Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
John W. MartensJuly 15, 2009

The second reading for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time continues with the reflections of Paul (or a superb facsimile of Paul) on human unity in and through Christ. The reading for this Sunday is Ephesians 2:13-18, but I think it is worth drawing in the two verses just prior to this passage:

"So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called "the uncircumcision" by those who are called "the circumcision"—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world."

Paul has used imagery evoking the family of God earlier in this letter, and in these verses draws on political imagery (the politeia of Israel) to establish the division amongst people's prior to the coming of Christ, though "family," as in the "children of God," is certainly one way to understand the people of Israel. Now, however, those who were "aliens" and "strangers" (or "foreigners" - the Greek is zenoi), those who did not belong to the covenant people, belong to God through Christ. This division, and the overcoming of this division in Christ, speak directly in the 1st century context to the struggles of the early Church to understand theologically and to make manifest actually the bringing together of Jew and Gentile in the people of God. Yet, this distinction between Jew and Gentile in terms of salvific reality, especially the wondrous reality that God has called all peoples into his family and into his politeia, does not resonate, I think, with the same clarity that it did in the first century. But we ought never forget, personally or theologically, the past role and the continuing role of the Jewish people in salvation history. We can never forget either that it is through Christ "that you who were once far off have become near by the blood of Christ" (Ephes. 2:13).

Paul continues on to say that "peace" has been gained for us through Christ's sacrifice by breaking down the "enmity" (or "hostility") between Jew and Gentile, which he calls a "dividing wall." Indeed, the word "peace" occurs not only in verse 14, but again in verses 15 and 17, apart from the use of "reconcile" which is used in verse 16. Verse 15 also speaks of the "abolishing" of the Law and its commandments, which is difficult to fit into Paul's claims elsewhere that the law is fulfilled by Christ and his followers (cf. Gal. 5:14; Rom.13:10), though in this context it indicates - to me at any rate - that what was a "dividing wall" has been breached to bring together two peoples into one humanity (Ephes. 2:15).

While the split between Jew and Gentile might not be a constant and current concern in the daily life of the Church any longer, it strikes me that these words need to resonate for us with clarity today in new contexts. Paul focuses on how Jesus has broken down divisions, on peace, on reconciliation between parties once in open hostility. Christ has created one new humanity. How do we live this reality of one new humanity within the Church? How do we tear down differences amongst people of different races, nations or political persuasions? Do we build walls where Christ has torn them down? There is a saying in Tosefta Avodah Zarah 1, 19, which somehow fits in the context of Ephesians: "Rabbi Simeon ben Eliezer says, if children would say to you, 'Build the Temple,' do not listen to them. And if elders say to you, 'Destroy the Temple,' listen to them. Because the building of youths is destruction and the destruction of elders is building" (my translation)." Let me paraphrase this in the context of the Christian family or polity: if the Messiah has torn down the dividing walls, don't go building them again.

John W. Martens

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV greets religious sisters during a meeting with officials and employees of the Roman Curia, Vatican City State and the Diocese of Rome in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican May 24, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Describing the Curia as the institution that preserves “the historical memory of the church,” Pope Leo called on these Vatican employees to “work together” with him “in the great cause of unity and love.”
Gerard O’ConnellMay 24, 2025
Paola Ugaz, a Peruvian journalist who helped expose the abuse committed by leaders of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, gives Pope Leo XIV a stole made of alpaca wool, during the pope's meeting with members of the media May 12, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Pope Leo offered a heartening message for a global media that has endured a pretty awful year.
Kevin ClarkeMay 23, 2025
If you think our enthusiasm for our basketball team was intense, just wait until you see our support for Pope Leo XIV.
Jack DoolinMay 23, 2025
“I don’t think he’s the kind of man who sends coded messages,” Cardinal Michael Czerny says in this exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell.
Gerard O’ConnellMay 23, 2025