Throughout history humanity have been in the habit of building walls.
Of building walls to bring comfort, safety and peace.
When a problem arises we often want to put walls up.
In otherwords humanity has constantly looked at barriers as ways of making life better, of bringing peace.
Probably two of the most significant walls in human history are the Great Wall of China and the Berlin Wall.
From 8th Century BC to 1644 AD the Great Wall of China was used by various dynasties to protect their empires.
And in August 1961 the Berlin Wall constructed by East Germany officially to prevent the evasion of the West
and also to prevent East Germans leaving.
But history tells us both of these walls ultimately failed.
Both of these walls created a false sense of peace,
They only managed in creating a short term artificial peace.
when true peace did not actually exist.
The Great Wall of China was first torn down in 221 bc and in 1644 it was also breached.
As a result of the wall being torn down and the breaching China was unified.
And as a result of the Berlin Wall being torn down,
we no longer have East and West Germany there is Germany
One nation.
Both these walls ultimately failed, offering only temporary protection, comfort and peace.
And likewise in Jerusalem there was a wall around the temple.
This wall separated the Jews from the Gentiles,
when it came to following God.
Gentiles were unable to worship God with the Jews.
On the temple wall was a plaque that read
No outsider shall enter
the protective enclosure
around the sanctuary.
and whoever is caught will
only have himself
to blame for the
ensuing death
In otherwords the plaque was saying to the Gentiles you are not allowed to come and worship God with us.
That wall was a division between the Jewish people and the Gentiles.
And between the Gentiles and God
And so for the early church they faced a problem.
They faced a question.
There was a number of Jewish Christians who wanted to emphasis and rely on the law for people to be truly one
They did this to such extent that Jesus didn’t seem that important, but the law did.
They felt to be one, to be at peace with God you must obey the law completely.
To be obey something Jews were comfortable with.
And so you see in the New Testament on various occasions discussion occurring about whether everyone had to obey the laws.
At one stage you see the Jewish Christians seeking Gentile Christians to be circumcised.
On another occasion there is a discussion about whether certain types of food should be eaten.
The Jewish Christians were attempting to use the Jewish Law as a wall to keep people in and out.
But today we heard God through St Paul
Who was talking to the Ephesians
who were mainly Gentile Christians
that being at peace with God and others including the Jewish Christians
doesn’t come from what you do
doesn’t come from how you act
it comes only from Jesus.
Nothing else can unite us.
Our peace with God can come only from Jesus.
In the Old Testament the most common word for peace is shalom and in the New Testament it is eirene.
If you know anyone called Irene they are meant to be a woman of peace.
Those two words have far more than just sitting by the beach and enjoying a cocktail and hearing the waves gently roll in.
Peace in the bible is associated with being blameless before God.
Peace in the bible is about being united, being one, being complete, being whole with God and others.
It is about being tranquil.
Having a tranquil relationship with God and with others.
And in the bible peace exists even when there is conflict and problems going on around.
Eirene and shalom have this state of tranquillity despite problems.
As we dig deeper into scripture
And the necessary requirement for such peace,
for permanent peace is God himself, Jesus.
From Ephesians 2 verse 14 we hear
For Jesus himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.
For us to have peace with God and with others Jesus is essential.
It is Jesus who we need to be focused on.
It is Jesus who brings us peace.
And he does this by removing the requirement that someone has to fully meet all the requirements of the law as the final say as to whether someone can be part of the Christian community.
From verse 15 we hear
by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.
I just need to clarify something it doesn’t mean whether you can do whatever you want.
It doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about obeying the law.
But it does mean that requirement of whether you are able to get into heaven is based on whether you trust Jesus and his death on the cross as the way for you to be in heaven.
Only Jesus can provide the peace with God
Because as verse 18 says
For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
And so what does this mean for us as individual Christians and as a community?
For a start I would like you to think about those things in your life where there is not peace.
Where there is a turmoil.
