Reflections by Keith Funk

I confess that I have a great love for the Scriptures. With that said, I also confess that there are some Scriptures that I have a particular fondness for. The Letter to the Ephesians is oneof those writings that hold a particular attraction for me. Ephesians 1:9-10, speaks to the big picture of what God has done in Christ in the following words of Paul:

            With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will,
            according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the full-
            ness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

What an incredible vision, and what a timely message for our day from the early years of the infancy of the Church. Our present time is marked by division and strife; our culture is invested in the pursuit of separation and in naming who is in and who is out according to the alliances of our choosing. Sadly, this not only is a marker of our larger culture, but we also see such strife and division present within the life of Christ’s Church and God’s people.

Perhaps, on the one hand, there is nothing new in this. As it was in the early years of the first century following the death and resurrection of Jesus, so it is with us today. In that early day, whether one was a Jew or Gentile was a point of difference which determined whether one was in or out. Today, we determine this by the labels and tribes we claim for ourselves, and in how we see others.

In Ephesians, however, we are encountered by a reality that undermines and supersedes all penchants for division, separation, labels and tribalism. In the verse at the top of the page, we hear of Jesus’ good news of peace. In the context of this letter, Paul is writing of Jesus announcing peace to the Gentiles who were far off, and to the Jews who were near. And the subversion of this peace is that it eliminated barriers that separated the two groups. This was at the heart of following Christ, of being a Christian, and being the Church—the people of God.

Like it or not, that same undermining reality is with us today. God’s reality, through the cross of his Son, Jesus, is the meeting place for all people (see John 12:32). His message is peace, beyond labels, associations, nationality, and/or allegiance. An incredible vision to be sure. But more than this, this is the reality of God’s kingdom which will ultimately prevail over all other realities, and particularly those we recognize and use to differentiate ourselves. This is what really is, and what is to come.

Peace be with you.