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Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Our text is from Ephesians 213 22.
[00:00:05] St. Paul writes, now in Christ all of you who were far away became near in the blood of Christ.
[00:00:15] He is our peace, who made both one and destroyed the dividing wall of hatred in his flesh. He nullified the written law of the commandments so that the two might become in him one new person making peace.
[00:00:32] He reconciled both in one body for God through the cross, destroying the hatred in himself.
[00:00:41] After he came, he told the good news of peace for all of you who were far, and peace for those who were near, for it is through him that we have access in one spirit to the Father.
[00:00:55] Consequently, all of you no longer are strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens of the holy ones and members of the gods household built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus being its support or frame in him all the building, while being put together, is growing into a holy dwelling in the Lord.
[00:01:23] Here ends our text.
[00:01:25] Gods grace, mercy and peace be with you from our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
[00:01:31] This world is full of division.
[00:01:35] We see it in world affairs in such places as Israel, where Muslims and Jews have been fighting each other all of my lifetime.
[00:01:45] Even the different kinds of Muslims and countries such as Iraq fight against each other. And then we have Ukraine, where two groups of Slavs and different nations are divided.
[00:01:58] Especially in this election year, the divisions that divide America politically have gotten out of hand, with some accusing others of trying to undermine our democracy and others accusing those opposing them as trying to destroy our country.
[00:02:18] It would be nice if those who speak to the entire nation, like well known politicians and broadcast journalists, would lead the nation in avoiding such irresponsible talk. But they often implant in their supporters and viewers these very over the top opinions. And unfortunately, as we saw last weekend, such talk sometimes leads others to even seek to take the lives of those whom these commentators and politicians have demonized. As we saw in Donald Trump's rally last Saturday in Pennsylvania.
[00:02:59] The fact that they are criticized so much and said to be evil really plays into that. Martin Luther said in the commandment, in his meaning of it, that we should put the best construction on everything.
[00:03:16] And Jesus even said, love your enemies.
[00:03:20] How do we do that?
[00:03:23] We see division in our personal affairs as well.
[00:03:27] We see it in disputes at work, such as at the various strikes that take place from time to time. We see it in the disputes that crop up in our families, which can lead to divorce.
[00:03:39] Finally, we see it in disputes that arise in other relationships. We may have disputes with our associates at work, with our fellow Christians, at church and with our neighbors.
[00:03:52] In our text, St. Paul comments upon a kind of division that caused problems in the early days of the church.
[00:04:01] The Jews and Gentiles were traditionally not the best of friends.
[00:04:07] The Jews considered themselves to be God's holy people. Hence, they considered associating with gentiles, which was anybody who was not a jew, to be degrading.
[00:04:19] In the same way, the gentiles looked upon the Jews as being a very strange people. The Jews had been observing some very strange laws concerning worship, food, and the like.
[00:04:32] So there were at times, a lot of the times, bad feelings between Jews and gentiles, and that even found its way into the church. As we see in acts, it was considered degrading for the Jews to eat with gentiles or go to their homes. Likewise, the Jews were probably made fun of and were occasionally persecuted for their strange beliefs and customs.
[00:04:59] Hatred is something that we know is wrong, but sometimes it seems that we can't help but hate certain people or peoples.
[00:05:08] St. John said in his first letter, anyone who hates his brother is in the dark and walks in the dark and doesn't know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
[00:05:24] Yet, in spite of such a warning, Christians have at various times hated others and other groups of people, often passionately.
[00:05:33] In America, we have known race hatred, where the hates, where the whites hated the blacks and the blacks hated the whites. Such groups in the past as the Ku Klux Klan would claim to be christian and would try to use the Bible to show why the blacks were inferior and perhaps worthy of being treated poorly.
[00:05:53] Another example of race hatred that has at times been expressed by whites against Indians and Indians against whites.
[00:06:02] This hatred of whites against Indians has sometimes been so fierce in some areas, and I know it personally, because there was a church close by where that happened, that the churches of white people would not speak the gospel to their indian neighbors or would not welcome them into their churches.
