Daily Devotional • January 16
A Reading from Ephesians 2:11-22
11 So then, remember that at one time you gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision”—a circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— 12 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.13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us, 15 abolishing the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone; 21 in him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
Meditation
The phrase “in the flesh” appears in today’s Epistle reading three times. First, those who are of Gentile origin are reminded that they formerly lived “in the flesh” — that the lives they lived were in accordance with their own earthly sense of things, “having no hope and without God in the world.”The second instance refers to the act of circumcision made “in the flesh” among God’s chosen people. This brings to mind the words of the law, and the separation of the people of Israel from the surrounding nations in God’s overall narrative.
The final instance refers to God’s setting aside of these “commandments and ordinances” as they are “abolished” “in the flesh” of Jesus Christ. This abolition brings down the wall of hostility between the Jews and the Gentiles, bringing peace to his new creation.
But from what may one draw such a conclusion? How is it possible that the person of Christ serves to bring these groups together as one? Notice that the whole passage begins with the word “therefore” — all of this is the result of what was argued in yesterday’s reading: That “by grace” we have been saved “through faith, lest any man should boast.” The coming of Christ and his role in humankind’s salvific history not only provides a path of salvation for each individual, but it enacts its healing power on the things of this world that divide us. The realization that we are all totally reliant on God’s grace in Jesus Christ ought to remind us not only of the hopelessness of a life lived “in the flesh,” but also the emptiness of markers of religious piety made “in the flesh by hands” alone. In the end, our radical dependency upon God is good news, because it means that we may love our enemies and welcome all people as living members in the holy temple of the Lord.
Thus, we learn two lessons from today’s Gospel reading. The Law is good, and there is One who is even greater than the Law.
James Cornwell is an assistant professor of psychology and management who lives in the Hudson Valley north of New York City. He and his wife, Sarah, have five children.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Lebombo – Igreja Anglicana de Mocambique e Angola
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Honolulu, Hawaii