Mending Walls

One of my favorite poets is Robert Frost.  And I really enjoy his poem, "Mending Wall." It's the story of two farmers who go out each Spring to mend the rock fences that have fallen down the winter.

They do it every Spring, believing that "good fences make good neighbors." It seems like good wisdom, clear boundaries, have a strong sense of self, accepting these traditions without a second thought.  But this year, one farmer begins to question that long held belief and begins to wonder: why do we continuously rebuild these walls if nature itself seems determined to tear them down?

As they work to build up their respective sides of the fence, wearing their fingers raw with the rocks, he begins to think. "He is all pine and I am all apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines. Why is it that we need to build these fences back every Spring?" For even the earth conspires against them and tears down the wall each winter and so makes their task an endless, fruitless task.  Yet, still they persist.

Then he says this:

Before I built a wall, I'd ask to know
What I am walling in or walling out
And to whom I am like to give an offense
For something there is that doesn't love a wall
That wants it down.

There is a divine impulse to break down barriers. It is as if God, through Jesus Christ, is inviting us to reconsider our divisions—not only those between neighbors, but also the walls that separate us from one another and from God. Just as the natural world conspires to erode the man-made wall each year, so too does the grace of God seek to dissolve the boundaries that keep us apart.  There is value in wall-breaking, for the “something “ that doesn’t love a wall and wants it down is our God who came to tear down every wall between every person and between God and man through Jesus Christ.

While established boundaries can provide a sense of order and security, they can also inhibit genuine connection and reconciliation. Embracing the divine call to “tear down every wall” means daring to ask: What are we protecting, and at what cost?

Frost opens up a space for reflection on how we build and rebuild the barriers in our lives—be they emotional, social, or even spiritual – and to see breaking down walls is not an act of destruction, but rather a courageous step toward unity and healing. It is an invitation to open our hearts, allowing the love of God to bridge the gaps between us, just as Jesus came to restore the relationship between humanity and God.