Episode 9 - The Wall of Hostility
In this episode we dive into Ephesians 2:14 - 22 as we read about the destruction of the wall of hostility. The beginning of this year seems to be turning out to be just as event filled at 2020 was. Today our nation impeached our president for the second time in his presidency. Where ever you might rest politically, whether you agree with it or not, this probably brings up a lot of feelings. Maybe anger, fear, sadness, indignation. Yet many people are not feeling seen, not feeling heard. We long to be seen, to be understood. God can be that for you. This scripture is from the daily office for today January 13, 2021. I hope this is encouraging to your soul.
Ephesians 2
14-15 The Messiah has made things up between us so that we’re now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.
16-18 Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.
19-22 That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
