The Wall
Walls.
We have them on prisons and we have them on garbage trucks. Walls to keep something in. We have them on bank vaults and have them on schools. Walls to keep something in. Walls to protect - to protect what is inside from what is outside or what is outside from what is inside.
There is nothing inherently wrong with walls. But walls don't only protect. They also divide. We use walls to divide us from people or things we aren't comfortable with. We use walls to stop us from seeing troubles we don't want to admit. Divided from our neighbours by walls of our homes and garages. Divided from our children by walls of our rooms. Divided from our fellow humanity by walls of our own construction or walls created by geography.
Being one who grew up in the 1980's I cannot think about the power of walls without thinking about the Berlin Wall. Set up as a physical barrier between the communist German Democratic Republic in the east from the Federal Republic of Germany in the west, this wall became a symbol of global division for almost three decades.
But the strongest walls are not the walls made of concrete or steel. The strongest walls are the invisible ones that we build - consciously or unconsciously - around our hearts. Usually, the construction begins for the purpose of protection.
Protection from abuse.
Protection from lies.
Protection from names.
Protection from laughter.
Unlike physical walls, time and the elements don't weaken the internal walls we build. Left to their own devices, the walls inside us grow stronger and thicker. Until one day we realize - or maybe we don't, but people around us do - that the walls we built to protect us now also keep out the good and beautiful that is around us.
Those closest to us bang on the walls, but can't get it. The walls may even grow tall enough and strong enough that any light struggles to shine over them. We may deny their presence as being justified because of what we need to be protected from. We may dress them up in niceness or humour or solitude in order to make them look more appealing, but they are still walls. Walls built for protection, now robbing us of what we need to truly live - connection, love, light.
Back to the Berlin wall. I remember Reagan's dynamic appeal, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" But that call wasn't a truly beautiful event. The beauty and power came on November 9, 1989 when millions of divided people flooded through the opened checkpoints and embraced the joy of reunion. Then, together, men and women from both sides of the wall worked with hammers and chisels and cranes and bulldozers to remove the wall. One year later, the reunification of Germany was made official. (For a more thorough and personal discussion about the Berlin wall, talk to Wilfried and Ursula Hahn!)
One of the major implications of the good news of Jesus is the tearing down of walls - walls in our heart and, by implication, real-world walls that divide and separate people. In his own life and ministry, Jesus shattered the barriers between the ceremonially clean and the unclean; between Jews and Gentiles; between rich and poor; between men and women; and even between the "sinner" and the "righteous." St. Paul describes it this way:
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
As we move through Easter, looking at Jesus death and resurrection, I pray that we will become more aware of the walls we have built - even walls we have felt necessary to keep us safe - and to begin to work with Jesus (and with helpful friends and, if necessary, professional help) to tear them down. Open yourself up to Jesus' reunification work in your heart by tearing down the walls and find joy and life that Jesus longs for you to have!