Every Sunday, as we prepare to celebrate the Eucharist, we share the peace. At the moment, of course, this is a matter of a distant bow. In 'normal' times, if we can remember them, we shared the peace through a handshake or even a hug. Of course, the important thing is not the specific expression of greeting but what it signifies. The peace is not just a friendly greeting in the middle of the service, but a very important element in our worship. We are reminded that in Christ, we have peace with God and peace with one another. There are different words used to introduce the peace. The president may say: 'Christ is our peace. He has reconciled us to God in one body through his cross. We meet in his name and share his peace.'
These words come from a passage in Paul's letter to the Ephesians which we heard this morning. What does it mean that Christ is our peace, that we are reconciled to God and to one another?
Paul is addressing Gentile Christians at Ephesus. He reminds them that though they were once far off from God, through Christ's death on the cross they have been brought near. They must not take this for granted. I don't think any of us here this morning are Jews. We may not think of this very often, but we are Gentiles, part of the wider, non-Jewish humanity that is such an important theme in the New Testament. Through Christ, we Gentiles have been brought into God's covenant with his people Israel, and we should not take this privilege for granted.
This drawing in of the Gentiles had always been part of God's purposes, even if it seemed a radical new development at the time. God had made his covenant with his people Israel; they were his people and he was their God. He chose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants; he revealed his loving purposes to them and called them to follow him in covenant faithfulness. He promised to be near to them. (Deuteronomy 4:7). The Gentiles did not know this God; they were far off. But it was always God's plan that Israel should be 'a light to the Gentiles' (Isaiah 49:6), and now, Paul says, the Gentiles have been 'brought near.' They were once strangers to the 'covenants of promise' and could only share in this covenant by first becoming Jews. But now through Christ they are brought near to God as Gentiles. Jews and Gentiles now both have access to the Father in the one Spirit. We too are brought near to God through God's beloved Son, and we too can call God Father through the Spirit. This good news is for everyone. For, as Paul says, 'God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.' (2 Corinthians 5:19)
Christ is our peace; he has reconciled us to God through his cross. The alienation between ourselves and God which we could not overcome ourselves, God has done for us through Christ. But Christ is our peace not only in reconciling us to God, but also in reconciling us to one another.
Paul emphasizes this in these words to the Christians at Ephesus. Christ has made Jews and Gentiles into one new community through his death. 'He has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.' In using the image of the 'dividing wall' Paul may have had in mind the temple in Jerusalem, where a 1½ metre thick wall divided the outer Gentile court from the inner courts which only the people of Israel could enter. It was a serious thing for a Gentile to try to breach that wall and enter the inner courts of the temple. A notice was fixed on the wall saying 'trespassers will be executed' and at one point Paul was arrested because he was accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple. (Acts 21: 27-36).
This physical wall represented the strict religious and social division between Jews and Gentiles and the hostility there was on both sides. Jewish law sharply distinguished them from Gentiles; Jews were circumcised and they had strict food laws that marked them out from non-Jews. But, we're told, Christ 'has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances' (Ephesians 2:15) in order to bring Jews and Gentiles together. Now, it's important to realise here that the law Christ has abolished is the Jewish ceremonial law (laws concerned with circumcision, diet and so on), not the moral law. Indeed, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus says he has come not to abolish the law but to fulfil it, and to call his disciples to even greater purity and faithfulness of life than that of the Pharisees. (Matthew 5: 17-48).
What Christ has done, through his death, is to bring Jews and Gentiles together in one community. Gentiles and Jews are now equal members of this new community; the Gentiles are no longer strangers and aliens and they are not second-class citizens. Indeed, more than being fellow citizens, they are now members of the same household, members of God's family. Finally, using a third image, Paul declares they are all to be built together as 'a holy temple in the Lord ... a dwelling place for God.' (Ephesians 2:21-22).
There are now no second-class citizens within God's people. Divisions and barriers are broken down. The emphasis here is on Jew and Gentile, but elsewhere Paul also says 'There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all or you are one in Christ Jesus.' (Galatians 3: 28). Together, this new community united in Christ, is to be a 'holy temple to the Lord.' God living among human beings at peace with each other: that is what the Church is called to be.
So what does all this say to us?
Firstly, it reminds us of the privilege we have in Christ that we can call God 'Father' through the Spirit. We should not take this privilege for granted.
