Christ himself has brought us peace by making Jews and Gentiles one people. With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies. ... By his death on the cross Christ destroyed their enmity;
by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought them back to God.
Prayer
:
Do you want to see a miracle? I know just the place to go! Mind you, many people have gone there, but have gone away without seeing one. Not everybody can see it. That privilege is given to special people who really are no better or worse than you or I.
This miracle can be seen right here in Good Shepherd Lutheran, St. Lambert/St. Ansgar Lutheran, Montreal. I've seen it, though I must confess I take it for granted. Others have seen it, and have not always been conscious of it, but it's still there.
The miracle I'm talking about is the Church, the called out, the worshipping Christians who get together regularly to sing, to pray, find and give support, to give praise and thanks, and break bread.
During the week we are separated and divided by a whole host of things - distance in some cases, different interests, the need to go to work in differing places and doing different kinds of work, our children go to different schools, some are busy doing all the different things that make a home run smoothly.
Some of us have different interests and inclinations that, while we may be polite and helpful to each other, we are not close friends, I mean the kind of friends who confide in each other, and in whom we have every confidence and go to in times of need.
For a start there are too many people in our congregation with whom to have a close friendship; there are some with whom we have little in common; there are some who get on our nerves a bit, right; some may not like the style of the pastor, and yet we still see them here on Sundays.
In spite of all this diversity still come here to this one spot. That is a miracle in itself. And this is the miracle I am talking about.
People in Paul's days in Ephesus were divided into two groups - Jews and non-Jews or Gentiles. They mixed about as well as oil and water. The Jews saw the Gentiles as a threat and the Gentiles saw the Jews as a threat. The two didn't mix. Their religions clashed. One acted superior to the other and when that happened it was evident that they would never get on.
For Christ himself has brought us peace by making Jews and Gentiles one people.
With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies
." (Eph 2:14).Even the Jews and Gentiles who had been enemies for so long came together in the church. Paul goes on.
"
By his death on the cross Christ destroyed their enmity;by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought them back to God"
(Eph 2:16).Now there's a miracle for us! Jesus death has brought together people of such different and diverse backgrounds and interests. He brought us into the one body, he has made us "fellow citizens"
(2:19), and "joined us together to become a holy temple" (2:21) to use Paul's own words.Paul emphasizes how the death of Jesus on the cross brings healing and reconciliation between people, so that what might threaten the relationship between people, that "dividing wall of hostility" is abolished as forgiveness brings peace.
And here in our day, people from diverse backgrounds, with all kinds of interests, with many different attitudes to current political, and theological issues, with a variety of opinions about what the church should be doing, with a variety of occupations and even coming from different parts of the world - all this diversity has come together to form the church. That church is you and I.
We are united by Jesus Christ. We have heard his voice, and followed his call. He has brought about something that at first would seem to be impossible. There is only one thing holding us together and that is Jesus Christ. In baptism God brings together all the diversity among people and unites them in his Church.
We get a hint of this in the Gospel reading today. A large crowd went out to meet Jesus. They went out from all the towns. You get the feeling that they were people of all occupations, the rich, the poor, the young, the elderly, the skilled craftsmen, the labourers, the tax collectors, the Pharisees, Sadducees, the children, the women, and in other places we read of Gentiles coming to see Jesus.
The crowd was a mixed bunch. They went out for one purpose, to see and hear Jesus. In spite of their diversity, there was unity. People, like you and the people sitting around you, from other lands, and cultures, are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus makes a difference to the way we regard each.
We are no longer strangers and foreigners to each other, as Paul says, but because of Jesus we are members of God's family, we are able to welcome and understand one another as fellow-members of God's household, even though we are all different and all have our individual ways and occupations.
To put it simply through Jesus’ death we have been reconciled, or made friends again with God, so likewise in Christ we are to be reconciled to one another. Breaking down barriers and being made friends with one another is not an option. It is an important and undeniable part of our Christian faith.
