Barriers
Read Ephesians 2:11-22.
In the ancient Temple, there were divisions, places where you could go and places where you could not go. There was the Court of the Gentiles, the place where God-fearers could come and worship (these were Gentiles who believed in God but did not want to fully convert to Judaism and undergo circumcision). Next was the Court of the Women, where Israelite women could worship. And further in, closest to the actual Temple itself, was the Court of the Israelites, where Hebrew men worshipped. The boundaries were clear; the barriers were erected. You could only go where you "fit."
Further in, the Temple itself was also divided in earlier times. The Holy of Holies was marked off by a curtain, a heavy thick curtain, where no one was allowed except one priest on the Day of Atonement. The Holy of Holies was said to be the actual dwelling place of God, and you didn't want to enter it in an unworthy manner. Everywhere, in this place of worship, there were barriers, divisions, ways to stop you from going into the wrong place.
When Jesus died, we're told, the curtain between the main part of the Temple and the Holy of Holies was torn—from top to bottom! This was a way, the early Christians believed, of God saying the way to his presence was now open to everyone. (I wonder—did a good priest reinstall the curtain at some point after this? I'm assuming so, but I've never heard anyone talk about that.) There were to be no more barriers between God and people, nor between people and people. In one place, Paul describes it this way: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). It's not that those "labels" or "distinctions" disappear entirely; it's just that, as brothers and sisters in Christ, they no longer matter.
In today's passage, Paul is describing the way Jesus breaks down all barriers, and makes all those who trust in him one. This is a message we desperately need today, for we have found more ways in culture and in the Body of Christ to divide ourselves today than previous generations ever dreamt of. Can we truly say we are following Jesus if all we're focused on is the divisions? Paul clearly says Christ makes us one. He destroyed the barrier. What right do we have to put it back up?
Still today, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, there is a barrier between the prayer spaces for men and women. Still today, in the church, there are barriers between various denominations. Some won't worship with others; some won't even pray with others lest their theology be tainted. When did our theology become more important than what Jesus has done? I'm just asking the question. Jesus destroyed the barrier—and it seems to me we often work overtime to put it back up.
Last week, I was privileged to attend the New Room Conference in Franklin, Tennessee. There were Christians there of all sorts of different stripes, and I'm certain there were folks in the gathering whom I would not agree with 100% on every aspect of theology or Biblical interpretation. (I don't even always agree 100% with my United Methodist colleagues, nor do they with me!) And yet, the worship was rich, the times of prayer were deep and the experience was renewing. Despite our differences, the barriers didn't exist. We were just brothers and sisters in Christ, worshipping an awesome God. It truly was, as one person remarked to me, a glimpse of heaven.
Jesus has destroyed the barriers. Don't waste your time today putting them back up.
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| Western Wall, 2012 (seen from just outside the women's side) |
Further in, the Temple itself was also divided in earlier times. The Holy of Holies was marked off by a curtain, a heavy thick curtain, where no one was allowed except one priest on the Day of Atonement. The Holy of Holies was said to be the actual dwelling place of God, and you didn't want to enter it in an unworthy manner. Everywhere, in this place of worship, there were barriers, divisions, ways to stop you from going into the wrong place.
When Jesus died, we're told, the curtain between the main part of the Temple and the Holy of Holies was torn—from top to bottom! This was a way, the early Christians believed, of God saying the way to his presence was now open to everyone. (I wonder—did a good priest reinstall the curtain at some point after this? I'm assuming so, but I've never heard anyone talk about that.) There were to be no more barriers between God and people, nor between people and people. In one place, Paul describes it this way: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). It's not that those "labels" or "distinctions" disappear entirely; it's just that, as brothers and sisters in Christ, they no longer matter.
In today's passage, Paul is describing the way Jesus breaks down all barriers, and makes all those who trust in him one. This is a message we desperately need today, for we have found more ways in culture and in the Body of Christ to divide ourselves today than previous generations ever dreamt of. Can we truly say we are following Jesus if all we're focused on is the divisions? Paul clearly says Christ makes us one. He destroyed the barrier. What right do we have to put it back up?
Still today, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, there is a barrier between the prayer spaces for men and women. Still today, in the church, there are barriers between various denominations. Some won't worship with others; some won't even pray with others lest their theology be tainted. When did our theology become more important than what Jesus has done? I'm just asking the question. Jesus destroyed the barrier—and it seems to me we often work overtime to put it back up.
Last week, I was privileged to attend the New Room Conference in Franklin, Tennessee. There were Christians there of all sorts of different stripes, and I'm certain there were folks in the gathering whom I would not agree with 100% on every aspect of theology or Biblical interpretation. (I don't even always agree 100% with my United Methodist colleagues, nor do they with me!) And yet, the worship was rich, the times of prayer were deep and the experience was renewing. Despite our differences, the barriers didn't exist. We were just brothers and sisters in Christ, worshipping an awesome God. It truly was, as one person remarked to me, a glimpse of heaven.
Jesus has destroyed the barriers. Don't waste your time today putting them back up.
Very well said!
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