Which is better:
·
Pepsi
or Coke?
·
Chocolate
or vanilla?
·
John
Deere or Farmall?
·
Coffee
or tea?
·
University
of Montana Grizzlies or Montana State University Bobcats?
·
Men
or women?
·
Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) or United Methodists?
·
Republicans
or Democrats?
·
Montana
or Wyoming?
Differences divide. They always have and probably always will. With this little exercise we just did, we
could see how differences separate us and put us into categories. We categorize ourselves, one from the other,
by race, gender, class, education level, and citizenship status. We are deeply aware of our differences when
it comes to political party, theology, and even church denomination. We especially live in a time when there is
much that divides us . . . and, scares us to the point that we often find
ourselves hesitant to speak of our differences for fear of retaliation. I think that we can all agree that differences
divide and separate . . . create “us” and “them” . . . build walls between us.
This is the issue we find in our scripture
reading this morning . . . walls that divide.
In particular how should or would the Gentile Christians be welcomed
into the fellowship of the “church”. In
the beginning the “church” was born out of those followers of Jesus who had
been Jewish . . . many of whom believed that Jesus’ way was the final form of
the Jewish faith; thus, they believed that for Gentiles to become members of
the “church” they needed to become “Jewish” first. No circumcision, no membership. That was the standard. This is why we see in the birth stories of
the “church” that all the evangelism stories started with the evangelists
starting in the synagogues.
This was the model that the Apostle Paul used
in his ministry. Unfortunately the model
did not work for him. Often Paul was
ushered out of the synagogues he visited when he attempted to share the Good
News of Jesus. Instead, he had better
luck evangelizing the Gentiles . . . in fact, it caught on like wild fire. This concerned Paul as his success and the
growing number of Gentile converts did not sit well with those back in
Jerusalem. A great and nasty debate
ensued. One side stuck to the idea that
circumcision was necessary for true conversion and membership; the other side
said that was unnecessary . . . Jesus paid the price for all, circumcised and
non-circumcised alike.
This difference divided the “church”.
The apostle sets out to address this issue in
our reading . . . he is tearing down the wall.
The reconciling act comes through Jesus . . . through Jesus they are one
. . . one family under God. Paul tells
his readers that God in Christ has made one humanity of the two. One group does not fall under the power of
the more dominant group . . . Gentiles do not become Jews . . . Jews do not
become Gentiles. They become united as
one in Jesus as who they are. This gets
an extra boost when Peter has his vision of the “clean” and “unclean” food.
Paul proclaims: “But now in Christ Jesus you who
once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the
two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His
purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making
peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by
which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who
were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have
access to the Father by one Spirit.”
Here we discover that Jesus tore down the walls
that separate to bring the family of God together. Probably the most famous poem of poet Edwin
Markman, a Universalist and poet laureate of Oregon from 1923 to 1931, was Outwitted. Maybe
you remember this short, little poem:
He drew a circle that shut me out—
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!
That is what Jesus does. He erases the line that separates . . . he
tears down the walls that divide . . . and, he brings all into the family of
God. Jesus expects us to go and do
likewise.
With so much that divides us these days,
how are we to begin to take bricks out of the wall which stands between
us? How are we called to come together
to talk about so many matters which threaten to divide? How do we include all to be a part of the
conversation . . . especially those who
are on the outside looking in? How do we
discover and live in this “peace” that the apostle speaks of in his words to us
this morning?
Maybe we begin by remembering that Jesus
died for all. Isn’t that what we say we
believe? When Jesus says “all”, Jesus
means “all” . . . all of God’s children who are created in God’s own image.
Maybe we begin by affirming our
foundational beliefs and values as the followers of Jesus. Central to that is “love” . . . love of God .
. . love of others. Jesus told us that
if we could follow these two tenets of faith that all the words of the prophets
and laws would be fulfilled.
Maybe we begin by living our lives as
Jesus lived his . . . by following his example.
Jesus’ first response was always one of welcome, never judgment . . .
especially for those who were on the outside, those who were outcast, those who
were forgotten. Should we not be
welcoming and hospitable to others? I
doubt that the welcome of Jesus is any less for them than it was for me or you
. . . not because of who they are, but because of who Jesus is. Jesus welcomed people home to be received for
who they are and treated with integrity and kindness . . . loved and respected.
This is how the walls that separate are
torn down . . . one brick, one person at a time.
Tearing down the walls that divide
sounds difficult, yet, we forget. We
forget that Jesus has already done the work.
All we have to do is to walk through the opening which Jesus has already
created for us. That is what these words
of the apostle are telling us. The
apostle writes: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow
citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief
cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a
holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become
a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
We are the children of God. Each and every one of us . . . created in
God’s image. With our differences and
similarities . . . we are one family in God.
Jesus has torn down the wall that separates us from God, and from one
another. Let us continue to tear down
the walls of separation in our lives and in our world. Let us draw a circle that take all in. Jesus would have it no less. Amen.
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