Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)—
- Ephesians 2:11
 
At the core of this week’s passage is the tremendous tension between Gentiles and Jews. They kept their distance from each other, talked bad about each other, and just generally disliked each other.
 
The Jews believed that they were God’s special people, chosen in Abraham to inherit all of the good and beautiful promises of God. The Gentiles held almost all of the meaningful social and political power in society and considered the Jews backward for their strange traditions and beliefs.
 
You get a taste of this in today’s passage when Paul reminds his Gentile readers that the Jews used to label them as outsiders. And being an outsider carried serious repercussions (as we’ll see later this week).
 
The divide between Jew and Gentile seemed so big, so permanent, that few hoped or wanted or expected anything to get breach it. Everyone accepted the status quo.
 
Our world is also full of divides. Families don’t talk to each other. Social media minefields abound. The rat-a-tat-tat-tat of machine gun fire anger fills the air all too often. And sometimes the silence is even worse.
 
Where do you see divides in our culture and community? Would you take a minute to pray that Jesus would bridge the divides?