40 Days Blog - Day 8
Here’s one for all the old rockers out there, ‘Us and Them’! Which is second track on side two of ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ by Pink Floyd. The song is about divisiveness, driven by greed and privilege. Paul is writing to the Ephesians primarily to address an ‘us and them’ issue, which has its roots in historic privilege.
As in most, if not all, first century churches, the congregation was made up of Jews and Gentiles, and they didn’t mix well; there was an ‘us and them’ thing going on. The first chapter of Ephesians is so full of grand statements that we almost miss the most significant two words, Verse eleven, ‘YOU ALSO.’ The significance of this is spelt out over the next two chapters. Shock, horror! the Gospel gives Gentiles open access to a covenant relationship with God on an equal footing with Jews; unthinkable fifty years previously. Loss of privilege is difficult to stomach.
The first three chapters of Ephesians have been working towards the statement in
Ephesians 4:1-6 (the importance of the statement is marked by Paul referencing himself “
a prisoner for the Lord”). The phrase “
In the heavenly places” occurs no less than four times in the first three chapters, but from the beginning of chapter 4, the focus turns to the day-by-day life of the church on earth. The doctrine of calling and election of chapter 1 now comes into play; Christians are elected by God to represent His interests on earth, in much the same way as we elect MPs to represent our interests.
The Lord’s Prayer contains the words, “
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”; the church exists to model on earth the peace and unity of heaven. After all, God is one, and His people are one with Him and each other. This is a spiritual reality, but it also needs to become a physical reality.
There is no shortage of divisive issues in the church of our time for Christians to pick a side with. Humans are tribal by nature (think football!), driven by a need for belonging. Faith is a journey into spiritual maturity; Christians need to abandon childish games of cowboys and Indians and grow up. Denominations have no place in heaven, and they should have no place on earth.
Going back to Pink Floyd, at one point the song moves from the ‘Us and Them’ language to the more personal ‘Me and You.’ ‘Us and Them’ speaks about difference, whereas ‘Me and You’, has an altogether different feel, togetherness. We are in it together, there is only ‘us’. According to Paul, each one of us has a part to play in working for the peace and unity of the local church. That doesn’t mean everyone inevitably agrees with everyone else, rather that there is a commitment to hold different views in tension; just as a body is held together by its ligaments.
A Prayer
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I worship and adore you as one God. I thank You for my church family; please help me to work for peace and unity among my brothers and sisters, so that I might truly be called a child of God.
Amen.
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