Ordinary Time Week 8

Psalm: Psalm 89:20-37 or Psalm 23 
Old Testament: 2 Samuel 7:1-14a
  or Jeremiah 23:1-6 
Gospel: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 
Epistle: Ephesians 2:11-22

I want to try and tackle our reading from Ephesians this week, if indeed Paul can ever be "tackled," much less in only 800 words. Millions of words have no doubt been written on just these 11 verses alone. But what is Paul trying to get at in these verse? I think he is once again speaking of the unity found for all in Christ. Paul is writing to a Gentile audience trying to figure out how and where they fit into the Story of God. Things that we take for granted now, weren't settled when Paul was writing his letters. The New Testament wasn't around and all the early Christians had was the Hebrew Scripture and some oral traditions about Jesus. The story of Jesus is about a Jewish Messiah, who came from the Jewish God and now these new believers in Jesus can't avoid the question about what to do with all that Jewish heritage.

When Paul was in Ephesus he had conflicts with the Jews there on multiple occasions and also with the Pagan Greeks over the cultic rituals and industry that had grown around the Temple to Artemis. So it was probably not easy to be a follower of "The Way," as the Jews called Christianity in Ephesus. (see Acts 19 for this story) So, Paul is speaking to Gentiles who are basically ostracized by everybody else in the city and his message is about the unit found in Christ.

Let's work through the text. Paul is bringing them on their own journeys of faith. In verses 11-12 he reminds them that were once completely lost, cut off from the People of God. They actually had no hope and were as far as possible from God. But "by the blood of Christ" they have been brought near to God. (13) In the following verses, 14-17, he expands on how Christ has brought Gentiles near. To begin with, Christ has brought Jew and Gentile together and removed the wall between them. He accomplished this by taking on the enmity in himself. That enmity is the Law which separated Gentiles and Jews. As long as the Law was in place there was no hope for the Gentiles. But in Christ that barrier is removed. Paul writes, that Christ has "put to death the enmity [Law]." (16)

In the concluding verses of this section Paul uses a few metaphors to describe this new people created In Christ. To begin with, Gentiles are now "fellow citizens" (19) in the "commonwealth of Israel." (12) Israel is redefined to include not just Jews by birth, but anyone who follows the Father through Christ. The next metaphor Paul uses is that Gentiles are now a part of the household of God, continuing the theme of Gentiles being adopted into the Family of God. Next Paul switches to two building metaphors: The people of God are like a building, with Christ as the corner stone. Then to bring it farther, he says that the building is actually a temple--a holy place dedicated to the Lord. All four of these images are Paul's way of trying to describe this new reality of what it means for Gentiles to now be a part of God's new People.

I like what one commentary said about this passage:

The new unity is not simple a reconciliation of Jew and Gentile as such; it is a creative act (cf. v. 10)--the creation of a new human type, which is neither Jewish nor Gentile, but Christian. In fact the new man is Christ living in his church (The Abingdon Bible Commentary, 1230)

In Christ God has started something new and that flows into the Church and each member of it. The Church is new creation just as each believer is a new creature. The call this week is to not just to remember that our story is the same as the Ephesians, as we too were once far off and only brought into the family of God because of God's grace in the work of Jesus, but also to strive after the unity Paul sees as central to the work of the Gospel. I think it is clear from Paul, and even Jesus himself (e.g. John 17) that believers should be unified

Of course we all know that Christianity is anything buy unified today. But the problem is so large, I don't think any of us can do much to solve the problem on a global scale. On the micro level however we can definitely work towards unity. Churches can partner across denominations; individual Christians can be friends *gasp* even if they are in different denominations and can even have bible studies and pray together; service projects and ministries can partner and supplement rather than compete. The possibilities are really only limited by one's imagination. Everyone knows I am a Nazarene through-and-through. So this is a challenge to me to not judge others who are not Nazarene in my life.

May we continue to work for unity and the work God has called us to in his Kingdom.

Grace and Peace.