People of Peace; Ephesians 2:13-18

The anniversary came and went with barely a notice last week. This past Friday marked eleven years since the fire that destroyed our old building. I looked through the pictures and thought about how far we've come and how many things have changed. The last couple of pictures from that day were of the destruction of the few walls still standing. Those walls had once brought us closer to God and each other. They made us feel safe and secure in our worship, but now they were hazards and had to be torn down. There is something familiar to me in Paul's words from Ephesians 2:14. He writes of Jesus, "For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility." Paul had a very real and solid wall in mind, a wall in the Jerusalem Temple that let some people in while keeping others out. It allowed some to approach God for worship and told others they were not welcome. That wall had become a hazard and had to be torn down. Tearing down a physical wall is easy with the right equipment. Yet, somehow, walls of division and hostility still pop up in our hearts and heads, separating us from those who need us and need the peace Jesus offers. What does peace with God look like? It looks a lot like peace with each other.