My Spastic Mind

As I followed along with the first reading…taken from Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians…my spastic mind transported me back to grade school and diagramming sentences, a concept I’ve never really grasped.

Brothers and sisters:

I, a prisoner for the Lord,

urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,

with all humility and gentleness, with patience,

bearing with one another through love,

striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit

through the bond of peace:

one Body and one Spirit,

as you were also called to the one hope of your call;

one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

one God and Father of all,

who is over all and through all and in all.

But grace was given to each of us

according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,

others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,

to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,

for building up the Body of Christ,

until we all attain to the unity of faith

and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,

to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

Eph 4:1-7,11-13

I stared at the run-on sentences wondering how on earth they would fit onto a tree branch diagram that meandered across the black boards of the fifth grade classroom.  Perhaps the original Greek would have been easer to deal with.

Dear Lord Jesus,

At times your words seem Greek to me

But for you I will a prisoner be

Pray never from your graces flee

And with your help be true to Thee

Amen.