Month: January 2019

Over the past few weeks there has been a lot of talk about “The Wall.” Politicians and pundits of all persuasions have been arguing the merits and demerits of adding to the barriers on the US’s southern border with Mexico. The issue has led to acrimonious charges back and forth, and is at the center of the current partial government shutdown. It is a hot-button political issue that has reached an impasse.

I have been following the debate to some extent, and have some opinions on the matter, but the good news is that I’m not going to inflict them on you. Instead, I’m going to tell you how thinking about the issue led me to consider “walls” in the biblical context, and to share with you what the Bible says about them. In particular I want to talk about the most important wall in the Scriptures.

But first, a quick review of what walls do. Basically, a wall is a barrier that keeps someone or something from going from one place to another. A wall may be used to keep people in a location, such as a prison wall that keeps inmates from leaving; or it may be used to keep people out of an area, such as a wall around an embassy that restricts movement into the facility. A wall may provide protection from natural forces, such as sea walls that break up waves and protect shoreline buildings, or it may keep animals from raiding your kitchen (unless the animal is our cat, who parks himself in front of our refrigerator and stares at us until we feed him). Walls provide privacy, such as the walls between stalls in, well, you-know-where. Walls may be opaque, to limit distractions or visibility, or clear, to allow “transparency” in office settings. A wall may delineate property lines, and keep property safe from theft. It may provide barriers against the spread of disease, such as in a hospital, or help a patient breathe better  by “tenting” them with enhanced oxygen flow. And then there are walls that provide canvases for graffiti artists, or launching platforms for skateboard and parkour (obstacle course) athletes. Walls have many uses, which is probably why we have so many of them.

Walls are usually physical dividers, but they can also be psychological or symbolic. Once, when I was in college, my roommate and I had a disagreement over some stupid issue, and decided to give each other some needed “space.” So we divided our 10 x 12 foot dorm room in half with an imaginary wall. That lasted for about ten minutes before we realized how petty we were being. Plus, the bathroom door was on his side of the room.  Likewise, our state borders are usually drawn with imaginary lines which nevertheless carry the force of law. If you have ever been to Wendover, you know the town is divided in half between Nevada and Utah. The main street actually has a line painted across it indicating the border; when you look up from it, you can see that all the town’s casinos are on the Nevada side of the line. Those state boundaries make a difference.

There are also social barriers or walls that divide people into those who are accepted and those who are not. Such walls may separate people by income and social status, race, sex, and religion. Some of those social barriers are helpful – such as our church requiring pastors who are Christians (duh!) – while others are not – such as the drinking fountains I saw during a childhood trip to Florida that limited use to “whites” or “coloreds.”

So walls can be good or bad, but they are so common it is hard to imagine living without them to some degree in certain places.

But what about the Bible? What does it say about walls? The ESV uses the word “wall” 226 times. It usually uses the term to refer to protective walls around cities, such as the wall around Jericho in the book of Joshua, which the Lord had to bring down to allow the Israelites to attack the city successfully. Or the wall around Jerusalem. But it also uses the term in other, related ways: for example, it uses the term to describe the parting of the Red Sea during the start of the exodus, saying, “And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left” (Exodus 14:22). 1 Samuel 25 refers to David’s men as being a wall that protected some shepherds: “They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep” (1 Samuel 25:16). And when Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem, attention was paid to the construction of the Temple walls, which were made of stone lined with cedar (1 Kings 6:15).

The New Testament speaks of walls, too, mentioning them a few times, culminating in the description of the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation: it describes the walls of the heavenly city in chapter 21 as being built of jasper and measuring 144 cubits (216 feet) tall.

But the usage that interests me most is found in Ephesians 2:14, where it speaks of there being a “dividing wall of hostility” which Christ broke down “in his flesh.” What is that talking about?

