看到蘇珊在社交媒體上的貼文照片，瓊安不禁嘆了口氣。照片中有十個教會的朋友在餐廳裡開心聚餐，卻沒有邀請她，而且這個月已是第二次了。瓊安強忍淚水，雖然她不見得跟這群人都相處得很好，但還是會難過。她和這群人去同一間教會，但他們卻將她排除在外，怎麼不令人難受呢？

這種排斥他人的現象在第一世紀頗為常見。但耶穌渴望合一，祂來到世上消除了分歧。從教會成立開始，無法和睦相處的人們都因耶穌的救贖而找到了共同之處。那時，猶太人看不起外邦人，因他們不守律法；外邦人厭惡猶太人，因他們自以為高人一等。但耶穌「使雙方合而為一，拆毀了隔在中間的牆，就是以自己的身體除掉雙方的仇恨，並且廢掉了律法的規條」（以弗所書2章14-15節，新譯本）。重要的不再是遵守律法，而是耶穌。猶太人與外邦人能否在祂裡面合而為一呢？

這取決於他們的回應。第17節說，耶穌「傳和平的福音給遠處的」外邦人，「也給近處的」猶太人。同樣的信息，不同的應用。自以為義的猶太人需承認自己沒有高人一等，而被輕視的外邦人需相信自己並非矮人一截。雙方應停止對立，把注意力放在基督身上，因祂「使兩者在祂裡面成為一個新人，這樣就締造了和平」（15節，新譯本）。

感覺被人冷落了？那的確令人難受，也不應如此。但若你倚靠耶穌，你可以使人和睦，因祂是和平之君。

Joan groaned when she saw Susan’s social media post. The photo showed ten church friends smiling around a restaurant table. For the second time this month, they were having a grand time—without her. Joan blinked away tears. She didn’t always get along with the others, but still. How strange to attend church with people who didn’t include her!

How strangely first century! But Jesus desires unity and came to heal our division. From the church’s beginning, people who didn’t get along were to find common ground in Him. Jews looked down on gentiles for not keeping the law, and gentiles loathed Jews for thinking they were better. Then Jesus “made the two groups one”; He “destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands” (Ephesians 2:14-15). Keeping the law no longer mattered. What counted was Jesus. Would Jew and gentile unite in Him?

That depended on their response. Jesus “preached peace to” gentiles “who were far away and peace to [Jews] who were near” (v. 17). Same message, different application. Self-righteous Jews needed to admit they weren’t better, while snubbed gentiles needed to believe they weren’t worse. Both needed to stop fretting about the other and focus on Christ, who was creating “in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace” (v. 15).

Feeling snubbed? That hurts. It’s not right. But you can be a peacemaker as you rest in Jesus. He’s still our peace.