Ephesians 2:11-22

Judíos y gentiles se convierten en uno

Haga clic arriba para leer en español

Jwif ak jantiy yo fè yon

Klike anlè a pou li an kreyòl

We learn early as children to establish boundaries. I was the second child, with a sister 16 months older. I assume one of my first words was “mine.” Only later, begrudgingly, would I learn the word “yours.” Later still, I learned “ours.”

The landscapes of our cities and countryside are dotted with fences. Surveyors are employed to establish clear boundaries.

I’m always thankful to see road crews putting a fresh coat of paint marking the lanes on our roads and streets. Those lines are designed for our safety.

We can wax poetic about our appreciation for good barriers that give us a sense of security. Yet as often happens when we open our Bibles, we are invited to consider another way of living.

One body

In the first half of Ephesians 2, Paul addresses the individual Christian. But beginning in verse 11, he switches his focus and speaks to the Christian community.

Some in this congregation grew up in the Jewish tradition. These congregants knew the Laws of Moses. They knew of the Temple in Jerusalem. They knew the stories of their ancestors. They prayed in their synagogues and were steeped in the rich tradition of the God who commanded, “you shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

Others in the congregation were non-Jews. Under Roman rule, they would have been taught that the emperor was divine. Plus, there were multiple gods and goddesses in the Greek and Roman pantheons represented in the temples, shrines, and altars of the city. They would have come from traditions that practiced magic and took astrology seriously.

There they were, Jews and Gentiles together, making up the church of Jesus Christ in Ephesus.

A new reality

“So then, remember that at one time you gentiles by birth . . . were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise” (Ephesians 2:11-12). Alien is a strong word. It means, “not one of us,” or an outsider.

What these two groups now had in common was the belief that Jesus Christ was crucified, buried, and rose again from the dead—and that his death and resurrection had brought them together. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (2:13).

These two distinct groups, Jews and Gentiles, have gone from “mine and yours” to “ours.” “For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us” (2:14).

There were various dividing walls of the Temple in Jerusalem. The outer courtyard was as close as Gentiles were allowed to get to the Temple. Jewish women could go inside, but only so far. Jewish men could go further. Jewish priests could get closer into the interior to make sacrifices. It was only the High Priest on the Day of Atonement who could enter the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum where it was believed the very presence of God dwelt on earth.

Even in congregations where everyone looks alike or even has the same last name, there can be serious divisions. It took me quite a long time in the last church I served to realize that some people chose to sit in the pews they claimed week after week because they were as far as possible from other worshipers with whom they were estranged. We can be very creative creatures when it comes to erecting walls of hostility.

In the congregation I now attend, we have a practice of passing the peace of Christ. In doing so, we express the reconciliation and love that comes only from God. It’s good discipline to speak a word of peace to each person present as we open ourselves to God’s love to heal any brokenness. It’s good practice for when we leave the comfortable walls of our sanctuary. The passing of the peace isn’t just a simple greeting. It is a shocking new reality. “For he is our peace.”

Strangers no more

Paul addressed both Jewish and Gentile Christians when he wrote, “So he [Christ] 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” (2:17-18). It is quite amazing that a first-century congregation could be composed of two such distinct groups. Yet there they were, in one congregation!

“So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow 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” (2:19-20). It’s hard for me to read these words without breaking into the Brethren hymn “For We Are Strangers No More,” with lyrics by Kenneth Morse.

A cornerstone is the first stone to be laid. It determines the placement of the foundation and subsequent stones. It helps to hold structures together through ground-shattering events. Christ is our cornerstone. We all are held together through him. “[I]n 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” (2:21-22).

The image of Jews and Gentiles joined together and growing into a dwelling place for God offers to us a way to visualize a 21st-century church where there are “strangers no more.”