The dividing wall of hostility refers to the separation we have from God due to our sin. The first evidence of this is in Genesis 3, when after Adam and Eve sinned, God expelled them from the Garden of Eden. God set up a kind of wall in the form of cherubim wielding a flaming sword to keep them from returning. Talk about a barrier! Sin had now separated us from paradise, and from the blessings of God’s presence. Later, God established his Law for Israel, which included first a tabernacle, and later a temple, where his presence would manifest itself for the benefit – and forgiveness – of his people. But even then, people were still separated from God by barriers: one wall (or curtain) kept everyone except priests out of the holy place, and another curtain kept everyone except the high priest out of the innermost place – the Holy of Holies – where God was most present. Only on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) did the High Priest venture behind that final barrier to bring the blood offering which atoned for the sins of the people. Only in that way was the wall of hostility breached.

But though the High Priest could enter the Holiest place on that one day, the dividing wall remained. We were still separated from God. It was not until Jesus Christ died on the cross did we receive full forgiveness; only by his death was the true blood of atonement shed. This amazing transaction was shown at Christ’s death, when, according to Matthew 27:51, “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” By his death for our sake, Jesus became our High Priest, essentially carrying his own blood into the Holy of Holies, offering it for our forgiveness. By doing so, the curtain was torn apart to show that the dividing wall was removed, and we now have access to God himself. Our sins, which required there to be such a barrier, were forgiven, so the barrier was no longer needed.

In the Old Testament, God broke down the walls of Jericho to allow his people access into the promised land of Canaan. This had a practical and immediate purpose, but it also was a pre-figuring of what was to come, because in the New Testament God brought down the wall which kept us from the Promised Land – which was a wall created by our sin and sinfulness. Thanks to Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, reconciled to God, and destined to dwell in that New Jerusalem with the jasper walls.

Just as the heavenly city has walls, so do we in this fallen world, where barriers are needed to protect people and property, and to help in many other ways: after all, without walls, where would you hang pictures? But it’s good to know that the most important wall, the wall of hostility which kept us away from God, is now gone!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Ephesians 2, Hebrews 7, Revelation 21

 

 

 

 

Yes, I’ve had an epiphany. Today. Actually, I’ve had 67 consecutive Epiphanies, since I’ve lived 67 consecutive January 6th’s, the day the Church has long designated as the Epiphany. (Although, the term “consecutive” is a bit redundant, since the only way for me to live 67 non-consecutive January 6th’s is to have died before a January 6th and then been brought back to life after  that date. And as far as I know, that hasn’t happened.)

Normally, when people say they’ve had an epiphany, they’re saying they’ve had some sudden insight or realization, like the cartoons that show a light bulb over someone’s head to signify the character has just had an idea pop into their head. Examples in daily life might include: parents who realizes just how caught up in social media their child is when they discover that child’s media page full of hundreds of pictures, likes and dislikes. Or when a doctor’s lab test scares you enough to make you realize you need to start exercising or you’re soon going to have serious health issues. You have had an epiphany about your health.

An epiphany doesn’t create something new; it just makes known to someone a thing that was already true. Thus, if  I have an epiphany about corruption in Washington, D.C., my sudden realization doesn’t create the corruption; the corruption was already going on. This point is important to understand, because an epiphany is a kind of revelation, a making known of something to someone.

A word often used to define “epiphany” is “manifestation.” In this sense, an epiphany is a fulfillment of something that was foretold and is now coming together or taking place. Thus, a winter storm can be tracked and forecast for days ahead of time, but finally manifests itself when the snow starts falling. The classic example is that of a hurricane, which is tracked across the ocean and warned about for a long time before it finally hits land and does its damage. The hurricane was manifested when it dumped its rain and wind onto the targeted state or country, even though the storm already existed.

In our nation’s history, the term, “manifest destiny” was used to assert the (averred divine) plan for the United States to fill the North American continent from Atlantic to Pacific. Our destiny was considered proper and inevitable, to spread across the entire land; the destiny was made manifest in its fulfillment.

