“His purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility.”
Ephesians 2:15b-16, NIV
Letter from Pastor Rich Johnson, Sanctuary Columbus
Dear Praying friends,
When Paul mentions creating one new humanity of the two, he is speaking about Jews and non-Jews coming to Christ. Their ethnic identity as Jews or Gentiles was now informed by their identity in Christ. Whatever shapes our identity and the perceptions we have of others dictates our beliefs and behaviors. In our city we may not experience an issue with the Jewish/Gentile divide but we have been conditioned to see each other through a racialized lens. We see each other as white, black, Asian, Latino, Native American, and so on.
Additionally, we have been culturally conditioned to assign value and worth based on skin color and economic status. Many are unaware of their bias to respect people who are white or wealthy and to stigmatize people they see as black or brown or in poverty. However, the mistrust and stigmatization of groups are most evident in the voluntary segregation of Sunday morning worship services as well as where we choose to live.
May we seek to become more self-aware of how racialization distorts our identity and the identities we create for others. May we seek to create congregational awareness of racialization and the impact it has on being a faithful witness of Christ and proclaiming salvation to the lost. And, may we seek authentic relationships with people outside of our group to begin breaking down the dividing walls of hostility between us. - Amen,
As we lift up racial justice and reconciliation this month, please download our prayer guide on this topic with the button below.
