Ephesians 2:11-22 (NRSV)
Read Ephesians 2:11-22 on biblegateway.com
Verse 11So 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- Verse 12remember 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. Verse 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Verse 14For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. Verse 15He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, Verse 16and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. Verse 17So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; Verse 18for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. Verse 19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, Verse 20built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. Verse 21In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; Verse 22in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
Devotion
On this date in 1978 my father died. Although he had cancer and we knew death was coming, we were caught off guard the day he died. I remember feeling like an alien, a stranger in my own family. We tried to comfort one another, yet I felt alone in the world.
Sometimes that’s what death does to us. It cuts us off from one another. In today’s reading, Paul reminds the Gentiles that they too were aliens and strangers. Verse 13 signals a change: “But now in Christ … you have been brought near …” The Gentiles were no longer outsiders. Through Christ, they became members of God’s household.
When I look back, I see my father’s death as a transition. Eventually I was comforted and no longer felt out of place. How did this transformation come about? I remembered that “alien” is not my true identity. Through Christ, I belong to God.
Prayer
Lord God, you opened the doors of your household through Christ. Bring your peace to those who feel like aliens. Amen.