Ephesians 2:11-22

11 So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision’—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling-place for God.

The wall of division, in the ancient world, between Jews and Gentiles was as profound and as deeply set as any of the divisions between human beings in our present time (Russians and Ukrainians; Palestinians and Israelis; as examples). Strict Jews would not even enter the house of a Gentile, let alone eat with them. Gentiles regarded Jews as lesser, not worthy of serious attention and certainly not respect. So, when Paul uses the word “hostility” in vs. 14, he is not exaggerating, this was an accurate description of the relationship between Jews and Gentiles. 

God in Jesus Christ, in the cross of Jesus, has torn down the wall of division, the wall of hostility, and has made “one new humanity” out the diverse, conflicting reality of humanity. A new humanity without division, without hostility. In the Cross of Jesus, the hostility of division based on ethnicity, tribe, language, socio-economic status, gender, etc. has been put to death (vs. 16). So those who are near and think they have an inside track and those who are far away, who are considered outsiders, both are equally invited and welcomed into this one new humanity that Jesus Christ has made. The insiders cannot say to the outsiders, “Jesus does not invite you.” No one is outside the invitation that Jesus offers, that all people come to be citizens of Jesus’ kingdom.

The thing that draws everyone, the thing that holds this all together – is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the cornerstone that holds the whole diverse group together. To build a unity, to build peace, on anything other than Jesus Christ is to end in failure. Any such attempt that does not put Jesus Christ at the center will end in conflict and division. Jesus is the cornerstone, Jesus is the one who guides the growth of the kingdom of God so that people of every tribe, language, ethnicity and culture are made one in service and loyalty to Jesus Christ, so that the glory and honour go to God the Father.  

PRAYER:

O Lord, we rejoice that you have sent Jesus Christ to tear down the dividing walls of our world. We rejoice that in Jesus Christ alone is there a way ahead beyond the animosity and hostility that so frequently dominate our relationships across lines of culture, ethnicity, and language. All glory and praise to You and You alone. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.  

Isaiah 11:1-9

11 A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
    and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
    the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    the spirit of counsel and might,
    the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
    or decide by what his ears hear;
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
    and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
    and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
    and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

6 The wolf shall live with the lamb,
    the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
    and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze,
    their young shall lie down together;
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
    and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
    on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

Out of the ruins, out of the stump of the tree that has been cut down, out of seemingly the end of the road comes hope and promise. Peace is like that, it comes small, unexpected, even fragile, and does its thing.

Peace brings change, fundamental change. Peace is not just the bullets stop flying, peace is that the situations that led to the bullets flying are changed. Vs. 4 is clear that the powerful and the elite will be upended as the poor and meek find their place of belonging, their place of equity in the world. This kind of peace involves a re-arrangement of the resources and the power in the world. Peace comes with a cost, the powerful and the elites need to give away their standing so that the meek and the poor can have a place at the table. Peace comes as the powerful and the elites choose the path of humility over imposing their wills, their wants.

That shift is displayed dramatically in vs. 7, bears and lions eating grass and straw, wolves living at peace with lambs. The expected patterns of nature are broken, a new way is found, one where the powerful and the weak live together in harmony. A new way in which the powerful are changed so they no longer enforce their will through power. A new way is found where the formerly weak, do not gloat over the decline of the powerful. A place where the newly lifted up do not simply become the new elite – a place where sheep and lions can rest in equal security, in equal peace.

Isaiah reminds us just how hard this will be, how far outside the normal patterns is this life of peace that Jesus the Prince of Peace is bringing. An unexpected, unsettling, yet sturdy, robust new life is coming from dead roots.    

PRAYER:

O Lord, your peace unsettles us. Teach us to love and live into your peace rather than holding on to the patterns of destruction that are the way this world works. Unsettle us so that we might find our true belonging in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.