Even the Gentiles: Sermon on May 16, 2006
Scripture: Acts 10: 34-35, 44-48
Now in a certain church there was an older man who quite frequently was very irritable and critical of the pastor’s sermons. One Sunday morning he approaches the pastor after the service saying how glad he is that today’s sermon was a historical one. The pastor, shocked by this unusual praise thanked the man. The man then continued, “Yes, because I am sick and tired of hearing about love all the time.” We have been having a lot of love sermons lately. The lectionary has been filled with teachings on love. Although there are always several ways to preach on a scripture, I have been preaching a lot about love. So when I was reading this bit of humor online, I decided I’d better explore a different topic this week—although as you will see, I really can’t get away from love.
In the book of Acts there is a very long section that talks about Cornelius, a Roman centurion. He is first introduced in the first verse of chapter 10 with the story continuing for 67 verses, ending at 11:18. Cornelius was the man that Peter had been called to visit after three visions where God was showing him all kinds of animals previously considered unclean by Jewish purity laws. In the vision Peter is told to kill and eat—and a second time the message was, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” Now Cornelius was having his own vision where he saw an angel of God coming in and directing him to send men to Joppa to bring Peter to him. The next day Peter with some of the believers from Joppa set off for Caesarea to the house of Cornelius. Now the Jewish law said it was not lawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile. Because of his visions, Peter realized that he should not call anyone profane or unclean so he entered the house. Cornelius asks him to hear him say all that the Lord has commanded. He starts out to tell the story of Jesus and emphasizes that Jesus is the Lord of all, saying “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Before Peter could finish telling the good news of Jesus, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard his words. We are told that the circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out “even on the Gentiles”—“even on the Gentiles”. Peter than said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” For the gentiles were speaking in tongues and praising God just as happened at the Pentecost with the Jewish Christians. And so Cornelius and his countryman were baptized.
Luke who authored the book of Acts as well as the Gospel of Luke was prone to breaking down barriers, ignoring human boundaries. We have the apostles going to Samaria as well as Philip baptizing an eunuch from Ethiopia, and now Cornelius, a Gentile, uncircumcised, an officer of the Roman Army. His identifying information was definitely of the Other, not one who would be expected to be one of God’s chosen. However, he was a “God fearer”—a term used for non-Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah, he was devout and just, one who gave alms and prayed, one who had won the commendation of “the whole Jewish nation” according to the men of Joppa who were sent to fetch Peter. In this story it is evident that Cornelius is saved because of the sort of human being he was. He had made himself known to God through his prayers and acts of charity towards the poor. In other words he was open to God, open to the Spirit and therefore, the Holy Spirit descended on him in just the same way it had on the Jewish Christians. Throughout Luke’s writings, he insists on the importance of an outsider’s good character.
Throughout the history of the Jews, they were told that they were a chosen people. In our Gospel lesson Jesus says in John 15:16, “You did not choose me but I chose you.” I had that quote on a book mark in my Bible during the time I was wondering about and preparing for being a minister. It was a powerful reminder to me of God’s love, yet it sometimes made me think that I was special, having a special call. In reality I was special but no more special than anyone here this morning. God loves me and God loves you unconditionally. We have to be careful with this “specialness”. Sometimes when we feel we are God’s elect we than feel that God has not chosen anyone else but us. It’s easy to go from that thought to pin labels on those we disagree with in order to make them less than: liberal, conservative, gay, homophobic, Jewish, fundamentalist, religious right, Black, Muslim, divorced, and so forth. It’s easy to forget that it is God alone who judges the living and the dead according to Acts 10:42.
