A Big House

Reflections on Ephesians 2:11-22

“All walls serve a purpose, but not all walls serve the purposes of God.” This is a quote from Kevin Baker, reflecting on the passage before us this morning. Walls are necessary at times. We need walls to hold up a ceiling. We need walls to mark off property. We need walls to protect us from wind and to provide security. Walls provide boundary markers. Boundaries are needed in order to define identity, to establish limits. Everything has limits. Our bodies have limits. Land and water establish limits. Buildings have limits. Cities have limits. Communities have limits. The Church has limits.
But not all limits, not all walls, serve the purposes of God. Denying participation in the life of the church based on race, on ethnicity, on gender, on sexual orientation, on age, on social class, none of these walls serve God’s purposes. Walls that divide people based on distinctions that people have no choice about are contrary to God’s purposes. We must be aware of and dismantle walls that divide people based on that which they have no control over. No one has control over their race or ethnicity, their gender or sexual orientation. Age and social class have no bearing on our participation in the life of the Church either. These barriers need to be removed because they do not serve the purposes of God.
God’s purpose is that all things be brought together in Christ, including all people. It is God’s purpose that all people be saved, be incorporated into the Body of Christ, which is the Church. The Church is truly a universal fellowship, where all nations and peoples of every persuasion are brought together through a common faith in Christ.
What are the implications of this unity? One is that our differences as individuals and all the other external and internal differences we have by birth are secondary to what we have in common. We have all been reconciled to God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are all loved by God. The door to God has been opened to all of us and the Holy Spirit is trying to lead all of us through that door. When I say “we”, I am talking about all people everywhere, not just us gathered here this morning. The work of Jesus Christ was not just for some of us, but for all people for all time. There is a fundamental unity that already exists and can be embraced.
But there are limits. Jesus saves all people, but obviously not everyone believes that or accepts it. The door is open to all, but not everyone walks in. Many have not heard of the door. Others refuse to believe there is a door or refuse to go in. Some have gone through the door, but later chose to walk back out. Our claim that Christ died for all and saves all comes across to some as profoundly arrogant and presumptuous. The good news we share, for some, is a great offense.
Then there are the internal divisions that we must deal with. From the beginning, there were competing groups and divisiveness in the one body of Christ. Paul complained about this when he said, “Some say they follow Paul, others Apollos, others Christ.” We continue the reality of disagreement and division, which sometimes can be very painful. A recent example is what has taken place in the Episcopal church. At their general convention, by a large majority, the church declared that God may call gay and lesbian people who are in a life-long monogamous relationship to every ministry in the church, including ordination and even the ministry of bishop. Further, they are researching to produce prayers that can be used to bless same-sex partnerships. They also affirm their desire to remain in connection with the rest of the Anglican communion. However, these decisions strain deeply this connection. For some, these pronouncements are received with great joy and affirmation. For others, profound sadness and distress.
What are we to do?
First, we must be committed to building relationships with all people, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. Unity, inside and outside the church, is not achieved by decree, but in one-on-one relationships. Again and again, we are taught by the church to love one another, forgive one another, serve one another. As Christians, we are to be deeply relational. We believe God is relational in His essence as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three Persons in one perfect unity. Our unity is manifested in our relationships, one-on-one, person to person, church to church, community to community.
So, while not denying our differences and disagreements, we must also affirm our oneness in Christ, with humility and gentleness, seeking peace. Looking again at what is happening in the Episcopal church, there is presently profound differences. Yet, the claim is made that there is still unity around their Book of Common Prayer, as well as faithfulness to the Apostolic faith, although both of these claims are challenged by those within and outside of the Episcopal church. Episcopalians still confess the historic creeds of the church. It is certainly my hope that in the years ahead a spirit of humility and gentleness will prevail among Episcopalians as the impact of these decisions play out. We can pray that peace will be sought, along with an appeal for God’s mercy. The struggles, pain, and divisiveness that the Episcopalians and the Anglican communion are experiencing are not theirs alone. Divisiveness, schism, heresy, misunderstanding, is present throughout the Church and has always been so. We all must stay true to our beliefs and convictions, to what by God’s grace has been revealed to us, while at the same time embrace a spirit of humility, relying not on our rightness, but on God’s mercy.
Finally, in spite of the potential to offend, we must live Christologically and keep our arms open, awaiting for the embrace of those who have not yet come to belief. As Christians, we make the claim that salvation is in Christ alone, that no one comes to the Father except through the Son. This is an exclusivistic claim. Not all paths lead to God. Not all religions are the same. We believe God has acted in a particular way. For those who do not accept this, our claims will be perceived as arrogant and presumptuous. Still, as Christians, we believe that Christ truly died and rose from the dead so that all humanity is delivered from death. God sent His Son so that the world, the entire cosmos, would be saved, healed, made whole. So, we relate to all people as those for whom Christ redeems, whether they believe it or not. We are bricks in a wall, a wall constructed by God, with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. We are part of a building, a holy temple where the fullness of Christ dwells. And the door, which is Christ, is wide open for all who would come. Some walls need to be torn down. But some walls remain, walls so strong that not even the powers of hell can knock them down. These are the walls God has built. As Christians, we are bricks in these walls. And God has not finished building these walls. The temple God is building is still expanding. Let each of us be content to be bricks in these walls, and hold fast to each other, and to the Bricklayer who has incorporated us into His building project, the Big House that will eventually contain the universe.