July 21, 2024 Ephesians 2 Series B Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who loves you with his very life. Amen.
It is not a secret that we live in a time of tribalism and division. All of us find different camps, if you will, that we feel like we belong in. This isn’t always a bad thing, in fact it can even be super helpful! Finding a group of people who share the same interests, values, whatever can lead to meaningful relationships and lifelong friendships. Common interests are the basis of nearly all friendships!
For example, it’s not a secret that some of you like the Minnesota Vikings. So if you are blessed to go to US Bank stadium, or the superdome as it was once known, you share something with thousands of others, 10’s of thousands of others. And you go there and you see people wearing the helmet thing, the jerseys, and you can talk to any of them, any one and share stories about your shared interest, about all the times you almost made it to the superbowl, or almost won an important game, or double doinks. You have that in common. And even I, being a Lions fan, also have something in common, no superbowl wins! And we can share our dislike of the Bears or Cowboys, or whatever.
And not just sports, but really anything where you spend time with people. Like, you make friends when you go camping, with people you have never seen before, simply because they, like you, hate houses and indoor plumbing. Or you go to the library and meet other bookworms, you go to work and meet people with similar skills and interests as you, and so on.
While at the same time, being part of a group can be a hardship bringing strife and division. All of you know this too. From political divisions, you were expecting me to say this one, to rivalries, to a bunch of isms, racism, classism, sexism, ageism, and whatever else. There’s probably an ism for the relationship between vikings fans and packers fans.
Why’s this matter? Our text today describes extreme cultural nationalism, and an extreme exclusion of other tribes, and then it moves on to a reconciliation found only in Christ, and just how big of a deal that is.
This passage from Ephesians is about the centuries, millennia old divisions, isms, between Jews and Gentiles. Long ago, God had chosen the children of Israel. That's Jacob’s family, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, his family would have the lineage of God. One of their ancestors would give birth to Jesus. And because of this plan for salvation, God required the Israelites, later the Jews, to live differently.
God had intended this division to be one example, that Jerusalem would be a shining city on a hill, that the people would be a nation of priests to the world, that they would lead by example and proclaim the truth of God, his plan for salvation to the ends of the earth.
But instead what happened was this extreme isolation, and hatred for other nations. Jews hated gentiles. There was no marriage between them. There wasn’t much trade. No conversation. Jews would go out of their way, really out of their way, to avoid gentiles.
But something changed. Namely, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to earth and he himself changed things. He met with gentiles. He ate with them. He praised their faith, such as the faithful centurion. It was amidst gentiles that Peter confessed that Jesus is God in the flesh, the Messiah. It is amidst gentiles that Jesus does many miracles. And it’s at the hand of gentiles that Jesus is crucified, under Pontius Pilate, thus God fulfilling his plan for salvation.
After Jesus ascended, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down from heaven and the apostles started to speak the languages of the gentiles. And thousands of gentiles became Christians.
This led to conversations for the early Christians about what to do. They grew up with this hatred, this extreme avoidance of people who didn’t worship the true God, and now, thousands of Gentiles, thousands of people who were generationally pagan are suddenly absconding their pagan ways and believing in Jesus for salvation. What do they do? How do the Old Testament Laws apply? What about purity rituals? What about this or that? How are gentiles integrated into the faith? Not just by believing, but how can they be welcomed into fellowship, into the same worship spaces? How can they be part of the family too?
To help solve this problem, God called the most insular guy, I don’t know what the word is, the elitist of the elite, Saul, to become a missionary, more than just a missionary, but an apostle to the people that he grew up hating the most, the Gentiles. And he goes and meets them and he tells them about Jesus and he shares the Gospel. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, working through Paul, Christianity spreads like a wildfire in a drought. And in a short time Christianity goes from being 11 people locked in an upper room to the largest religion on the planet. Thanks be to God!
And you are a result of this spread. Be it from the Germans or Scandinavians, or whatever, the faith spread to Gentiles is the faith which we practice here Thanks be to God! And for this, Paul rejoices. Listen to how he says it,
“for he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God”
God is uniting all people into himself. Because of what Christ has done, because he died, he rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit, he sent out apostles and missionaries, because of all this, now, the church is a place of welcome, for everyone especially for those who call on the name of the LORD for salvation. And yes that includes Lions fans, Vikings fans, Packers fans, and dare I say, even Patriot or Chief fans.
Why does this matter?
Well, there are times when you don’t feel welcome, when you feel excluded or out of the loop, or that you don’t belong. Maybe you look around at all the saints gathered here and you are like, “I see these saints, but I’m a sinner. I know what I did. These people have their lives together, I’m a mess. I shouldn’t be here. I don’t belong.”
Or maybe you think something like, “I’m new to this town, this community. I see that everyone has friends and I don’t. What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with them? I don’t belong here.”
And you think that because of something about you, something you have done or said or thought, some stain on your past or your present that the church isn’t for you. It’s a lie. A lie that speaks to our hearts, but a lie none the less. The church is a place of refuge and safety, of welcome and refreshment for all people, all who trust in Christ for salvation.
Very soon we are starting intentional outreach to the Latino community around us. And it’s true, there are some divisions, especially language, that will be a challenge. But Christ is taking away these divisions. All belong here. All will be able to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, the news that brings peace and comfort in a world of division and pain. Forgiveness is proclaimed and Christ is preached to the benefit of all of our salvation.
There is a place for you here, because there is peace and reconciliation for all in the body of Jesus.” All believers have been brought near—to God and to one another—by his blood (3:13). He killed the alienating enmity for all on the cross. No longer is any believer a stranger or a foreigner here in the assembly of the baptized. All share the same foundation, the same cornerstone; all belong here as part of God’s house and building.
You belong here. You are welcome here. Because here, in this place we have Christ. Jesus who tore down the divisions, and who builds himself a Church. Not just a building, but a people, a body which is united in faith, in word and in sacrament, in forgiveness and life of the world to come, a body where JEsus is the head that leads and guides to life everlasting.. You belong here, you are most welcome here.
Common interests unite us and make us friends in the hear and now. We can bond over jobs or sports or whatever. But God has done something greater. He has taken people who have nothing in common, except one thing, faith in Jesus Christ, and he has made them more than just superficial friends. He has made them citizens of his eternal kingdom a place of eternal welcome, and he has united all of us in his Son. Amen.
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