Don’t forget that
you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You
were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their
circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In
those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the
people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to
them. You lived in this world without
God and without hope. But now you have been united with
Christ Jesus. Once you were far away
from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of
Christ. For Christ himself
has brought peace to us. He united Jews
and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down
the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by
ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by
creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together
as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the
cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He brought this Good News of peace to
you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now
all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what
Christ has done for us. So now you
Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with
all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together,
we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And
the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully
joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through
him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by
his Spirit. Ephesians 2:11-22
When the Apostle says that the Gentiles used to
be outsiders, there has to be just a little flapping of the undecided
flag. When hostilities have existed for
centuries, it is an uneasy peace (at best) when the ink on a treaty is yet to
dry. Witness to this is everywhere. Driving home on I-40 on Sunday, after our
Annual Conference at Lake Junaluska in the beautiful Blue Ridge of the Great
Smoky Mountains, every so often I saw a huge Confederate flag waving near a
home. For some, after 157 years, the War
Between the States is only on pause. In any neighborhood, predominantly black or
white, those of the opposite color or heritage walk uneasily, especially after
the sun goes down. Despite the continual
outcry from political heads over spilled blood, often the blood of children,
gun sales are the healthiest investment ever.
Peace is elusive, something like nailing Jell-O to a
wall. It sags with every sideways
glance, uneasy, tenuous, and barely believable.
Yet the Apostle claims, without stuttering, that Christ has put an end
to that which divides the only race on planet earth, humanity. And for those who will be embraced by Christ,
He gathers them all close.
Anyone who does
God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:35
For You Today
It takes
vulnerability to love unconditionally, knowing that your trust can be, and
often will be violated, broken, and crushed.
And Jesus demonstrated that for us on the cross. He was broken for our unwillingness to love. Let’s let Harry Emerson Fosdick have the last
word today:
[1] Images: Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
[1] Harry Emerson Fosdick 1930, God of Grace and God of Glory (info @ Hymnary.org) & (Wikimedia Commons)
