We’re living in a time of great tension. There are tensions in politics, tensions between different racial/ethnic groups, and tensions in other cohorts. Some draw attention to class divisions (wealthy versus poor), or demographic differences (e.g. rural versus urban, small-town versus big-city). Others focus on issues of nationality – like one’s country-of-origin, or citizenship. Still others focus on the so-called “red-state” and “blue-state” locations.
In times like these it’s important for those of us who are Christians to look at how the Bible addresses tensions. One example is in the book of Ephesians. Paul was writing to Christians in what is now Turkey. The predominate people-tensions back then were between Jews and Gentiles. The earliest Christians were every bit as much Jewish as they were Christian. They read and studied the books of Hebrew Bible (which is our Old Testament); they observed the Jewish dietary regulations, celebrated the Jewish holidays, etc. But as the words and faith-experiences of Christianity spread, the movement extended to non-Jews (i.e. Gentiles). These folks had no upbringing or background in the Jewish holidays and culture. But they believed in the same God. They had renounced their paganism and other sins. They believed that Jesus was the Messiah, fulfilling God’s promises from the Old Testament. Today these ranks would include almost all of us. If you’re not Jewish, then you’re Gentile. These groups came together in a lot of first-century Christian churches, but there were some tensions – and there are lots of signs of it in the New Testament (e.g. the whole book of Galatians, Acts 6:1-6, 10:28, etc.) So Paul addressed it as a part of his wider body of writing to the Ephesians. I took note of several things he said while studying Ephesians 2:1-3:21 over the last couple months. He gives us a good example to follow in several ways…
Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church of Oroville
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Andrew McHenryI am a husband, a Congregational pastor, and a native Kansan currently living in Thermalito, California. In the past I have also been a prison chaplain and a youth pastor. Interests include reading, railroads, prog rock, KU, and the KC Royals. Archives
April 2024
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