[00:06:21] And what about the hatred that exists between neighbors?
[00:06:25] What about that hatred that some of you have against a particular person?
[00:06:31] Do you never have anything good to say about that person?
[00:06:36] How can that be true? Do you continually speak evil about that person to others, trying to embitter them toward that person as well?
[00:06:47] Do you avoid speaking or seeing that person as if he or she had the plague?
[00:06:53] Yes, hatred is something we know.
[00:06:56] And as St. John says, anyone who says, I am in the light, but hates his brother is still in the dark.
[00:07:08] Our text speaks of the dividing wall of hatred.
[00:07:13] Let me illustrate this with a story.
[00:07:16] There were two tribes that lived on a large hill. These two tribes had once lived in harmony. But as time went on, various disputes caused members of these two tribes to hate each other so much that they built a high wall on the hill so they wouldn't have to deal with each other.
[00:07:36] Sometime later, another tribe came into their area. This tribe lived by looting and pillaging.
[00:07:43] Each of the two tribes by itself was too small to withstand the invasions from this other tribe. Also, all the stones that they could have used to build a wall to defend themselves had been used to separate themselves from the tribe across that wall.
[00:08:02] Finally, one of the men and one of the tribes realized that if the wall were torn down and the stones used to build a wall for defense against their common enemy, and if the two tribes cooperated in defending themselves, that the dividing, that the invading tribe would no longer be able to loot each other. These people.
[00:08:23] One night, this man tore down the wall. By the time the two tribes woke that morning, the wall was down.
[00:08:31] Both tribes began stoning the mandev. At that point, the scouts from the two tribes yelled out that they could see the marauders coming.
[00:08:41] With his last breath, the man who tore down the wall whispered to them, cooperate and live.
[00:08:49] Separate and die.
[00:08:52] As the people from the two tribes saw the invaders quickly approaching, they understood the meaning of the man's words. Quickly, they joined together to construct a wall for defense out of the very stones that had previously separated them.
[00:09:09] As the looters continued to come, the combined forces were able to repel them.
[00:09:16] After such a huge defeat of their enemy, the two tribes realized that they no longer even knew the cause of their hatred of each other.
[00:09:26] The two tribes decided to become one tribe from that time on.
[00:09:31] And that's what happened in the church.
[00:09:34] The Jews and the Gentiles became one church.
[00:09:40] This story illustrates a great truth. We oftentimes spend too much of our energy in building walls that divide us from those whom we dislike or hate, so that when Satan comes from the energy we've devoted to building that wall, we don't have the resources to withstand him.
[00:10:02] But Christ has come.
[00:10:04] He did for us every good work of love possible, living the perfect life for us and every other person, and dying the death that every one of us deserved.
[00:10:17] He died on the cross for our sins of hatred as well, thereby destroying the barrier that separated us from one another.
[00:10:27] Then he rose from the dead to announce to us that he had restored peace.
[00:10:33] He had restored peace between God and humanity through his removal of the barrier of sin that separated the two and he had restored peace between people, that sin that separated them by breaking down the barrier of hatred that separated them. Instead, we found ourselves praying, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
[00:11:04] Certainly something you can't do if you hate.
[00:11:08] He did this by his death for every sin in this life. Because we are still sinners as well as saints, we may still find ourselves in situations where our hatred has created barriers.
[00:11:22] This hatred may even be against fellow christians. In such a case, we need to pray to God that he would give us the strength to destroy such barriers that hamper the expression of his love through us and that he would bless our peacemaking efforts.
[00:11:41] Indeed, as St. Paul says in our text, we are fellow citizens of the holy ones.
[00:11:49] We who are on Christ's side are on the same side.
[00:11:54] We are citizens of God's kingdom. His kingdom is one of peace and love.
[00:12:01] When Jesus comes to establish a new heaven and a new earth, there will be perfect peace, for all of his enemies will be destroyed in the fiery lake.
[00:12:12] There will be no more sin, so there will be nothing to cause us to hate each other.
