Minnesota Episcopal
Environmental Stewardship
Commission (MEESC)

Reflection on Ephesians 2: 1-10
by Nan Stokes

For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (v. 10)

The Fourth Sunday in Lent is our recess in the practices of Lenten observance, and is called "Refreshment Sunday" for that reason, and also because of the feeding of the five thousand told about in the Gospel of John this day. We can imagine the scene as the crowds were gathering everywhere for Passover. People were dusty and tired from walking and happy to be refreshed as they all sat on the grass in that place and were fed. That spot near the Sea of Galilee is sunny but cool as the breeze blows across the fields in its own refreshing breath. Many events are being remembered and thought about in the lessons for today: The return of the Jewish nation to their land and to Jerusalem after the exile as told to us in the Old Testament reading from 2 Chronicles; the fervent prayer for the peace of Jerusalem in Psalm 122; how God made us alive together with Christ as told by Paul to the Ephesians; and the reaffirmation of our belief that God created the world and us for good works to be our way of life. We are what he has made us.

Nan Stokes (1929-2010), a former co-chair of MEESC (2002-2006), was an active member of St. Edward the Confessor Episcopal Church, Duluth, MN, when she originally wrote this reflection in 1997. We welcome your comments. Please address your comments or additional reflections to our WebVerger or any MEESC member, or mail them to: