Pentecost 9

Ephesians 2:13–22 NIV

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 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, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I have a dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Included in this speech are the following lines:

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

What problem was he addressing? The problem of racism. Racism is when the members of one race discriminate against those of another with little or no consideration of who the individual is. You judge or are judged based on perceptions about the group that you belong to. This came to a head in the deep South during the Civil Right Movement of the 1960’s of which Martin Luther King, Jr. was a leader. It did not end well for him.

But this hostility between two groups was not limited to the deep South in the 1960’s or between blacks and whites. History shows that hostility between different groups of people has gone on for as long as we have recorded history.

Today when we think of barriers separating two groups of people we may think of the proposed border wall between the United States and Mexico or the walls that separate those in prison from those who are free. But these barriers are more than physical walls. They are attitudes and beliefs that separate people from each other even when there are no walls involved.

As Christians who read the Bible, we are probably most familiar with Bible history. What evidence was there of hostility between groups from the Bible?

Genesis 6:1–5 (NIV)

1 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. 5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

This is contrasted with the righteousness of Noah.

After the Flood we have the division which occurs at the tower of Babel.

The Israelites were at odds with the Egyptians at the time of Moses.

The Israelites were at odds with the tribes who lived in the land of Canaan when the Israelites invaded.

David had his problems with the Philistines.

At the time of the NT there was the strong division between Jews and Samaritans and Jews and Gentiles. It is this division that St. Paul refers to in our text.

The Gentiles were called the uncircumcision by those who laid claim to that circumcision which is a physical and man-made thing. This was the first of the great divisions. The Jew had an immense contempt for the Gentile. They said that the Gentiles were created by God to be fuel for the fires of Hell; that God loved only Israel of all the nations that he had made; that the best of the serpents crushed the best of the Gentiles killed. It was not even lawful to render help to a Gentile woman in childbirth, for that would be to bring another Gentile into the world. The barrier between Jew and Gentile was absolute. IF a Jew married a Gentile, the funeral of that Jew was carried out. Such contact with a Gentile was the equivalent of death; even to go int a Gentile house rendered a Jew unclean. Before Christ the barriers were up; after Christ the barriers were down.

But as the Gospel spread beyond the Jews, God sought to unify different groups into one new group. But for this to happen, a base separation had to be removed. And that was the barrier that had come up between mankind and God.

But as the Gospel spread beyond the Jews, God sought to unify different groups into one new group. But for this to happen, a base separation had to be removed. And that was the barrier that had come up between mankind and God.

Our sins have separated us from God. We are born into this world without a true fear of God and faith in God. We are not his little angels or God’s children by nature. We are described by God in his Word as being the opposite.

Romans 8:5–8 NIV

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

This is why we come to him in worship confessing our sins and pleading for his mercy because we believe that by nature we are separated from him and needed to be reconciled.

This is why we come to him in worship confessing our sins and pleading for his mercy because we believe that by nature we are separated from him and needed to be reconciled.

And this has happened.

Ephesians 2:15–18 NIV

15 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, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Romans 5:9–11 NIV

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

We can be assured that regardless of our past, we now have peace with God and nothing can separate us from the love of God.

We can be assured that regardless of our past, we now have peace with God and nothing can separate us from the love of God.

This unity is to be more than unity between the individual and God. God also had a dream. A dream that regardless of our race, gender, age, social status, income levels, past behavior we are to be united together to worship and serve him. “And that is what you once were.”

1 Corinthians 6:7–11 NIV

7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. 9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

This unity is to be based on agreement in what the Bible teaches. It is not to “coexist” by agreeing to disagree but a true unity of faith and doctrine. See passages on “one”.

This unity is to be based on agreement in what the Bible teaches. It is not to “coexist” by agreeing to disagree but a true unity of faith and doctrine.

Ephesians 4:1–6 NIV

1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Challenge. How can we exhibit this in our lives? There was a time when you knew who all your neighbors were. Most of us can still name every family that lived within a two mile radius if we lived in the country (actually rode the bus together and played with each other) or several blocks in every direction if you lived in town.

Challenge. How can we exhibit this in our lives? There was a time when you knew who all your neighbors were. Most of us can still name every family that lived within a two mile radius if we lived in the country (actually rode the bus together and played with each other) or several blocks in every direction if you lived in town.

Can you do it right now? Can you name every person who lives in that circle? Why not? Because we have separated ourselves from them. Part of it is because of the “cocooning” I referred to several months ago”. Part of it is because we aren’t making the effort to go and make disciples.

St. Paul had no such restrictions. He entire ministry was going out to people not like him who were formerly enemies to teach how God had removed the barriers and that we ourselves need to cross those lines to preach peace to those who are near and to those who are far.

It was dangerous. He suffered tremendous persecution. Martin Luther King, Jr. strived to bring about peace between the Negro (that word was still used back then) and the White and faced stiff opposition as well. It can get us out of comfort zone to cross the lines.

Jesus himself faced stiff opposition when he reached out to the Samaritan women, the tax collectors and sinners of his day, and stood up against the self-righteous Pharisees and teachers of the Law. But he did it to join us to God and to each other in faith. In one of his last recorded prayers he had this to pray (That they may all be one)

John 17:20–23 NIV

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.