Maybe you are unsatisfied with something.
Where you have put things off.
And where are you seeking peace for those areas in your life you are unsettled?
Are you trying to do more?
Or are you starting with Jesus?
Are you spending more time with Jesus?
Our starting point is with Jesus.
The second point we are part of a Christian community.
We are a community in this congregation.
God has called us together as a community.
Jesus constantly wants us to live together.
And so what are the walls that exist between you
and others in this congregation?
Who are the people you don’t really get along with? And ask yourself why?
Who are the people you put down, talk or think negatively about when they are not in your company?
When we put others down we are allowing Satan to use us to build a wall between each other?
We are allowing Satan to use the differences between us to divide us.
Rather than allow God to use our differences to build us up.
We are trying to make being a Christian something it is not meant to be,
restricted by what we like and what and who we are comfortable with.
Rather than what God maybe creating us to be.
We need to remember what makes us one,
What unites us is not a certain style of worship, Christianity.
What makes us Christian is our reliance on Jesus to bring us peace with His father.
What makes us a Christian community is Jesus and the work He has done and is doing for us.
And this results in us being a community that is drawn together because of the forgiveness and the peace he offers.
Not because we look the same or do the same things.
And Paul talks about this in another part of scripture,
In Corinthians when he talks about being part of the Body of Christ
We see God encouraging us to see our differences as something than give us strength.
Rather than things that need to be dismissed or eliminated we need to allow God to use the differences between us to strength us.
In fact God has given us differences so we can be stronger in being an evangelising community.
Where we are a diverse a community working together,
sharing God’s love to a diverse range of people.
A community that is more concerned about giving than getting something for themselves
The song St Francis prayer has the line,
It is in giving that we receive.
If we are a community that is drawn together by Jesus and focussed on Jesus.
We are community focussed on forgiveness and sharing His love.
And as I look around our congregation,
There are many examples where people here we people love each other not because they are the same
but because they have a love for Christ.
This is a community who is prepared to care for others.
And this is the message we need to share and encourage.
That this place is bound by the peace and love of Jesus.
And so next time you have an opportunity to talk about this congregation,
God’s church
I encourage you to talk about the good things that are happening.
Talk about how people love each other and help each other even though they are not the same.
Talk about how people who are different are getting a long.
And this is because we are a community focussed on Jesus and His peace.
One of the challenges I give you as a church is not to focus on the negatives but the good things.
There are far more good things happening in our congregation than negative things.
But what about the situation where there are walls of hostility between you and someone in this congregation.
I encourage you to seek peace with them
not by them meeting your expectations or doing exactly what you like but by being focused on Jesus together.
Spend time with each other,
Read and discuss the bible together, pray about things together.
Get to understand each other with Jesus
And also what does Jesus being our peace mean for us as we head towards a year of evangelism?
Think about the people around you.
The people you know.
The people you are interacting with on a regular basis.
If they are not part of a Christian community, why?
What do they know about Christianity?
Do they see Christianity as something it is not?
A place more about being bound together by rules and judging others
or being bound together by Jesus and his love and forgiveness?
Do they view Christianity as a place where Jesus and his approach to life of forgiveness is most important?
Or do they carry some other baggage?
Share with the people you know that Jesus wants them to be part of his community.
If they don’t see Christianity as a place of peace,
Maybe God has put you in their life so they can see that Christianity is primarily about peace.
Being at peace with God means:
Wanting to include, not exclude, have you ever noticed that the stories of Jesus are always about including others, whilst the stories of the Pharisees are always looking at ways to exclude.
Focussing on forgiveness and not judgement
Encouraging community
Showing that there is peace despite differences
Jesus is the only way such peace can occur….
Us being influenced by Jesus’ peace and then us influencing others with Jesus’ peace.
As verse 21 and 22 says
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Let us continue to receive peace from Jesus and let us continue share and highlight His peace in our lives.
AMEN
