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The
world is divided in countless ways, by borders, fences, and walls.
But Jesus enters the world to break through division and bring healing,
unity, and love. As Christians we are also called to break down
walls, step over borders, and bring unity and love to the world.
Every astronaut
has been significantly transformed by seeing the earth without
walls, borders and boundaries.
I have a friend
that has a small piece of the Berlin Wall. During the latter part
of the 20th century, the wall stood as an impassable symbol of
a great truth about human nature. Today the wall has disappeared.
There is not a trace of it left in that particular spot. It is
no longer a barrier between people, it is now a door, an invitation
to stroll unhindered down the famous Unter Dem Linden, the street
that was named for the Linden trees that line it. If you stand
at the place where the wall once stood and look to the South,
you see an astonishing sight. Nothing remains of the wall that
was once there. Now there are dozens of construction cranes standing
in the open area that was once a shooting gallery for the escapees
to the West. A new society is being built.
People build
walls that separate them from others. Now that Berlin wall is
in pieces, distributed, and kept as souvenirs by people all over
the world who are united in the notion that political freedom
is better than oppression. Like Robert Frost said, "Something
there is that doesn't love a wall.
There are
other boundaries that are closer to home. They can be determined
by which school you attend, where you work, the kind of car you
drive, or the cost of your tennis shoes. These are the artificial
walls, which divide people between those who are like us and those
who are not. Usually, we do not like to get too close to those
who are different from us.
Jesus lived
in an age of division. Jews safeguarded themselves from others
by maintaining laws of purity. It was the job of the Pharisees
to keep everyone on their toes and try to enforce all the rules.
Gentiles were
avoided, Samaritans were hated and sinners were outcast, lepers
were quarantined, the sick were kept apart, and those who buried
their dead were considered unclean for a week. But, Jesus paid
little attention to these human restrictions. That was one of
the things that often got him in trouble.
In today's
gospel stories, Jesus shows a genuine disrespect for the barriers.
When a disciple was needed, he looks in an unlikely place and
calls upon Matthew, the tax collector. No respectable rabbi would
consider an outcast for his disciple. Such a person would be too
evil to recruit for godly matters. Jesus saw in Matthew some qualities
that would be useful and he called him and put him to work spreading
the good news of God's love. He even had dinner with his friends.
Jesus runs
into another barrier when the leader of the synagogue bursts upon
the scene. His daughter has died and he begs him to come and touch
her. The dead are unclean. No Rabbi should be asked to touch a
dead person. But what does Jesus do? He steps over that barrier
and goes to the dead girls side.
Along the
way he was confronted by yet another level of separation. A bleeding
woman touches his garment and makes him ritually unclean. He responded
in a way that no one expected. Instead of rebuking her for her
indiscretion, he heals her and offers words of encouragement.
Jesus does
not recognize any wall that should keep him from these people.
He does not require any doctrinal litmus test. There is no question
about their political convictions. Jesus does not make any calculation
about ethnicity or gender or social standing. He only sees their
need to be touched, to be healed, to be loved, and forgiven.
He responds
to something in these people that unites all of us; the need to
be made whole. "Those who are well have no need of a physician,"
says Jesus. The artificial walls that we build around us can keep
us from getting well. No matter what our education is, or our
gender, nationality, race, convictions, or affiliations, we must
come to Jesus for the healing and wholeness for which we have
a longing.
None of us are well, and least of all those who do not see their
own illness. The Pharisees did not see their sin. They could not
see that building walls and keeping boundaries was contrary to
the true nature of their faith in God, which they were trying
to protect.
This truth
is what the Apostle Paul spent most of his ministry trying to
communicate to first of all the gentiles, but also the Jews. His
message was clear and to the point. Maintaining the walls that
separate us from each other does not save us. Keeping the rules
about the Sabbath, going through the rituals, circumcision, and
dietary habits does not save us. Following all of the Ten Commandments
and the subsequent rules that followed will not save us. These
are only walls that separate us. There is only one thing that
saves us, and that is our faith in Christ Jesus. Only by believing
God, and trusting our eternal destination in him can save us.
We are saved
by faith and not by works is the phrase Paul used to convert the
people. That is to say, there is nothing we can do to win God's
favor, except to love and trust and believe. We are brought to
God by allowing His Holy Spirit do His work in us.
This truth
moved Paul to say, "In Christ there is no east or west, no
north or south, no male or female, no Jew or Gentile but we are
all one in Christ Jesus."
Jesus was
not successful in convincing very many of the Pharisees to tare
down the walls. Maybe he will be more successful with us because
we have the New Testament stories of how foolish Jesus thought
it was to build these silly walls that separate us. Perhaps the
walls that we build are a symptom of how desperately we really
do need him.
Today, I pray
that Jesus will touch you in the way he touched the people in
these stories.
I pray today
that he will call you like he called that lonely outcast, tax
collector to be a faithful disciple.
I pray today
that in your rejuvenation and healing that you will be merciful
to those who happen to be different from you.
Just as one
of our recent presidents said in a State of the Union Address
as the cold war was winding down, "Tear down that wall."
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