The reading
Ephesians 2:11-22
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—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. But now in Christ
Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of
Christ. 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. He has abolished the law with its
commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity
in place of the two, thus making peace,
and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross,
thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed
peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one
Spirit to the Father. So then you are no
longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also
members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole
structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together
spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
The message
Last week, we had an introduction to Paul’s Letter to the
Ephesians. To review quickly, this letter was meant for more than one community
(as it does not address any specific issues or share any information about a
particular church). It was also likely written by a student or a new Christian converted by hearing Paul rather than Paul himself
(about half of Paul’s letters in the bible were written in his name).
The letter focuses on Christian unity and the conflict
between good and evil. In terms of unity, Paul shocks, disturbs and angers
society when he declares that being joined to the death and resurrection of
Christ is more important than social standing, citizenship, race, gender and
status (like being free or slave, rich or poor, priest or non-priest). All people were sinners, saved by God’s gift
of grace. That identity is what matters.
Next week, as we finish our time with Ephesians, we will look at this
cosmic battle between good and evil, one where Paul invites believers to “Put
on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles
of the devil”.
Today, I want to look at what exactly it means to belong, to be part of a group where all people are equal in value, in giving as you can and receiving as you need. It’s as strange and counter cultural today as it was almost 2000 years ago. We do a lot to set ourselves apart from others. The good news that to God, everyone is the same, that we all , belong in the kingdom of God, can be a hard thing to actually live out. I’d like to share a few personal stories to illustrate what this can mean for us.
First, there is
something that happened Monday night, something that does not make Jen or I seem
too bright. It was about 8:00 O’clock
and one of my friends came to pick me up for an event. I was ready to go and then we realized that
the cat was missing. We saw her out in
the yard next door (we let outside a few hours a day and sometimes she finds
her way places she should not be). We
tried the usual lures, shaking the treat can, calling her, opening the garage
door (the sound usually scares here back into the house). We lost sight of her for a few minutes and
then kept running back and forth to the yard and the front of the house, trying
to take down part of the fence and then walking around the block to see if she
got out. (while my friend is sort of impatiently waiting and amused by us
running around ). After a half hour or
so, my friend left and we continued looking in the yard for the cat. It started to get dark so we were getting
worried, A few minutes after that, Jen asks me a simple question “did you look
upstairs under the bed”. I said no, we
saw her in the yard and didn’t see her come in the house. We search a few more minutes and then check
under the bed, where, we find the cat, sleeping where she always is around 9
pm.. We wasted a lot of time and energy
and stressed out because we were looking in the wrong place.
I hear a lot of people talk about struggling to find where
they belong and often people get caught
in looking in the wrong places. Often
people get stuck in bad situations, gangs, addiction to drugs, alcohol or
gambling, abusive relationships, hate groups,
cults, bad behaviors, loneliness and boredom. A lot of that can be different if church is truly
a place for everyone (perhaps the only one in the world).
The church is not yet that different. I was not born
Lutheran, I didn’t really know what Lutherans were until half way through
college. As I started seminary, many of
the students were lifers, youth leaders, synod life, could sing, knew each
other. Early on I met an Italian
pastor, who had been around a long time and worked at a very wealthy church in
one of the East coasts most affluent areas.
As we talked, he told me if anyone bothers you or gives you any trouble
about who you are, let me know and ill help, we have to watch out for each
other. It was a kind offer and it
helped knowing someone was on my side, but really left me wondering, is that
going to be necessary, what did I get myself into. Years later, I was at a clergy event and was
talking to a group of pastors I never meet before. I wound up with a group of less formal and
serious pastors who said not quite proper stuff, (we tend to find each
other). We were talking about different
issues on inclusion in the church and I happened to say “sometimes I don’t even feel like I
belong” and we moved on to other topics.
One of the pastors in the group came back a few hours later and said
“you belong”. It took me a moment to
figure out what he was talking about but I believed him.
The churches Paul writes to would have rapidly made 1st
calss, 2nd class and 3rd class Christians, based on
property, wealth, family, who baptized you or time of participation. They often
tried to. Condemned as it was, it would
happen again and again. We have to see and try to stop the same thing here.
Finally, I have to go
way back, I was in 5th grade.
My twin brother and I had just started a new school in 4th
grade when we moved to a different house. I never really fit in at the new
school, with some bullying and just not making friends. We had a field trip at the end of the school
year, which can be an anxious thing when you don’t have a lot of friends. It was an outdoor park but I don’t remember
we went or who was there, but I remember being invited to play tag. It was so exciting, as my time in elementary
school winded down, I had a day when I felt like I belonged. Invite others in, they might write you off,
dismiss you, most people will be polite and a few will come in, desperate to
belong.
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