The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 348: Rules for the New Life (2023)

Episode Date: December 14, 2023

Fr. Mike highlights a secret to holiness visible in Paul’s ability to see his arduous trip to Rome as the will of God. He also clears up confusion in regards to Paul’s direction for wives to be subject to their husbands, again drawing our attention to our call to love and serve while being subject to each other out of reverence for Christ. Today’s readings are Acts 27, Ephesians 4-6, and Proverbs 29:22-24. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It's day 348. We're reading Acts of the Apostles, chapter 27, as well as the second half of St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, chapters 4, 5, and 6, as well as, in addition to, Proverbs

Chapter 29, verses 22 through 24. As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. And I'm warning you, unless you subscribe, I will not, I'm going to stop asking. I'm going to stop asking. I'll give you two more weeks, give or take, and then I'm done. Then I'm done asking maybe three, I don't know, maybe three weeks. That's

it. And then I'll never ask again. If you want to subscribe though, you can, and you're free to do that. You're also free not to do it because you know what? You got this far without subscribing and why give up that streak now? You know, I mean, here we are. It's day 348. We're reading Acts 27, Ephesians chapters 4, 5, and 6, and Proverbs chapter 29, verses 22 through 24. The Acts of the Apostles, chapter 27. Paul sails for Rome.

And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius. And embarking in a ship of Atrametrium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. And putting to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. And when we had sailed across the sea,

which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra and Lycia. There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Sinaitis. And as the wind did not allow us to go on, we sailed unto the lee of Crete off Salmoni. Coasting along it with difficulty,

we came to a place called Fairhavens, near which was the city of Lycia. As much time had been lost, and the voyage was already dangerous because the fast had already gone by, Paul advised them, saying, Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of cargo and the ship, but also of our lives. But the centurion paid more attention to the captain and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to put to sea from there on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix,

a harbor of Crete, looking northeast and southeast and winter there. The Storm at Sea And when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete close inshore. But soon a tempestuous wind, called the Northeaster, struck down from the land, and when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven. And running under the lee of a small island called Kauda, we managed with difficulty to secure the boat. After hoisting it up, they took measures to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they should run on the Sirtis, they lowered the gear, and so were driven. As we were violently storm-tossed, they began next day to throw the cargo overboard, and the third day they cast out

with their own hands the tackle of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many a tossed, they began next day to throw the cargo overboard, and the third day they cast out with their own hands the tackle of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many a day, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. As they had been long without food, Paul then came forward among them and said, Men, you should have listened to me, and should not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. I now bid you take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship. And he said, Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.

So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we shall have to run on some island. When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. So they sounded and found twenty fathoms. A little farther on, they sounded again and found fifteen fathoms. And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let out four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship and had lowered the boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, Unless these men

stay in the ship, you cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat and let it go. As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. Therefore, I urge you to take some food. It will give you strength, since not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you. And when he had said this, he took bread,

and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. We were in all 276 persons in the ship. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. The Shipwreck Now when it was day,, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. The Shipwreck Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach,

on which they planned, if possible, to bring the ship ashore. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders, then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. But, striking a shoal, they ran the vessel aground. The bow struck and remained immovable, and the stern was broken up by the surf. The soldier's plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their purpose. He ordered those who could swim to throw themselves overboard first and make for the land,

and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all escaped to land. The letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, chapter 4. Unity in the body of Christ. I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith,

one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it is said, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. In saying he ascended, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all things. And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith

and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love,

we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love. The old life and the new. Now this I affirm and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles walk

in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness.

You did not so learn Christ, assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus. Put off the old man that belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Rules for the new life. Therefore, putting away falsehood, let everyone speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry, but do not sin.

Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands so that he might be able to give to those in need. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger Chapter 5 Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Renounce pagan ways. But immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is fitting among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk, nor levity, which are not fitting, but instead let there be thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure man, or one who is covetous, that is, an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not associate with them. For once you were darkness, but now you are

light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. And try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret, but when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible. For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it is said, Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light. Look carefully, then, how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise,

making the most of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery. But be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. The Christian Household Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, be subject to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its savior. As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Even so, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the church. is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Chapter 6.

