Friend of StrangersSample

Through Jesus' death on the cross, our relationship with God is reconciled not only with God but also with each other. Through Jesus' death on the cross, the walls that we humans have built between us and God, each other, native and stranger, Jew and Greek, slave and free, and man and woman are torn down.

With the death and resurrection of Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles are offered the possibility of a whole new life in the power of the Spirit through faith in Jesus. By believing in Jesus, Jews, and Gentiles have access to the “Most Holy Place” and an opportunity for direct contact and relationship with the Lord.

These two groups, Jews and Gentiles, are not only supposed to live in peace with each other but are supposed to form a new people called the Church. In society, we may be seen as Swedes, Americans, immigrants, Jews, Gentiles, foreigners, etc. But in the Church, we are no longer separate from each other by these dividing lines, but we are a united people and brothers and sisters in the Lord. The uniting of Jews and Gentiles, natives and foreigners, Swedes and immigrants, in a new loving community, is thus part of God's plan of salvation for humanity.

When society proclaims divisions and boundaries between peoples, the Church should act as a light in the darkness and do just the opposite, preaching peace and reconciliation between peoples and nations. In contrast to a society that makes laws separating Swedes and immigrants, the Church should work for reconciliation, integration, friendship, and inclusion. In other words, the demolition of that wall is a work in progress in which we must all participate, brick by brick.