God or unfamiliar with the work, the gifts and the joys of the Spirit of God.  He doesn’t want us to be children who run after each new theology or faith healer – no Jim Jones or Branch Davidian – or even all this new age spirituality – or anything else that drives us away from Jesus Christ and creates divisions in the faith..

            Even as Paul wrote from prison during the early days of the Church, there were disagreements, factions, political parties lining up on every side to decide which particular doctrine was more correct – which interpretation of scripture more true – which teacher and even which church might have the ‘right’ message.  People were becoming prideful about their perceived levels of spirituality – and people were becoming judgmental about their neighbors.

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And in his last days, the message Paul wants most to bring is ‘Whoa – don’t tear apart what Jesus came to unite – Work hard at keeping the unity of the faith – it doesn’t happen by accident’.  None of us as individual Christians will ever become perfect while we are in this life – not even with the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit - we just don’t have it in us – but what we do have is the unity of Christ – one body of believers – one Spirit of God who lives in each of us – one hope of eternal life - one Lord, one faith and one baptism, one God whom we should all serve and worship with humility and gentleness and patience because our God is above all, through all and in all.

            A classic novel and several movies have made the story of the Three Musketeers (d'Artagnan and his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis) famous in our society.    We even have a candy bar named after them. Their famous slogan, ‘One For All and All For One’ has excited our imaginations for nearly two centuries. And how could we not be thrilled by such exploits.  Their risked their lives in the service of a great cause.  Their loyalty to each other was so fierce that each would put themselves in danger to help the other.  How wonderful it must have been to be dedicated to so noble a cause – to be surrounded by such gallant comrades – people to whom you could trust your life without thinking twice.

            But truly, aren’t we dedicated to a more noble a cause – are we not surrounded by such gallant comrades – that great cloud of witnesses we read about in Hebrews?

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            So how come we Christians can’t life like that? In this morning’s scripture, Paul is begging us to have just that kind of devotion.  The musketeers said one for all and meant that each would lay down their life for the others – we Christians have one savior who laid down his life for us – one for all and once for all.  All for One – our call is to be as loyal to each other and to the one whom we serve as those dashing musketeers.

            Since there is one God and Lord for all of God’s creation, as part of that creation we must remember that we are all for the same One who is all in all.

            Let us all agree with one another in love, each esteeming the other above ourselves, living in humility and meekness and patience- all of these fruits of the Spirit of God and all of them promised to all who believe.

As there is One for all of us, so must we be All for that One. Amen..