Children and Parents. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise, that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Slaves and masters. Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters with fear and trembling in singleness of heart as to Christ, not in the way of eye service as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with

a good will as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same again from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. Masters, do the same to them, and forbear threatening, knowing that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. The whole armor of God. Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace. Besides all these, taking the shield of faith with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit,

with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that utterance may be given me, and opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. Personal Matters and Benediction Now that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love undying. The Book of Proverbs chapter 29 verses 22 through 24. A man of wrath stirs up strife, and a man given to anger causes much transgression. A man's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor. The partner of a thief hates his own life. He hears the curse, but discloses nothing. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory.

Lord God, we thank you for the struggle. We thank you for the battle. And we thank you for the fact that you trust us enough to be part of your work and you trust us enough to make us your body on earth. My gosh, Lord God, you've made us members of your body because you trust us, not only because you love us and because you want to pour out your love upon us and give us life in you, but also because you give us a share in your mission. You make us your hands and feet in this world. And so please, Lord God, help us to never take that for granted.

Help us to always walk in you. Walk as you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We have the second to last chapter in the Acts of the Apostles today. And here's St. Paul. It is a journey and a half, right? Can you imagine, chapter 27, this journey of St. Paul

to Rome? And there's 260 plus people here on the ship with Luke. He's there because he's, remember, whenever we have the we, we know that person traveling with Paul in this case is going to be Luke because he's describing what he went through as well. But you just think about, man, not only is he on his way to Rome to be tried and hopefully to be able to share the gospel, but it's not an easy trip. And I just think about how often are you and I on a trip and we think, I mean, I've talked about this before, but we're on a trip and we think, oh man, there's all these difficulties. I should have just stayed home. You know,

like even if it's minor inconveniences, you know, a traffic jam or our plane is delayed. And that's my mind goes right there. My mind goes right to the place of, well, you know what? I shouldn't even be on this trip. I regret all these decisions. And here's St. Paul, and he doesn't give any indication. He gives give the every indication that, that he's trusting in the Lord and saying, okay, this is God's will. This is God's will for me right now. And this is the secret to holiness is to be able to lean into that and be able to say, okay, whatever's happening, this is God's will for me right now. Even if it's not good, right? Not that God wills evil, but he can oftentimes, well, all the time, he's either his perfect will that he desires us to be in a certain situation, or it is his permissive will that he allows us to be

in a certain situation. Here's St. Paul on his travels to Rome in this horrible, horrible situation. And yet he can lean into this without any kind of licking his wounds, without any kind of that sense of, you know, I'm going to have this self-pity and just going to mope around, but being able to say, okay, God, this is your will for me today. And that's, that's my prayer for all of us is that we get to say in every situation, okay, God, this is your will, your will for me right now, even when it's unpleasant for all of us. So speaking of this, man, St. Paul's conclusions to the letter to the Ephesians, we have that, that unity,

that unity in the spirit. Now, one of the big, the big themes of course, is going to be that you have to have a converted life, that here you're living in Ephesus and you cannot, you cannot live the way you used to live. So he goes on in chapter five, he's, well, actually chapter six, sorry, chapter four, I don't know how to count, count backwards. You have rules for new life. He says, put away the old man, put on the new man created after the likeness of God into righteousness and holiness. Be angry, but do not sin. It goes on to say those who used to steal. No, no. Now you're going to labor doing honest work with your hands. Those who complain and let evil talks come out of your mouths. No, no, no. Only speak what is good for edifying to

build up people around you. Those who grieve the Holy Spirit, no, no, no. Put away bitterness and wrath and anger and instead be kind to one another and put away malice and be tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. So important. Therefore be imitators of God as his beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,