Our denomination believes in a Still Speaking God. This God spoke to Peter in the visions about clean and unclean. Yet Peter had a hard time getting it. Even when he went to Cornelius’ house he talked about clean and unclean divisions. For most of us even though we may be convinced on one level of our salvation and the rightness of the message of Jesus, it takes a long time for it to really sink in, for us to fully accept the deeper conviction that Jesus is leading us to. For most of us learning God’s will and applying it to our everyday life takes a long time. When I was in NY last week I had the privilege of hearing Rev. James Forbes, senior minister of Riverside Church preach. He was talking about Revival services and the many, many times he was saved. He talked about the emotionalism and the pressure of the elders to accept the call and come down front to be saved. A few days later, many of those saved wonder where God is and what salvation is all about and some go back to their former lives which are not what Jesus would have in mind. Forbes said that finally it took, and he really committed all of his life to following Jesus and becoming an ordained minister. It took Peter some time to fully get it, understand how God’s word and grace and love is for all people. He first had the dramatic visions, he then had Cornelius’ warm reception of him, he reflected internally about what God’s message was, he turned to Scripture for confirmation and clarification. Even though Peter was an apostle, an earthly companion and friend of Jesus, he was not infallible. Neither are any of us.
I want to go back to one of the main themes that the Acts lessons about Cornelius give to me. This passage indicates clearly that the good news is for everyone. So many of the boundaries are human-imposed. We all build walls of separation, between races, religions, between economic classes. What kind of walls do you have up? Between you and illegal migrants? Between you and Black folks? Between you and Gays, Lesbians, or Transgender folks? Between you and those that gamble, that are on welfare, that are mentally ill, that are deaf, that are Catholic or Jewish or Muslim. Can you withhold baptism, membership in our church, participation at Christ’s table from any of these who want to follow Jesus or who have felt the gift of the Holy Spirit? Is there anyone here who wants to set yourself up as the judge about who gets grace, and mercy, and love?
It’s not easy to listen to God, to know what God wants. Bob Deffenbaugh sums it up by saying “Many cultures and races met along the road from Joppa to Caesarea. The traveler could not isolate himself from them. Luke makes it clear that as early Christianity moved along that coastal highway, both geographically and theologically, it distanced itself from its original exclusivistic and protectionistic environment. The road led to the threshold of Cornelius’ house and the open door of faith for all nations. That journey lies before all Christians in all times and places.” We all have a journey to take. Some of us may be farther along the road then others. Some of us may not have really even begun, yet the road is in front of us. It’s up to each of us to choose the path, some take a short, intense route; others take a long, hilly journey. We just have to keep traveling till we get it. I would be most honored if I could assist you on the way. Thanks be to our gracious God and Jesus, the Christ. Amen.
Now in a certain church there was an older man who quite frequently was very irritable and critical of the pastor’s sermons. One Sunday morning he approaches the pastor after the service saying how glad he is that today’s sermon was a historical one. The pastor, shocked by this unusual praise thanked the man. The man then continued, “Yes, because I am sick and tired of hearing about love all the time.” We have been having a lot of love sermons lately. The lectionary has been filled with teachings on love. Although there are always several ways to preach on a scripture, I have been preaching a lot about love. So when I was reading this bit of humor online, I decided I’d better explore a different topic this week—although as you will see, I really can’t get away from love.
In the book of Acts there is a very long section that talks about Cornelius, a Roman centurion. He is first introduced in the first verse of chapter 10 with the story continuing for 67 verses, ending at 11:18. Cornelius was the man that Peter had been called to visit after three visions where God was showing him all kinds of animals previously considered unclean by Jewish purity laws. In the vision Peter is told to kill and eat—and a second time the message was, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” Now Cornelius was having his own vision where he saw an angel of God coming in and directing him to send men to Joppa to bring Peter to him. The next day Peter with some of the believers from Joppa set off for Caesarea to the house of Cornelius. Now the Jewish law said it was not lawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile. Because of his visions, Peter realized that he should not call anyone profane or unclean so he entered the house. Cornelius asks him to hear him say all that the Lord has commanded. He starts out to tell the story of Jesus and emphasizes that Jesus is the Lord of all, saying “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Before Peter could finish telling the good news of Jesus, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard his words. We are told that the circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out “even on the Gentiles”—“even on the Gentiles”. Peter than said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” For the gentiles were speaking in tongues and praising God just as happened at the Pentecost with the Jewish Christians. And so Cornelius and his countryman were baptized.
