Breaking Down the Dividing Wall

Homily for Tuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

In today's reading from Ephesians, Saint Paul tells us that Christ "has broken down the dividing wall of hostility." Those words were not merely a figure of speech. In the Jerusalem Temple there was an actual wall beyond which Gentiles could not pass. Warning inscriptions announced that any foreigner who crossed that barrier faced death. Paul knew that wall well, and he knew what it represented: separation, exclusion, and distance.

Yet Paul looks at the Cross and sees that wall reduced to rubble. Through Christ, those who were once "far off" have been brought near. The barriers separating people from one another, and all of us from God, no longer have the final word. In Christ, strangers become fellow citizens and members of the household of God.

That helps us understand today's Gospel. Jesus tells us to be dressed for action and ready to open the door when the master knocks. Notice the image. Christ does not build walls; Christ opens doors. The disciple's task is to remain awake enough to recognize his coming and generous enough to welcome him.

The Psalm provides the beautiful summary: "Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss." When walls come down and doors open, God's kingdom becomes visible among us. Every act of reconciliation, every word of welcome, every effort to bridge a division allows that promise to come alive once again.

Today let us ask for the grace to be watchful for the Lord's coming and ready to join him in his work of turning walls into doorways and strangers into family.