a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. And he goes on to talk about all the other ways in which just you need to put off those works of the flesh, those works of this world and put on the Holy Spirit and walk in the spirit. And it's so important, so important for all of us. Now, one of the big things we need to talk about is chapter five is husbands love your wives, the wives be subject to your husbands. You know, this is actually a reading that more, more couples choose this reading as their second reading in their wedding than virtually any other second reading. Once we go through and explain

what Ephesians chapter five means, we have a thing on the theology of the body. The theology of the body was a teaching done over the course of five years or so by Pope John Paul II, in which he not only talks about the relationship between men and women, but also the relationship of the sexual act and human dignity and human nature and human love. And it's really incredible. In that teaching, we always cover Ephesians chapter five and that whole sense of wives be subject to your husbands and husbands love your wives. And when we explain it, virtually every, I don't want to exaggerate,

but virtually every bride says, that's going to be my wedding reading. They love it. Why? Because at first glance, it sounds like you have to demean yourself, right? At first glance, it sounds like, oh, I'm going to subject myself, right? So why be subject to your husbands as to the Lord? We already covered this. Remember, we covered the fact that earlier when St. Paul was writing, he made it very clear that to submit oneself was not the same thing as declaring one to be inferior to someone's superior. That's not the case here either. In fact, what's happening is we even have St. Paul writing here in Ephesians 5 saying

that here is the head, Jesus, and here's his body, the church. And so we recognize that, of course, that the church is underneath the head, is under the rule of our Lord Jesus Christ. But think about this. Is someone's body less valuable than their head? No, that's not the case. There's this weird, strange, mysterious equality between head and body and between body and head. And so here, in a similar way,

here's St. Paul who says, okay, wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord and husbands love your wives. Now, beyond that, we know this because verse 21 says, be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. So husbands and wives are basically racing to the bottom. Think about this, be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. No one gets the Lord over anyone else. That's the kind of the upshot of this whole thing. No one gets the Lord over anyone else. It's a race to the bottom. It's a race to serve. It's a race to be subject to the other. And so wives, yep, be subject to your husbands. But then also husbands, verse 25, love your wives. How? As Christ loved the church. How did Christ love the church? That he gave himself up for her. That he laid down his life for her, that he rejected what

he wanted and instead lived his life and gave his life so that she could have life. And so again, this is not about dominance. This is not about being superior. This is about the race to the bottom. So husbands love your wives. How? As Christ loved the church, which is not to say lording it over, not to say dominating any way, shape or form, not saying, well, I'm in charge.

Therefore, what I want goes not in any way, shape or form. Jesus, what did he do? He humbled himself, took the form of a slave. We're going to hear that tomorrow. He humbled himself and took the form of a slave. This is the call to all husbands. How can you, as a husband, love your wife as Christ loved the church? It is not by having her do for you whatever you want,

but by humbly submitting yourself and laying down your life so that she can have life. It's saying no to what you want so she can have what she needs. And this is the high call. And St. Paul says, I say about this in reference to Christ and the churches is the great mystery. And this is what we're called to as well. And same with children and parents and slaves and masters.

Again, we're talking about slaves and masters. Well, how come St. Paul doesn't say, just set your slaves free? Well, he's talking about okay this is again it's a whole economy in here where good masters would be essentially in this case good employers and good slaves in this case would be good simply good employees in fact saint paul makes it very very clear in verse 9 chapter 6 masters do the same to them, basically treating them well. And forbear threatening. You don't threaten them knowing that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven

and that there is no partiality with him. This is so important that, yes, equality all the way through. Complementarity, absolutely. Submission to one another, yes. Not dominance, of course not. But a race to the bottom, a race to serve, a race to love, a race to respect and honor each other because we're in a battle. And this is the reality.

We spend so much time fighting with each other. We spend so much time fighting politics. We spend so much time fighting with people who disagree with us. And St. Paul makes it absolutely clear. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness and the heavenly places. Therefore, take the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Ah, so important because that's the key. This is a really long day. I'm so sorry for that.

But here we are at the end of St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians and one day away from the end of the Acts of the Apostles. I'm praying for you today. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.