Ephesians 2:11-22
One in Christ
 
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%202%3A11-22&version=NRSVUE
 
“Jewish law separated observant Jews from others,” as Amy-Jill Levine explains in The Jewish Annotated New Testament. She said that based on the Torah, Israel was to be a “holy nation,” and their holiness set them apart from others, particularly Gentiles. The Torah’s dietary laws also separated them. They could not eat any Gentile food due to “impurities,” and that same sense of dietary uncleanness was passed on to the Gentile people. If their food was unclean, then they were also unclean.
 
This separation created hostility, animosity and suspicion from both the Jews and Gentiles. Religion or Jewish law was at the root of the “dividing wall,” but the wall between them was really their hostility, their hatred of one another. The Common English Bible said it clearly that “the barrier of hatred that divided us” (v. 14).
 
Paul writes that it doesn’t have to be this way. Christ brings them together. Christ is the peace between them, and “the cross was the end of the hostility” (v.16 MSG). Eugene Peterson summarizes it beautifully in The Message: “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 He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped.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” (v.14-15). Jesus gave them common ground to come together to build a new community without dividing walls. Jesus gave them a fresh start.
 
Jesus was the do-over. God started over through Jesus in hopes that God’s creation could be re-connected as one human family through Christ’s love and sacrifice on the cross. This new human family would be the new dwelling place for God. However, our world and our relationships do not look like this creation any longer. We more closely resemble the separated world between Jew and Gentile, particularly here in the US.
 
We have so many dividing walls between us. We are consumed with hostility, animosity, and suspicion that separates us from anyone who looks or thinks different from us. We have certainly not created a dwelling place for God when our hearts are filled with hatred. It’s time for another do-over.
 
We need to be the do-over. Jesus is still capable of bringing us together. We need to examine our hearts and identify the walls between us. We need to be honest that they are created by our own hostility, animosity, and suspicion, not some other scapegoat that we like to blame. We can try to say that our different religious or political leanings separate us from each other, but, honestly, it’s simply hatred that we allow to consume us.
 
It’s no wonder Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God and love one another as Christ loves us because if we did that, we would have a do-over in our hearts. We truly could start fresh each day, creating a dwelling place within us for God to reside. God is love, so if God is to live in us or among us, our hearts must be filled with love.  
 
If we are to be who we are created to be in order for God to dwell among us, we have to remove the dividing walls between us. Christ has shown us how to remove them, how to embrace one another and become one: Sacrificial love. May we all work to tear down the walls that separate us from others.  
 
Reflection Questions:
What are the dividing walls in your life?
What creates hostility, animosity, or suspicion that separates you from others?
How can Jesus help you have a do-over?

Pray:
Pray for a do-over! Ask God to show you where you have deeply embedded hatred that needs to be rooted out.

Action:
Take one step in tearing down a wall. Perhaps sit next to someone who will vote differently from you in a worship service or other community gathering.
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 

Hebrews 10:19-25
A Call to Persevere
 
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2010%3A19-25&version=NRSVUE
 
The letter to the Hebrews was written for the Jewish Christians who were facing social pressure from local Jewish communities to return to their previous practices. They also faced religious persecution from Roman authorities who were suspicious of any private meetings, so some new Christians were “neglecting to meet together” (v.25) out of fear of persecution. 
​
Although anonymous, the writer of Hebrews tries to encourage them to persevere through the pressure and persecution. “Hold fast” (v.23) to Christ, for he is faithful. “We have confidence” (v.19) in his new and living way that he opened for us (v.20), so “let us approach” it (v.22). In their previous practice, they could not approach the sanctuary, the temple, as it was reserved for the holiest of holies. Now, Christ has made it possible for them to come to the sanctuary, the gathering place, with a true heart, “sprinkled clean” and “bodies washed” (v.22). Their sins had been atoned by their baptism and belief in Jesus.

Under pressure and persecution, baptism and belief may not seem enough to overcome their legitimate fear. They may be tempted to lay low and not call attention to themselves. They neglected gathering with other Christians to avoid any type of provocation.  

