July 12, 1998 - LESSON: Ephesians 2:13-16, NRSV

SERMON TITLE: Armistice Day

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INTRODUCTION:

  1. One night fifteen year old white male got on the bus in Asheville, North Carolina.
    1. It was smoky and brightly lit in the front, so he went to the back of the bus.
    2. He did not notice the menacing stares of the other white people on the bus.
    3. All he wanted was a seat in the near darkness where he could catch a few minutes of sleep before the bus got to Hendersonville where he would be met for the final leg of his long journey from Boston MA to Fletcher, NC.
    4. Without realizing it, he had violated a dividing wall.
    5. This was in the days of segregation and the white people sat in the front of the bus.
    6. He was sitting in the back with the Negro's, the Blacks.
  2. It is called a "dividing wall," but actually it is a barrier.

MAIN BODY:

  1. We are faced with all kinds of barriers
    1. Racial
      1. Segregation is officially ended, yet in some areas it persits.
    2. Economic
      1. Poverty is, for many people, a fact of life which cannot be overcome.
      2. Some people simply cannot pull themselves up by their own boot straps.
      3. It is not because they don't try.
      4. There is no opportunity to be used.

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    3. Social
      1. When I was in the navy, we were not wanted in certain sections of the community where we were stationed or on liberty.
      2. We do not want certain kinds of people in our neigborhoods.
        1. Try establishing a home for the disabled.
        2. A shelter house for criminal rehabilitation.
    4. Some are the results of the thoughts and actions of other people
      1. You have heard of the "Glass Ceiling?"
      2. It is an expression that is used to describe, accurately or not, the limitations
    5. Some are the results of our own thinking.
      1. We have nothing in common.
      2. I can't talk to him or her.
      3. A man attended a a class reunion vowed he would never go to another.
        1. He said he felt terribly worthless and unsuccessful.
        2. Some former classmates were doctors, lawyers, or dentists. Others owned thriving businesses.
          1. A few held high offices in large corporations.
          2. Almost everybody talked about brilliant and athletic grandchildren.
        3. The man, on the other hand, holds an ordinary job.
          1. His grandchildren are not getting all A's or excelling in athletics.
          2. His feeling of worthlessness stemmed from measuring his value by the wrong standards.

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  2. The greatest barrier that Greek humanity faced was separation from God.
    1. God was present.
    2. His love was available to all.
    3. But the people did not know of it.
  3. God is in the business of breaking down barriers.
    1. Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
    2. Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.
    3. The dividing wall, the barrier.
      1. What is the dividing wall?
      2. Let Paul provide the meaning
        1. Galatians 3:10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law."
        2. 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for "The one who is righteous will live by faith."
        3. 12 But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, "Whoever does the works of the law will live by them."
        4. 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"--
        5. 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
        6. 15 Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person's will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it.
        7. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, "And to offsprings," as of many; but it says, "And to your offspring," that is, to one person, who is Christ.
        8. 17 My point is this: the law, which came four hundred thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.
        9. 18 For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.
        10. 19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring would come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator.

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        11. 20 Now a mediator involves more than one party; but God is one.
        12. 21 Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law.
        13. 22 But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
        14. 23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed.
        15. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith.
        16. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian,
        17. 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.
        18. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
        19. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
        20. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.
    4. This is why Paul writes about the breaking down of the wall of separation.
      1. Ephesians 2:15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances,
      2. that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace...

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CONCLUSION:

  1. We have an Armistice Day.
    1. Armistice Day was established by President Wilson
    2. God's Armistice Day was established by Jesus Christ.
    3. One seeks an end to hostilities on earth with only poor results.
    4. Christ seeks and end to hostilities internally within the person and within the community.
    5. This can, it can be realized, if we desire it to be.
  2. I know this personally from my own experience.
    1. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17, NRSV)
    2. The old is passing away, behold the new is coming.
      1. My walls, for the most part, have been broken down.
        1. Old hostilities are being replaced with a new understanding of personhood.
        2. The old hostilities expressed in aggression or dominance are being replaced with concepts of justice and mercy.
      2. God help me to become a different person.

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  3. God is seeking to establish a new humanity.
    1. One new humanity in place of the two or three or four or four hundred.
    2. With a new set of standards
    3. With a new ethic of relationship
    4. Based on love, equality of acceptance.
    5. We realize the impossibility of this on a national scale.
    6. It can only occur in a small community of individuals whoa re dedicated to such a vision and purpose.
    7. The place is really in the church.
  4. Are we dedicated to this?

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