https://odb.org/2025/02/09/peace-when-snubbed
Ephesians 2:11–18 (NIV): 11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)—12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to yo, who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
It is common to be snubbed or excluded from social gatherings by people. Like the current Chinese New Year season. In the past, we may not know at all, but nowadays, with social media, we will see photos of gatherings being posted and thus will find out about such events that didn’t include us. The reason is simple, most if not all of these gatherings have limited capacity. Some are intentionally kept small. These exclusions also occur in the church itself as different groups meet without calling others. It is particularly difficult if you are the pastor or leader organising as some of those who are snubbed may be upset or feel isolated.
In the early church, the issue was between the Jewish Christians and the Gentiles. It was not social gatherings but their place in the Kingdom of God. The Jews felt they were the chosen ones and thus looked down on the new Gentile believers while the Gentiles hated the Jews for being condescending. Ironically, over time, Jewish Christians became a minute minority as nowadays, most believers are Gentiles. It is a good thing. If Christianity had remained a sect within Judaism, it would have been wiped out as there is only a handful of Messianic Jews within the 14 million Jewry worldwide. Paul made sure then that there was only one body through Christ who died for all, whether Jew or Gentile and the irony of it all is that although Christ was Jew and the Apostles and most believers of the early church were Jews, it is today a faith of mostly Gentile believers but who nevertheless support and believe that presentday Jews will one day turn to Christ and be saved.
Coming back to the social exclusion issue by friends and fellow believers, I think the easiest way not to be snubbed is for us to organise our own social gatherings! We then get to decide who attends and who doesn’t! The challenge will then fall on us to ensure no one is snubbed! It’s quite a challenge, actually, as we can’t be inviting the whole church or all of our friends to our event!
I feel that the message today is that there is no need to feel excluded. Everyone has limitations. If we make the move to be inclusive and include more people ourselves, those same people will remember us when they organise gatherings. The logic is real. The more inclusive we are, the more we will be included. In the end, in the context of the church, what matters is that all of us are in Christ and are collectively and individually on our journey to eternity! Social events are not such a big deal, after all.
Ronnie's Thoughts 