Taking encouragement from yesterday's post, I want to remind everyone that all the books of the Bible were written in a particular historical context with a specific purpose in mind (e.g. to explain the history of Israel; to rebuke the sins of clergy; to correct misunderstandings of the person of Christ, etc.). Thus, we can say that something happened in the church of Ephesus in the first century that caused St. Paul to write the letter to the Ephesians, it did not fall out of the sky into their laps (and the same holds true for every book of the Bible). Those people were the original recipients of the books of the Bible, not us; they had a context. The Church throughout the whole world is in a bad state today. Yes, Christ will win in the end and He will protect His Church in the meantime (though we may have to suffer in the process), but that does not excuse our sins. Clergy tell people it is ok to sin; Bishops spout heretical statements; laity let their children be catechized more by the world than by the Church; the list could go on and on. Suffice it to say with our lousy track record over the last half century, if St. Paul were alive on earth today, we would be getting a letter. And, I think he would be upset.