So, an epiphany has two ideas associated with it: first, that something which was foretold is finally taking place, or becoming manifest. Second, that people come to realize the reality and truth of what is taking place. Both of those ideas can be seen in the Church’s use of the term Epiphany to designate a certain day (and season) of the Church year:

The earliest reference to Epiphany as a Christian feast day was in AD 361. In the Eastern churches, the festival grouped together all the earliest events in Jesus’s life, up to and including his baptism and even his first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana. In the Western churches, the emphasis was on the visit of the Magi as recorded in Matthew 2. We have followed the Western tradition, at least as far as the actual day of Epiphany on January 6th.

Epiphany is also the season of the Church year which begins January 6th and lasts until the onset of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Because the date of Ash Wednesday varies each year depending on the day of Easter, the length of Epiphany also varies. This year, the season of Epiphany runs through March 5th, with Ash Wednesday on March 6th. During that season, we do commemorate not only the visit of the Magi, but also Jesus’ baptism, the wedding feast at Cana, and the Transfiguration.

You can see how Christ is revealed to the world in each of these events: the visit of the Magi reveals Christ to the nations as fulfillment of the prophesied king; at his baptism, Christ is revealed as the Son of God who is beginning his earthly ministry; at Cana, Jesus’ divine power is revealed in his first miracle; and at the Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John behold Christ’s divine glory. By celebrating these events, we are recognizing the manifestation of who Christ is to the world.

When the Magi visited the infant Jesus, they did not just stumble across him while on vacation; they intentionally went to Judea to find the one who was to be born the “King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2). They knew the birth had been prophesied (probably from the writings of Daniel) and went to see the manifestation of that prophecy in their day. By being found as foretold, Jesus was made known to the Gentile nations, represented by the Magi. The visit did not make Jesus to be the King of the Jews; he was already that by nature. The visit just recognized what was already true.

When thinking about the Epiphany, and considering what difference such a celebration might make to us, I am reminded of Martin Luther’s comments in his Small Catechism when he describes the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer. When he speaks of the words, “Hallowed be thy name,” He says that God’s name is already hallowed, so what we are praying is that his name be hallowed by us. Likewise, when we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we know that his kingdom will come, but are praying that it comes in us. And finally, when we pray, “Thy will be done,” we know that God’s will, will be done even without our prayer; we are praying that his will be done by us.

So also with the Epiphany. It reveals things about Jesus Christ that are already true, things that are true about his nature, and things in his life and actions that fulfill God’s promises. When we celebrate that nature and those events, we are not causing them to be true; they already are true, we are just recognizing them for what they are. And by doing so, we are affirming the importance of who Christ is and what he has done for us.

When we celebrate the coming of the Magi, we are affirming that Jesus is the King of the Jews and of the nations, for the Gentile Magi came to worship him and bring him gifts suitable for a king. When we sing, We Three Kings, we stand in the place of those wise men of old as we sing, “Gold I bring to crown him again,” “Frankincense to offer have I,” and “Myrrh is mine,”and so on. We are acknowledging for ourselves, and to the world, that Jesus is “King and God and Sacrifice.”* We are affirming Jesus is our King.

Likewise, in all the celebrations of Epiphany, we are just recognizing what is already true about Jesus Christ. He is King, he is the Son of God, he is divine in his power and glory. We are saying that we affirm who Christ is and what he has done. For those of us who have known and believed in Christ our entire lives, we may not have a specific “light bulb” moment when we first realized who Jesus is. But that’s okay; it doesn’t change who he is, and now we can join with those who have just had an “epiphany” about Christ in celebrating the Son of God who came to seek and to save the lost. May this season encourage you as you consider the very nature of our God and Savior!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 2, Matthew 3:13-17, John 2:1-12, Mark 9:2-13

As you read Matthew 2, take note of all the statements that show the Magi arrived to see Jesus later than his birth. They were not at the stable, though we usually include them in nativity scenes.

• We three Kings, originally Three Kings of Orient, written by John Henry Hopkins in 1857.