[00:12:19] We will all be perfect in deed, perfect in love, and perfect in peace.
[00:12:28] Our text also says that we are to be members of God's household.
[00:12:34] Other scripture verses establish our place in God's household.
[00:12:39] They say we are to be children of God.
[00:12:43] If we are to be his children, we will be like him.
[00:12:49] Since scripture says that God is love, we too will be loving.
[00:12:56] As God is good, even so shall we be good, as our God is holy. Likewise shall we be holy.
[00:13:08] But the illustration in our text which St. Paul develops the most is the one of the Lord's dwelling or temple. It says, we are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus being its support, both foundation and the and the structure of the structure in him. All the building, while being put together, is growing into a holy dwelling in the Lord.
[00:13:36] It reminds me of a saying that Jesus once made. He said in mark three, if one part of a house fights against the other, it can never stand.
[00:13:48] If a house was built so that they were leaning against each other and one side was trying to push down the other and so on, yes, the house could not stand. And indeed, for a house to really be good, it needs to be dependent on the other parts. The parts work together, and you can't remove one part without it affecting the rest.
[00:14:11] Of course, God's house, his holy church, is built well because the builder is the same one who built the universe.
[00:14:21] St. Paul talks about this further in one corinthians three, he says, you are God's building. In his love, God gave me a work to do, and so as an expert master builder, I laid a foundation and someone else is building on it. Everyone should be careful how he builds on it.
[00:14:45] Nobody can lay any other foundation than the one that is already laid, and that is Jesus Christ.
[00:14:52] If on this foundation you build anything of gold, silver, fine stones, wood, hay, or straw, what each one does will be known.
[00:15:08] That day will show what it is because the fire will reveal it and test it to show what kind of work everyone has done.
[00:15:17] If what you build on the foundation stands the test, you will get paid.
[00:15:23] If your work is burned, you will lose something, but you will be saved, though it will be like going through a fire.
[00:15:33] So, since we are all a part of the same building, we need to work together to make this building into a God pleasing one. This is done when we build upon the foundation God has made, namely the one built by the apostles and prophets, who laid that foundation using a very strong material, that material being Jesus Christ. For it is the foundation and the supports upon which the whole church rests.
[00:16:06] In other words, we are to rest upon the truth of scripture, which was proclaimed by the apostles and prophets, and it proclaims Christ, which is the material that is laid.
[00:16:19] We are to be supported by this strong base called Christ.
[00:16:23] He supports the whole structure.
[00:16:27] This has implications for us. When we have disputes with our fellow christian brothers and sisters, we are not to allow barriers to develop that divide us. Rather, we are to work together in harmony, as a house divided against itself cannot stand.
[00:16:46] So we need to settle disputes in a christian way. That means basing our discussion on scripture, not our personal preferences, using its principles to guide us in doing what is right.
[00:17:00] Also, we are to let Christ be our support, just like the frame of a house, we must rest upon his forgiveness of our every mistake so that we can be reconciled. For Jesus told us to pray, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
[00:17:21] It is so hard to forgive our enemies, let alone try to be reconciled to them. Indeed, as long as we cling to this sinful flesh, we may never be able to forgive as we ought.
[00:17:35] We will always need to ask Jesus to break down the barriers that are dividing us from our fellow humans. But we also need to remember that in terms of the ultimate all christians are a part of the same building.
[00:17:50] We rest upon the same foundation, namely the one laid by the apostles and prophets, and we are supported by the best of foundations and structural supports, namely those made from Jesus Christ. This building has a lifetime warranty, namely, for God's lifetime eternity.
[00:18:11] All of us who rest upon the Lord will be a part of this eternal structure.
[00:18:17] So, especially as we work together as the church, let us work to destroy the barriers that divide us and work together to build the house of God. Amen.
[00:18:31] And now may the peace that surpasses all human understanding stand guard of your hearts and minds through faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Now let us rise to confess our faith. In the words of the apostles Creed, which talks about the christian church, the communion of saints.