Proper 11
After Pentecost • Sermon • Submitted
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Last week we talked about Paul introducing this letter by celebrating with the believers in Ephesus that they get to be a part of what God is doing in the world.
What is God doing?
He’s setting right what is wrong.
He’s reconciling what is broken.
He’s bringing everything together again in unity under himself.
And this is the theme of the gospel that we see here and elsewhere
When sin entered the world it brought
fracturing
division
separation
competition
defensiveness and violence
These are the effects of the fall. This is what God came to set right. So when Jesus announces the arrival of the kingdom he’s announcing the in-breaking of God’s healing.
That’s why in his ministry he literally heals the sick and says, “the kingdom is at hand, it’s here in your midst right now, this is what it looks like.”
And that healing is holistic in nature
He’s healing sickness and death, but also relationships
A person’s relationship with God
A person’s relationship with self
A person’s relationship with creation
A person’s relationship with others
The specific issue Paul’s talking about here is what he calls the “dividing wall of hostility” between Jews and Gentiles.
This is the relationship in question to be healed and it isn’t a minor one.
And the healing of God isn’t a superficial one
It isn’t some temporary ceasefire
God is making one NEW community out of the two
That’s tricky because at this moment in history the Gentiles have been essentially the “out group” when it comes to worship of Yahweh.
Paul says they were “far off”, which is the opposite of inclusion right?
And this is partly because there are some pretty clear markers and boundaries between Jew and Gentile
Remember Israel was chosen to be set apart
And they were given the law to guide them to be a set apart people
So things like circumcision served as physical markers
And things like dietary laws and festivals and sabbath keeping served as lifestyle markers
As we’ve discussed, And the law was always meant to drive them to humility, care for one another, and worship of Yahweh
And their set-apartness, was always meant to be a light to the nations and an extension of God’s invitation to the world
Funny thing though, in our sinfulness, we human beings will turn just about anything into a competition
We compete because we think it’s the way to find peace
It’s what the fall set in motion in humanity
Before the fall there was peace and security in harmony with God and one another
Then there was shame and fear and rejection and humankind started to believe that the only way to insulate ourselves from the threat and the pain was to do what we have to to get ours and then protect it
And to try and fill that aching whole of identity and purpose and acceptance that God is meant to satisfy we try more and more idols that we also have to compete for
So we take something like the law that can serve as a guide for our worship and we turn it into a purity code and find our identity in being part of the in group, which we magnify by excluding others
Then we establish hierarchies WITHIN the in group
In our sinfulness it’s our natural way of being.
What markers can I find to exclude others to make myself feel special?
And how can I turn this into a competition to elevate myself above others?
Our clothes, our language, our religious expression all get caught up in this all consuming spirit
And when we turn everything into a competition it breeds division and ultimately violence
But if you read through the New Testament you’ll see that the writers, and Jesus himself, are relentlessly dismantling this mindset.
If you remember in Philippians 3 Paul talks about why his spiritual resume is better than everyone else's, basically saying, “look, if anyone’s at the top of the hierarchy and at the center of the in-group, it’s me”
circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. ' Philippians 3:5-6
But then what does he go on to say?
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ' Philippians 3:7-9
Jesus revealed is that the restoration of all things isn’t coming through humankind’s adherence to the law
The law was a guide, and if anything it revealed just how much we are incapable of saving ourselves and how much we need grace
No, the restoration of all things isn’t coming through humankind’s adherence to the law, it’s coming through the presence and power of God
So we can drop the dividing lines and stop competing and realize we’re all on equal footing before Jesus as he invites us to follow
In the kingdom the last shall be first and faith of the peasant woman is no less valuable than the Pharisee’s and the tax collectors and thieves are welcome an the Gentiles are just as much sons and daughters of God as someone with Paul’s pedigree
This is the work of God, healing divisions and bringing peace by bringing all things together under himself.
We might look at a few application points for being the church in modern American
One, from a racial and ethnic perspective, what we see is God tearing down a dividing wall of hostility and making a new community of unity and equality.
MLK famously said that 11am on Sunday is the most segregated hour in America.
To accept that is to baptize the effects of the fall and to celebrate that is to partner with the enemy in sowing division and hostility
That is why racial injustices and ethnic hatred are absolutely GOSPEL issues
Because the gospel is about God healing fractures
The church is meant to be a diverse and holy temple with living stones from everyone tribe and tongue on earth
Not just every skin color but every CULTURE
This is the Temple God has chosen to dwell in
Two, the modern American church is absolutely consumed with competition and hierarchies and boundary policing
We like to spin it as a pursuit of holiness or effectiveness but it ultimately just creates division and ends up excluding people.
There are certainly aspects of the faith we must be firm on and contend for
But we have to make sure they are rooted in the person and teaching of Jesus
If we keep Jesus at the center we can recognize that people are going to be coming to him from all distances and angles and cultures and we’re all in process
So rather than spending our time policing superfluous boundaries or adding extra-biblical rules and laws we stay focused on the center in a spirit of inclusion and charity
We work to help heal divisions instead of drawing more.
We celebrate the diversity of the new humanity that is coming together in Jesus.
What might it look like in the coming decades for God to tear down a bunch of ridiculous divisions and break down a bunch of movements built on competition and bring a humble people together around Jesus?
What part do we play in that?
Finally, I’ll say this.
In this passage Paul is speaking to the Gentiles, the one’s who were “far off”.
And his message is that they aren’t far off anymore and aren’t excluded. They are sons and daughters of God and citizens of the kingdom as much as anyone.
Perhaps you feel like the one who isn’t welcome, the one who doesn’t meet the purity codes of the in group. Paul’s message, and mine, is that you are welcome. Come focus on the center with us. We’re all in different places.