Ephesians
2
“A World in need of
Peace”
I was recently at a birthday party for a four year
old. While the children played, a few of
us parents were able to sit and talk.
There was definitely some anxiety in the conversation, anxiety for the
way in which our children, even at the age of four are engaging
technology. There is great concern about
how easy technology can be abused, cyber bullying, hacking, spying, etc. One mom said, we hear all these issues now, I
can’t even imagine what it will be like when our children will be in high
school. What will they be facing
then? She continued, I just want to
build a wall and fence them in to keep them safe.
Keeping children safe.
It is by far a major concern in today’s world. Last fall, when my daughter was playing
soccer, it really struck me as to why organized sports have become so important
in our culture today. Not only are the
kids outside getting some exercise, and not sitting inside watching tv or
playing videos, they are interacting with each other face to face, not via
social media. But more than that, I
personally, found the soccer field a safe place for my children to play. I was able to watch them, but I also knew
that there were other parents there also keeping eyes on them. We were able to be together, find an hour or
so for some socializing, some relaxation, and provide some good fresh air for
our children. I found this time out at the soccer field
rather peaceful.
We, as a people, desire moments of peace. Peace, this one word can be packed with so
many definitions. Peace can be people
getting along. Peace can mean moments in
history where there is no war. Peace can
be sitting at the beach and soaking up the sun.
In today’s passage in Ephesians, Jesus is described as our peace. As Paul writes to this gentile community, he
is reminding them that before they came to learn about God’s love made known in
Jesus they were outsiders. It is only
through Jesus’ love for them, for this world, that they have been brought into
God’s covenant. Prior to Jesus there was
a division, there was God’s chosen people, but God has now open wide the gate
and invited all into the promise of being God’s people. The dividing wall has been shattered and both
groups have been made one. In Christ,
through his peace, through his desire to break down all that divides us, we are
to think of ourselves as being brought into a new humanity, a new creation, one
where we celebrate God’s love for us.
So how do we embrace this peace of Christ in a world that
seems so chaotic, so in need of the end of the hostility between us? Paul wrestled with bringing together the Jews
and the Gentiles, he himself persecuted those that followed Jesus. He was a part of the hostility, part of the
dividing wall, but through his conversion, through the transformation of
understanding God’s deeper meaning and purpose for people in this world, he let
go of all that he knew, all that he understood about God and his faith, and
embraced a new way to be a part of God’s community.
First, we have to name and address the hostility. What is it that brings fear and concern into
our lives today. For some, it is the
constant concern of terror threats and this movement of Isis. For others, it is these off the wall mass
shootings, whether they be at schools, or public places and now a church. For others, it is cyber bullying, or the use
of the internet to lure child. For
others there is hostility towards immigrates and the issues with people being
here that are undocumented. Paul names
the hostility, that there is tension and discord between the Jews and Gentiles
and that we need to know and understand that Jesus is our peace, Jesus is the
one that brings the two together, that unites us as one.
Can Christ be our peace in today’s world? He brings a spiritual peace, but Paul is
talking about a relational peace. Paul
is discussing the way in which two groups of people need to be connected,
united, and reconciled. How do we bring
the peace of Christ into our fears, concerns, anxieties of today’s world? How do we begin to work on the walls of
hostility between us when those walls seem mysterious and unseen to us? One way is through education. We can learn more about cyber bullying and
how people use the internet to lure children.
Perhaps we can work with other congregations or the school system to
develop a program for at risk youth to find a place where they feel safe,
welcomed, and valued and combat the negativity that bullying presents.
Some churches have named themselves a peace site and hold
vigils in times of chaos, lifting up prayer, and naming the evil of the world
for what it is, and proclaiming that God’s love will overcome the darkness of
people’s hate and anger. In Rockaway,
the clergy have created an interfaith group, bringing together people of
various faiths into conversation with each other, educating each other, and
learning that we all live in our community together and desire the best for our
children and the community in which we live.
I was blessed a few years ago to be invited to an event at the mosque
and gave one of the prayers. In some
communities, there are dividing walls between people of faith, in Rockaway,
there is a movement to be a people of peace, a people that honor the
differences between each other and focus on common goals, concerns, and are now
seeking to develop a ministry together.
Going back to the conversation at the birthday party of
this deep desire to keep our children safe in today’s world. We need to know and understand that the Peace
that Christ gives is not a magic shield that keeps us safe no matter what. Even if we build walls to keep our children
in, we cannot keep them safe for ever.
But we can provide the peace of Christ, a tool that should help us
navigate this world, that should call us to seek ways in which the dividing
walls can be shattered and the hostility between us broken. This mom that was so concerned about the
shootings throughout our country also commented that we need to do more in our
country with mental health issues. So
many of these shooters seem to have mental health issues that if they were
addressed, perhaps the outcomes would have been different. Can we as a culture, do better at addressing issues
of anger, isolation, and violence? Let
us turn to God in prayer, praying that Christ, who is our peace, will inspire
us to be present to the walls of hostility in our world today and be those we
seek to bring God’s love into those places so that we can all be a part of the
household of God, beloved children, living in unity with each other. Amen.
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