God of comfort and warmth, bless the needs of this dear reader in all they may face today, especially in keeping warm in this cold weather. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text is from Galatians 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 physical 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 groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 15 He 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, 16 and might reconcile both groups 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 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.
A United Methodist church across the street from another United Methodist Church? That was what I encountered many years ago in Ohio while on a mission saturation event with my previous conference. I had not yet heard the joke about the rescued man from a deserted island with three huts, one being his home, the other being his church and the first church he attended but got mad and so built another one. Was that why there were two UM churches directly across the street from each other? The answer was that no, one church until 1968 had been an Evangelical United Bretheran Church and the other a Methodist Church. When the merger occured in 1968, in Dallas, Texas, both became United Methodist churches. Such is what Paul is addressing in today's passage: Because of doctrinal differences and or customs and heritages and histories, we're not always united in any sense of the word. But in Christ Jesus, Paul says, we are (or should be!) for Christ paid for this unity with His own body. Those who "once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (v. 13). Christ Jesus destroyed the emnity between those who were of the Law and those who were under grace, the uncircumcised and the circumcised; all tradition and history exposed for what it truly is, just a reason to be separate from one another when Christ wants us united.
The message is a message of peace. This does not simply mean an absence of conflict or war, but a relationship so full that we find all our needs met, our wellbeing is complete; that is peace. And where there is peace there are no enemies, only friends. There are not different addresses, just one common one, the House of God. Christ is the cornerstone; it is He who holds us up and goes forth with us.
PRAYER: God of the great building of faith, I thank you for Jesus, my cornerstone Who holds me up especially during times of weakness and times when I feel alone and away from You and others. Help me today resolve to be a person who seeks new friends and family in You. May I seek to be a messenger of peace in all that I say, think, or do. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.
Eradio Valverde
