Ephesians 2:11-22
Remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called "the uncircumcision" by those who are called "the circumcision" -- a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands-- remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
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Three men married wives from different states.
The first man married a woman from Michigan . He told her that she was to do the dishes and house cleaning. It took a couple of days, but on the third day, he came home to see a clean house and dishes washed and put away.
The second man married a woman from Missouri . He gave his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. The first day he didn't see any results, but the next day he saw it was better. By the third day, he saw his house was clean, the dishes were done and there was a huge dinner on the table.
The third man married a girl from TEXAS . He ordered her to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed, and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything but by the third day, some of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye, and his arm was healed enough that he could fix himself a sandwich and load the dishwasher.
This morning I want to continue to think with you about our reading from Ephesians.
Last week, as you’ll remember we looked at the opening words to Ephesians where the author lays out his thesis statement: “God destined us for adoption as God’s children through Jesus Christ.” We talked about how we know this simple Christian affirmation, but that many times it’s hard to move it from your head and into your heart. Then I gave you a bit of homework to do for the next month. To take a post it note and write “I am a beloved child of God” on it and place it on your bathroom mirror so it would be one of the first things you saw each morning.
I’ve been surprised by the conversations I’ve had with folks this week in person, over the phone, and via e-mail who have done this. How it has changed them. How they see other people differently and even helped out a few relationships!
It appears that our reading this morning from chapter two has to do with unity in the midst of diversity. The author of Ephesians isn’t stupid. He realizes that it doesn’t take long for people who live in community for very long to begin to fight and quarrel. People take sides on issues and draw lines in the sand. “Either you’re for us or you’re against us” we hear over and over again.
But we have an invitation in the midst of this. To realize that the lines we draw in the sand or the walls we put up might not be God’s. That making decisions about who’s in or who’s out aren’t really up to us, but are up to God.
I remember when I was sitting in front of the TV in 1989 as the Berlin Wall came down. It was amazing to see the looks on people’s faces as families who had been torn apart for years were suddenly reunited. It’s one of those events in my life that I’ll never forget. I knew that I was watching history. A wall that had been up for years as a sign of oppression and of keeping people apart was knocked down virtually overnight.
I think that’s exactly what is happening in our passage in Ephesians. God is telling us that the walls that divide us are really much smaller than we realize and that God would love to help us knock them down.
I believe being a Christian means following God’s lead in the wall breaking business. Standing up and being counted for the cause of justice whether you’re here at Church, in the workplace, a deputy to General Convention, or in the community. God calls us to knock down walls and barriers that prevent everyone from coming to the table.
I was especially proud of our church this week at General Convention when our church made the bold move to move forward by opening the office of bishop to any qualified candidate – regardless of sexual orientation. Watching this for me was like watching this passage from Ephesians be lived out in our contemporary world.
I’ve been amazed at the number of guests we have here at All Saints when I call to follow up with them who tell me that they came to visit an Episcopal Church because we include everyone. They don’t want to be a part of a church that excludes people based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. They want to be a part of a church that when it says “All are welcomed here” that all means all.
Let me tell you a story of what the other side of inclusion looks like. The side of exclusion.
A good friend of mine just retired from being the preaching professor at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, GA. He grew up in Tennessee and each year he’d go back to his hometown at Christmas. He would visit his old friend Buck. Buck owned a café on the main street of town and he would always give Fred a cup of coffee and a piece of chess pie. One Christmas when Fred went in to get his coffee and pie, Buck said, “Come on, let’s go get a cup of coffee.” “What’s the matter?” asked Fred, “isn’t this a restaurant?” “I don’t know; sometimes I wonder,” Buck fired back.
Later, sitting across from Fred, Buck asked, “Did you see the curtain?” “Yes, Buck, I saw the curtain; I always see the curtain.” The curtain was in Buck’s café, separating the front half of the café from the back half. White folks came in the front of the café from the main street, but black folks came in from an alley behind the café. The curtain was there to separate. To separate white people from black people.
Buck looked up and said, “Fred, the curtain has got to come down.” “Good,” Fred replied, “Pull her down!” “That’s easy enough for you to say,” said Buck. “You come in once a year and tell me how to run my business.” “Then leave it up,” Fred countered. In personally agony, Buck said, “Fred, I take that curtain down, I lose my customers; I leave that curtain up, and I lose my soul!”
Buck was right, of course. Some curtains have to come down. Some curtains have to come down because if we leave them up we will lose our souls, no matter how many church customers we gain! The church of Jesus Christ simply must rip some curtains from top to bottom and dump them in the garbage.
The walls of exclusion whether based on gender, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or religion have to come down. We’ve got to begin looking at ourselves and each other as beloved sons and daughters of God. Amen.
The Rev'd Thomas S. Rogers, III
Associate Rector
All Saints Episcopal Church
Frederick, Maryland
Year B // Proper 11 Sermon
Link to audio: http://www.box.net/shared/3070vqo96a