Luke who authored the book of Acts as well as the Gospel of Luke was prone to breaking down barriers, ignoring human boundaries. We have the apostles going to Samaria as well as Philip baptizing an eunuch from Ethiopia, and now Cornelius, a Gentile, uncircumcised, an officer of the Roman Army. His identifying information was definitely of the Other, not one who would be expected to be one of God’s chosen. However, he was a “God fearer”—a term used for non-Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah, he was devout and just, one who gave alms and prayed, one who had won the commendation of “the whole Jewish nation” according to the men of Joppa who were sent to fetch Peter. In this story it is evident that Cornelius is saved because of the sort of human being he was. He had made himself known to God through his prayers and acts of charity towards the poor. In other words he was open to God, open to the Spirit and therefore, the Holy Spirit descended on him in just the same way it had on the Jewish Christians. Throughout Luke’s writings, he insists on the importance of an outsider’s good character.
Throughout the history of the Jews, they were told that they were a chosen people. In our Gospel lesson Jesus says in John 15:16, “You did not choose me but I chose you.” I had that quote on a book mark in my Bible during the time I was wondering about and preparing for being a minister. It was a powerful reminder to me of God’s love, yet it sometimes made me think that I was special, having a special call. In reality I was special but no more special than anyone here this morning. God loves me and God loves you unconditionally. We have to be careful with this “specialness”. Sometimes when we feel we are God’s elect we than feel that God has not chosen anyone else but us. It’s easy to go from that thought to pin labels on those we disagree with in order to make them less than: liberal, conservative, gay, homophobic, Jewish, fundamentalist, religious right, Black, Muslim, divorced, and so forth. It’s easy to forget that it is God alone who judges the living and the dead according to Acts 10:42.
Our denomination believes in a Still Speaking God. This God spoke to Peter in the visions about clean and unclean. Yet Peter had a hard time getting it. Even when he went to Cornelius’ house he talked about clean and unclean divisions. For most of us even though we may be convinced on one level of our salvation and the rightness of the message of Jesus, it takes a long time for it to really sink in, for us to fully accept the deeper conviction that Jesus is leading us to. For most of us learning God’s will and applying it to our everyday life takes a long time. When I was in NY last week I had the privilege of hearing Rev. James Forbes, senior minister of Riverside Church preach. He was talking about Revival services and the many, many times he was saved. He talked about the emotionalism and the pressure of the elders to accept the call and come down front to be saved. A few days later, many of those saved wonder where God is and what salvation is all about and some go back to their former lives which are not what Jesus would have in mind. Forbes said that finally it took, and he really committed all of his life to following Jesus and becoming an ordained minister. It took Peter some time to fully get it, understand how God’s word and grace and love is for all people. He first had the dramatic visions, he then had Cornelius’ warm reception of him, he reflected internally about what God’s message was, he turned to Scripture for confirmation and clarification. Even though Peter was an apostle, an earthly companion and friend of Jesus, he was not infallible. Neither are any of us.
I want to go back to one of the main themes that the Acts lessons about Cornelius give to me. This passage indicates clearly that the good news is for everyone. So many of the boundaries are human-imposed. We all build walls of separation, between races, religions, between economic classes. What kind of walls do you have up? Between you and illegal migrants? Between you and Black folks? Between you and Gays, Lesbians, or Transgender folks? Between you and those that gamble, that are on welfare, that are mentally ill, that are deaf, that are Catholic or Jewish or Muslim. Can you withhold baptism, membership in our church, participation at Christ’s table from any of these who want to follow Jesus or who have felt the gift of the Holy Spirit? Is there anyone here who wants to set yourself up as the judge about who gets grace, and mercy, and love?
It’s not easy to listen to God, to know what God wants. Bob Deffenbaugh sums it up by saying “Many cultures and races met along the road from Joppa to Caesarea. The traveler could not isolate himself from them. Luke makes it clear that as early Christianity moved along that coastal highway, both geographically and theologically, it distanced itself from its original exclusivistic and protectionistic environment. The road led to the threshold of Cornelius’ house and the open door of faith for all nations. That journey lies before all Christians in all times and places.” We all have a journey to take. Some of us may be farther along the road then others. Some of us may not have really even begun, yet the road is in front of us. It’s up to each of us to choose the path, some take a short, intense route; others take a long, hilly journey. We just have to keep traveling till we get it. I would be most honored if I could assist you on the way. Thanks be to our gracious God and Jesus, the Christ. Amen.
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 1:19 PM
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