Year B, Proper 11, RCL
Ephesians 2:11-22
If we were to read all of Ephesians, instead of only the passage we heard today, we would hear that it was Paul who wrote the epistle. Despite what the epistle actually says though Ephesians most likely wasn’t actually written by Paul but the author certainly has a grasp on Paul’s theology, especially Paul’s concept of the “Body of Christ”. The author of this epistle writes of Christ bringing all people together so that he “might reconcile both groups to God in one body”. Paul’s understanding of “the Body of Christ was certainly influential on the author of this epistle.
Writing about this “one body” the author is not talking about a group of people who all fit the same mold, who think and act a like, who generally get along well together. No! The author here is talking about the Israelites, the people of God, and the gentiles, the unclean others. When this epistle was written there was much division between these two groups. The purity code of the Jewish people severely limited any interaction between the two groups, and there was simply put general animosity between the two, a distinct wall separating the two. Israelites and gentiles, the people of God and everyone else.
That all changed though, we heard today that Jesus “has made both groups into one and broken down the dividing wall”, that we are “no longer strangers and aliens” but are “ citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God”. The author writes that together we become a “holy temple in the Lord”, that we are built together “into a dwelling place for God”. I don’t know about all of you, but I find this passage really exciting. Think about it, first of all there is now no dividing wall between the people of God and everyone else, being the people of God is now open to everyone, every single person. And secondly, together we become the dwelling spot for God in the world. We become the Body of Christ.
The Body of Christ has two different understandings for me. The one that always comes to mind first is that it defines us. We are one. One people, one church, one body, the Body of Christ is who we are. There is no longer an ‘us’ and a ‘them’, there is now one body, the Body of Christ. The beauty of this is that a body is made up of different parts, it can only be a body if it contains different parts, so we’re not asked to give up our individuality to achieve the unity of this body, rather we are invited in and that diversity is celebrated, for it is what makes the body functional. And this is the second understanding of the phrase, it describes us functionally.
As the Body of Christ, we act in this world on Christ’s behalf. Our actions, those of the one holy catholic and apostolic church, are the actions of Christ in this world. ~~Now before I go on, let me say a few words about what I mean by the church. This past week I was one of two chaplains at Older Boys camp at ECC. The theme for the week was discovery and as chaplains we focused on how we discover God in different areas, the bible, community, creation, ourselves and church. The day we talked about church we focused on how the word church doesn’t refer to a building or a denomination, but rather it refers to the people. The word it comes from in Greek derives from the verb to be called out of, the church is the people who are called out. This is not Emmanuel Church, you all are Emmanuel Church. One other thing before I continue, I used a phrase from the Nicene Creed, one holy catholic and apostolic church because I am not talking about the Episcopal Church, but am talking about all Christians, as Episcopalians we make up one part of the greater church.~~ Ok, back to the Body of Christ. Christ is seen and made known in this world through the actions of the church.
Kind of daunting, huh? That’s a lot of responsibility. In thinking about this I’m reminded of two very different sayings, the first is often attributed to St. Francis, “preach the Gospel always, and when necessary use words”. The obvious connection here is of course that our actions are seen as a way of preaching the Gospel. What we do communicates what we believe, what we do communicates who Christ is and what it means to be a Christian. What I love about this little saying is that it includes the word ‘always’, this isn’t something to do in a pulpit on Sunday mornings or on a mission trip somewhere, it is what we are to do all the time. Our lives, every moment of our lives, are to be given as a sermon, proclaiming the Gospel to the world around us. In doing so we are faithfully acting on behalf of Christ in the world.
The other saying comes, I believe, from a bumper sticker and puts forth a negative view of the church, it goes something like: I love Jesus, it’s his followers I can’t stand. This bumper sticker is a criticism of the church, and once again I’m talking about the entire church. As much as I’d like to say that this bumper sticker is ridiculous (and I generally simply dislike bumper stickers so I’m especially tempted to do so for that reason) there is of course some truth in this saying. The church does not always act as the “Body of Christ”, our actions do not always embody how Jesus would act in the world this day and age, we do not always preach the Gospel with our actions.
We can easily give in to focusing on what divides us rather than on what unites us, but this is what leads to people loving Christ but not his followers. If we as the church are to truly be the Body of Christ then we must remember what we heard in today’s epistle reading, we must remember that in making us one Christ has “broken down dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us”. We must remember that we have been reconciled “to God in one body through the cross”.
As I mentioned earlier, this does not mean that we need to give up any sense of individuality or diversity or become mindless clones. That would be just as bad as trying to rebuild the dividing walls that Christ has torn down. As one body we are made up of different parts, and this is to be celebrated, for otherwise we would not be able to function in the world, we rely on our different parts. Today’s epistle reading is calling us to come together as one body and focus on the thing that unites us, that is, our faith in Jesus Christ. The Body of Christ is called to act in such a way that we embody Christ in this world so that statements such as “I love Jesus, it’s his followers I can’t stand” will be utterly ridiculous. We are called to act in such a way that we can truly be a holy temple and dwelling place for the Lord.
I mentioned that I’ve been at ECC this past week, I’ve actually been there the past two weeks so I’ve had a lot of time to wander around and take in a lot of things that could easily go unnoticed there. One such thing is an excerpt from a poem, “In Search of a Round Table, by Charles Lathrop, framed on the wall of what is called the “round table room”, which is the first room you walk into in the house on the property. I noticed the poem within the first couple of days after arriving and it has been on my mind over the past two weeks as I thought over this sermon. I’d like to end with an excerpt from this poem.
For God has called a People
Not "them and us".
"them and us" are unable
to gather round; for at a round table
there are no sides
and ALL are invited
to wholeness and to food.
...
Round tabling means
No preferred seating,
No first and last,
No better, and no corners
For the "least of these".
Roundtabling means
Being with,
A part of,
Together and one.
It means room for the Spirit
And gifts
And disturbing profound peace for all.
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