However, the Spirit (the writer behind the anonymous writer) invites us to think of community in a different way. Gathering together in community may make us more visible, but it will also help us not waver. Left alone, we tend to waver in our beliefs and practices. In community, we receive the encouragement to hold fast “without wavering” (v.23).

We may not face the same persecution for our faith today as addressed in this letter to the Hebrews, but our current political climate in the US is consumed with persecution. Spewing insults, demonizing people who hold different beliefs, pressuring or persuading people to change their values just to get a vote are all common practices these days, which cause many of us to waver. The vitriol unleashed in a comments section alone can cause the most devout person to waver and withdraw.

So, how do we hold fast to Christ “without wavering?” When we want to neglect gathering with others, even other Christians, who provoke and stir up anger within us, what can we do to prevent wavering in our faith? Find a community in which we can approach with our true heart. Instead of withdrawing, draw close, to the ones who will encourage us and provoke us “to love and good deeds” (v.24). This is the kind of community where we find Jesus. We will see him and feel him through the love and encouragement shared, and this is what will help us keep a firm grip “without wavering.”
 
Reflection Questions:
What community of people helps you to persevere and keep a firm grip on Christ?
When was love and encouragement shared with you to keep you from wavering?
If you are in need of a loving and encouraging community, where can you find one? It could be just two or three people, “for where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20).
 
Pray:
Pray for someone in your community who needs love and encouragement.
 
Action:
Send them an encouraging card, text, or email, or do a random act of kindness for a stranger not in your community. 
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 

John 15:1-11
Jesus the True Vine
 
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2015%3A1-11&version=NRSVUE
 
The word “word” in Christian circles can mean different things. Many think of “word” as God’s word, or the Bible, because they believe the Bible is the “inerrant word of God.” Even those who believe the Bible is inspired by God, refer to it as God’s word. John 1:1 says that Jesus is the Word: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The next verse, “He was in the beginning with God,” uses the personal pronoun “he” to infer that the Word is Jesus. We see a difference with the use of “word” here with the uppercase W versus the lowercase w. John 1 refers to a person, but John 15 refers to a word spoken by Jesus. The Word speaks words that cleanse and connect us.
 
Often when we think of the Bible as the “word,” we think of it as a conversation that God had in the past. We somehow try to apply these conversations between God and the Jews to us in our current context. We apply the conversations between Jesus and his disciples to our lives because we are disciples or followers as Christians. These practices are not inherently bad and can be helpful to learn spiritual truths because the Bible is considered to be holy scripture. However, if we do not take into consideration the historical context of their conversations, then we have a tendency to interpret the “word” to be self-serving.
 
What I have found to be life-transforming is the practice of lectio divina that invites us to an on-going conversation with God. Jesus’ words in scripture were spoken in the past, but if we open ourselves prayerfully to truly listen and reflect when reading scripture, Jesus speaks these words in a new way. The Spirit draws our attention to a word, phrase, or image that speaks to us in the present moment. The words Jesus said to the disciples in verse 3: “You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you,” no doubt spoke to the disciples in their present moment. They knew exactly which word Jesus spoke to them that cleansed and formed them.
 
The whole chapter of John 15 is about Jesus expressing the vital importance of staying connected to him. When he leaves his disciples physically, it will be imperative for them to stay connected to him spiritually. In fact, “apart from me,” Jesus said, “[they] can do nothing” (v.5). Staying connected to Jesus, abiding in him, is what will give them the nourishment to grow. If they do not abide in Jesus, they will wither and die.
 
However, there are two parts to verse 7 that help us understand how to stay connected to Jesus. He said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you…” It’s important for us to stay connected to Jesus, but it’s also important for his words to remain in our hearts. The words that Jesus continues to speak to us through our ongoing conversations with him are the words that cleanse us of our self-seeking tendencies and connect us to our life source, the Vine. We stay connected to Jesus by allowing his words to live in our hearts.     
 
Reflection Questions:
What is the word that Jesus has spoken to you that has kept you connected to him? 
What words of his remain or live in your heart? 
How do you stay connected to Jesus?
 
Pray:
Pray for Jesus to speak the words that will abide in you throughout your life.
 
Action:
Try a new spiritual practice that invites you to connect with Jesus in a new way.

*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.