"Destroying Walls"
Sermon Presented July 23, 2006
Ephesians 2:11-22
Life consists of building walls - literally and figuratively. People along our border with Mexico want a wall to keep the Mexicans out. The government of Israel wants a wall to keep the Israelis safe or to keep the Palestinians out - depending on who you talk to. The government of North Korea is canceling the privilege for people to cross the border and meet family members in safety in order to fortify the wall. There's a wall around the White House and walls around mansions to protect those who live in these dwellings. There are invisible walls around yards that emit electrical charges to the family pet, so it will stay in the yard. All walls serve a purpose, but not all walls serve the purposes of God.
In Ephesians we read that Christ has broken down the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles. Before I read the text, let me give you some background. The letter begins by saying that it is written by Paul, but most scholars don't believe Paul wrote it. There is a huge gap in style and content between this letter and Paul's personal correspondence. Ephesians is considered to be a fictive work. This doesn't mean that it's a work of fiction or that the writer makes fraudulent use of Pauline authority, it's just the way many letters were written in the first century. It has legitimacy because it was chosen to be in the canon of New Testament writings.
I'm reading from Ephesians 2:11-22.
While many walls are structural divides, we can't see or touch some walls - like walls of hostility. In Jesus' time, dividing walls were erected between people because of race (Jew vs. Gentile), circumcision vs. uncircumcision, and health vs. infirmity. The letter writer says that Jesus came to bring peace and reconciliation and not alienation and walls. He came to abolish the Jewish laws that divide - dietary laws, Sabbath laws, and laws of cleanliness and circumcision. The crux of the teaching is that when people are united - when the walls are demolished - God dwells in the midst of the people.
In first century Israel, the act of reconciling Jews and Gentiles was a major issue and a scandal. But it happened, and by the time this letter was written, Gentiles had won the right to be full-fledged members of the Christian church. But this unity came with a struggle, the most serious struggle that faced the early church. Even Peter found it difficult to admit Gentiles as equals. Eventually the matter was resolved - largely through Paul's efforts. The author of Ephesians views the struggle in retrospect.
The writer speaks of alienation and estrangement. In the first century world dominated by the Roman state, being an outsider meant being rootless and isolated. The two references to aliens and strangers play on that need to belong. I know how it feels to be on the outside - to be female working on a Masters of Divinity degree in a Southern Baptist seminary. In fact, when I began to work on my anger issues, I found that most of my deep-seated anger was based on gender inequality. I admire Elaine for breaking into that male dominated field of engineering several decades before women broke the barrier. Most people here have a story of alienation to tell.
According to Paul in his letter to the Galatians, Jesus broke down the dividing walls between Jews and Greeks, slaves and free and male and female. Jesus brings peace and reconciliation and not alienation and walls.
We need to remember that our American heritage is a story of exclusion that is slowly turning around. We can't forget the past when people were locked out and enslaved. If we don't remember the past, we can't appreciate the progress and we forget why change was necessary. In this nation, people have been excluded because of race, religion, gender, accent, or country of origin. People in the United States have a right to be accepted, no matter what. However, our relationship with God isn't a right but a gift. We have access to God through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In our text, we see that this "one new humanity" of both Jews and Gentiles, is cross cultural. The vision of human unity has to extend across cultural boundaries, but reality is that often, it doesn't. Modern Christian missions often try to force their culture on others. We need to introduce Christianity to others without seeking conformity to our culture. Music and expressions of faith need to be compatible with the community's culture.
When I was in seminary, I encountered both positive and negative examples of cultural adjustments. One of my professors was a missionary to Japan who was teaching while on sabbatical. He shared that because it was the custom for Buddhists to bring offerings of flowers to the Buddha, the Christian church in Japan encouraged people to bring offerings of flowers. This familiar act helped bridge the cultures.
A negative example occurred at a Missouri Baptist Convention I attended in St. Louis. A friend had dinner at a river boat restaurant, and when the waitress took her order, she said: "I can see by your name tag that you are with the Baptist Convention. I won't ask you if you want a drink." My friend Cathy said: "Why not?" The waitress replied that she had been chewed out and lectured so many times about the evils of alcohol that she didn't want to hear any more. Cathy told her to ask anyway and then she could respond with either a yes or no. The message many the "delegates" gave to the restaurant employees was one of intolerance and a desire to push their culture on others. It was not positive.
Jesus changed the status of Gentiles by breaking down this dividing wall of race. However, today racial, religious and ethnic struggles let us know that walls continue to be built. We haven't learned enough in the last 2000 years. Some churches exclude women leaders, those who speak in tongues, gays and lesbians, and those who are divorced because of how they interpret scripture. Some golf courses and country clubs exclude Jews and African Americans because of prejudice. Jesus came to break down the dividing walls that separate people from one another. The crux of this teaching is a grand ideal, and still issues of inclusiveness and exclusiveness remain unresolved within the people of God.
This text is about unity and not uniformity. We are not all alike, nor should we expect everyone to be alike. We have great theological and political differences and that is healthy as long as we don't use those differences to hit others over the head. It is unhealthy and unchristian to exclude those who want to follow Jesus from fellowship because we don't have the same beliefs. Jesus came to knock down the walls and bridge the gaps. This teaching from Ephesians is about unity embraced voluntarily in response to hearing the good news of Jesus.
The author of our text wants his readers to see the continuity with what has gone on before. The words and works of the apostles and prophets are the foundation of God's household and Jesus is the cornerstone. We need to be reminded of our connection to our biblical past.
We Baptists also need to be reminded of our founding principles. We have always held fast to four freedoms: Bible Freedom, Soul Freedom, Church Freedom and Religious Freedom. Bible Freedom is the freedom of individuals under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to study and obey Scripture. Church Freedom says that the local church is free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine membership and leadership. Religious Freedom is the freedom of religion, freedom for religion and freedom from religion - in other words, separation of church and state. Soul Freedom affirms the right and responsibility of every person to commune with God without the imposition of creeds or the interference of clergy or civil government. Along with a commitment to follow Jesus, these four freedoms are the foundation on which we are built, and they are in danger in many Baptist churches today.
Hostility between people must die because hostility creates an impenetrable wall. The causes of division must be destroyed. Jesus calls us to become one instead of many. There will always be differences, but differences are okay. God's Holy Spirit leads us to unity.
What are the walls dividing our churches, our communities, our nation and our world today? Walls continue to be erected because of race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, social status, education, age, and political ideology. While the cause of divisions in the Early Church no longer exists, Christians continue to be divided.
Jesus spent his life destroying walls. He conversed with women, taught them and healed them. He opened his arms to children. He touched the diseased bodies of the untouchables. He told stories of inclusion - the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. He ate with sinners and healed on the Sabbath - both contrary to Jewish law. He destroyed walls that were built by the Jewish law to keep people apart and brought diverse people together. Through his life and his death he broke down walls and built bridges of peace and unity.
As we look at the hostility in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe - hostility that goes back for centuries - we see that much of the conflict is caused by religious wars and peoples' intolerance toward the faith of others. Much of the political and religious division here in the United States hinges on how Scripture is interpreted - more religious wars! But before walls can be destroyed, there must be a desire for reconciliation. We must pray that our attitudes will change and we will have the courage to be instruments of change. Changing attitudes isn't easy.
Jesus calls us to gather up the bricks and stones that are scattered in the dust and build a temple where Jesus is the cornerstone and where God dwells. This is crucial for those of us who claim to be Christ's church. This is what Christianity is all about!
