Dear Incarnation,
On Sunday, Grace continued our summer sermons on neighboring by preaching on Ephesians 2:1-14. I love verse 14: "For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility between us." Grace also shared a story from Matt Wooldridge, a member of our Maryland small group, about the recent removal of a racial barrier in his neighborhood. It was such a vivid picture of what a wall of hositility actually looks like, how it entrenches neighbor against neighbor, and the force required to wrench it from its place and create something new and neighborly. You can read more about this particular barrier here, and about similar "race walls" (including one here in Arlington) in this Washington Post article.
We are really, really good at building dividing walls of hostility. In the time of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, that wall was between Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus. Their seemingly irreconcilable differences of theology, worship, custom, and ethnicity had been reconciled in the body of Jesus on the cross. That is the focus of Paul's letter quoted above.
But the reconciliation of the cross has the power to break down other dividing walls: between us and God, and between us and others. Jesus has called us to take up our crosses and follow him in his way of reconciliation. He has called us to love our enemies and forgive those who persecute us. And he has empowered us by his Holy Spirit to do this work.
But Jesus' ministry of reconciliation can feel especially hard in a political climate as polarized and poisonous as ours, particularly in a week as wildly topsy-turvy as this last one. With all that in mind, I invite you to reflect:
What "dividing walls of hostility" do you recognize in your neighborhood? In your workplace? In your relationships with others? In your relationship with God? In our wider society?
What would it look like for one of these walls to be broken down? What would peace look like?
How is God calling you to be part of creating that peace? Is there one small step he is inviting you to take?
Where is the work too big for you? Where do you need God's own strong hands to intervene and tear down the walls of hostility?
As a pastor, I have the privilege of seeing God work wonders of healing and reconciliation in people's lives, often in situations that once seemed hopeless. His hands are strong, and his work of reconciliation will not stop until every last wall between himself and humanity has been torn down and transformed into something beautiful.
Please reach out if you'd like to walk or grab coffee to talk about anything going on in your life or causing you concern. I'd love to listen and pray.
Warmly,
Amy
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