Secondly, it reminds us that we are all drawn together as one community in Christ whoever we are. The Jew/Gentile distinction may not seem very significant to us here in 21st century but it is crucial for us to understand the significance for the early church that this division was broken down in Christ. For us today, other divisions may be uppermost in our minds. The church has often been divided in terms of race, class, education and sex, with some people feeling like second-class citizens. The dividing wall of hostility that Christ came to break down continues to be only too present in many churches.
The Church of England (of which we are a part as members of the Diocese in Europe) has recently asked all churches to think about the issues of race and sexuality and how these issues affect us as Christian communities.
We are all aware of how divisive race can be in our wider society. The shocking events surrounding the death of George Floyd remind us that racism is alive and well in our world. But racism can also affect churches too and Christians can be divided from one another on racial grounds. It's sometimes said that the hour of Sunday worship is the most segregated hour of the week in America as Christians of different races and colours worship separately. This is a far cry from the good news that Paul outlines that we are drawn together in one new community through Christ and that he is our peace.
The Diocese in Europe recently produced a report called Breathing Life asking all churches to consider whether people of all ethnic groups are equally welcome and encouraged to take a full part in the life of the church. Here at St Ursula's, we recently set up an ethnically diverse working group to look at these issues and what we could do better. I was delighted to hear from members of the group that they generally felt very warmly welcomed at St Ursula's. While recognizing we still need to be alert to subtle forms of racism, the group's main focus has been positive. How can be celebrate the riches of our ethnic diversity at St Ursula's, and find ways to rejoice that we are all one in Christ? We discussed having a wider range of international food at church events and incorporating songs from different parts of the world into our worship.
The Church of England has also set up the Living in Love and Faith process (or LLF) which asks church members to reflect together on how we understand sexuality, relationships and marriage from a Christian perspective. We will be running a five session LLF course in the Autumn. There is a wealth of material to help us reflect together on scripture, tradition, science, cultural influences and individuals' experience to discern the way forward over these issues. In relation to our reading from Ephesians today there seem to be two challenges to think about.
Firstly, we need to overcome hostility and divisiveness within the church. The love of Christ is for all; everyone is welcome whatever their background, experience, or situation in life. No church should say 'we don't want gays here.' Think about the way Jesus spent time with people from all kinds of backgrounds and life experiences.
But secondly, we need to remember that the new community brought into being through Christ is called to be built into a 'holy temple to the Lord.' Jesus welcomed everyone but he also called his disciples to a life of holiness. Just as the welcome is relevant to us all, so the the call to faithful, holy discipleship is also relevant to us all, in every area of our lives. And that will include, among other things, how we use our money, how we treat the environment, how we care for the vulnerable, how we control our temper, or deal with our tendency to be proud and self-centred and look down on others. It also includes our sexual behavior. The call to holiness is definitely not all about sex, nevertheless it does include our sexual lives as one aspect amongst others.
All Christians should agree that we are not called into the reconciled community of Christ to live as we wish, but in obedience to God, being transformed by the Spirit into the likeness of Christ. Of course, the 64 million dollar question at the heart of LLF is precisely this: what does it mean for our behavior as sexual beings that we are called to live lives of Christian holiness, following the way of Christ, obedient to God? And in particular, is Christian discipleship compatible with same-sex relationships, same-sex marriage? Many Christians today would say 'Yes, it is! And it is an urgent matter for us to recognize this.' For those who take this view it is illogical for the Church to embrace the ordination of women and to promote racial justice, but then oppose same-sex marriage. But on the other hand there are many Christians who disagree. Such Christians do not see same-sex marriage in the same terms as racial equality and the ordination of women, and would argue that while all are welcome in church, the area of sexual relationships is one of those areas where Christians may have to be out of step with the norms of our wider society, and perhaps painfully so at times..
LLF is designed precisely to help us discuss these different views. I hope that we can go through this process in the right spirit, without divisiveness and hostility, remembering that Christ is our peace.
A final thought as I finish this morning. If we are honest with ourselves, we will all be aware of how much we fail to live as faithful disciples of Jesus. We are a community of forgiven sinners and we need to treat one another with the compassion and forgiveness that God extends to each one of us. It is only in Christ that we receive forgiveness, reconciliation and peace, with God and with one another.
Christ is our peace. He has reconciled us to God in one body through his cross. We meet in his name and share his peace. Amen.
Helen Marshall