You probably know that the Jews in the first century did not particularly like the Gentiles. Paul addresses this problem by reminding them that Jesus died for all people, Jew and Gentile. And just as Jesus rose from the dead to a new life, the converts to Christianity were given a new life also. So why was that unity so hard to accept?
One reason is that as much as we complain about laws and regulations, many people like to live by them. Our decisions are simple if we have a law to cover each one. Hebrew Christians thought that they still had to keep the laws and regulations of the old covenant. There is nothing wrong with keeping the Ten Commandments: They are simply examples of Jesus’ command to love God with all your being and to love your neighbor as yourself. `So why not just do that?
The problem with only keeping commandments is that we can avoid doing evil things, but still not love God or my neighbor. For example, we can avoid using God’s name in vain and kick back and relax on the Sabbath, but still not really love God. Fortunately for us, God loves us first; we need only respond to that love. And if we base all our other actions on that love, we will not break any commandments, or even worry about breaking them. We will have the peace that Paul mentions in our reading, the peace that makes us all one in Christ.
Tom Schmidt, Diocesan Publications