There is a lot of discussion about reconciliation with our aboriginal people of Canada. We as the church don’t have good record as far as the First nations are concerned. The governments of our country as well as the church made grave mistakes. European settlers treated the First nations as inferior humans and savages.
They were sent off to make-shift settlements known as reserves, they were forbidden to practice their culture and language, their children were put in boarding schools. As I speak the Anglican, and the United Church of Canada are paying millions of dollars compensation for the abuses that went on years ago.
Even the Lutheran church made mistakes as well. We have been over-protective and paternalistic in our mission fields; we haven’t been sensitive enough to their cultural and religious practices.
There are those in the church who regard other races as inferior and speak in derogatory terms. There are those who make a distinction between one and others. As a person of colour, I have my stories of discrimination even by Christians. You see my friends "colour and class is a false distinction, but love is not. Jesus loves regardless, and so should we.
And we don’t have to look beyond our own congregation to see that the church is not a perfect community. Who is the Church? The Church is you and I, the Church made up of imperfect people. We as people reflect the nature of the church. The church is not Synodical Bishop Michael Pryse or National Bishop Ray Schultz. You and I made up what we called the church.
In every congregation there are problems. Some people may hold opinions and points of view that make others feel unwelcome or even threatened. Some project their fears, doubts of the Bible, and negativity on others. (I think there is a big difference between sharing doubts and projecting doubts)
And oh! heavens forbid if one doesn’t hop on to their bandwagon, they get quite hostile. For that reason some avoid each other. And who hasn't felt put out or upset by what somebody else did or didn't do. Relationships can be so fragile. And yet we still keep coming together. We still keep responding to the call of the Lord. It's a miracle!
By his death on the cross, Jesus has broken down the dividing wall of hostility that we put up between each other. I believe with my heart that one of the greatest gifts of God second to grace, is the freedom to think or chose and believe individually. We all need to cherish this gift.
We receive Christ's forgiveness and Christ now sends us to make amends with our brothers or sisters with whom we have had a dividing wall. This forgiveness and love is the binding glue of God's family. All this is Christ's doing. It's his miracle!
We share together bread and wine and Jesus body and blood in Holy Communion Through this eating and drinking we are sharing the same Christ, we are receiving the same blessings from Jesus, we are expressing our oneness and togetherness through the Sacrament. All this regardless of who we are and who the other person is. We are one in the body of Christ the Church.
As we come to this altar and share together the same body and blood of the same Lord, we are not only come closer to our Lord, but we also come closer to one another. Little by little the things that divide vanish. That is a miracle!
This is how it is to be with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I am deliberately using the term "brothers and sisters" because that is what they are in the Church. As Paul says, ...
you were baptized into union with Christ ,... so there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, ... you all one in union with Christ Jesus
(Gal 3:26).The wall of hostility between people has come down. The wall between parents and children, the wall between husband and wife, between neighbours, between races. As people who have been reconciled to God we have no option in welcoming and loving and helping all people whether they are in the church or not.
In Christ we are called to care for the hungry and thirsty, the poor, the sick, and those in prison. All bigotry and prejudice and unfair discrimination because of race or creed is to be resisted and denounced as counter to God’s will. As those who have been reconciled to God, we are to seek reconciliation between people. We are to bring the peace of Christ so that forgiveness, friendship and love fill the gap where there was once hostility.
We are to be the catalyst that brings about reconciliation between people.
So this is the miracle. Those who meet to worship are celebrating this miracle. In fact, if you are worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ you are a miracle. Yet it is not our miracle, it is the Lord's.
From all the diversity that exists in God’s church, God makes us one body, God’s people. That the church exists at all, made up of sinful, angry, hostile people, that's a miracle. If you want to see a miracle, look around you and see the church, see your fellow members of God's family.
And you will see nothing but a Miracle.
Do you believe in miracles? I do!
Amen
Rev. Samuel King-Kabu
July 20, 2003