Us and Them , Sermon for May 6, 2007
Scripture: Acts 11:1-18, John 13:
In our Acts scripture today, Peter tells about his most amazing dream. When I was looking for jokes to illustrate this sermon, I came across an amazing story—the closest I could get to finding an appropriate joke. An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening of religious service when she was startled by an intruder. As she caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables, she yelled, "Stop! Acts 2:38!" [Turn from your sin] The burglar stopped dead in his tracks. Then the woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done. As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked him, "Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell a scripture at you." "Scripture?" replied the burglar, "She said she had an axe and two 38s!"
Our Acts passage is quite an amazing narrative, one that has in it a trance, the Spirit, and an angel.[1] These are spectacular things, stuff that most of us don’t experience every day. When we get right down to it, the plot in this scripture is as old as human history. It’s all about us and them, and usually the us is believed to be better than the them. Peter was meeting with his followers, let’s call it a church meeting, and trying to explain about the Jews “us” and the Gentiles “them”. In those days, the rules were very strict and very clear about whom you could sit at the table with and what kinds of things you could eat, what was pure and what was profane. If you ever want to know more about this go to Leviticus chapter 11. According to some counts there are 613 “commandments” in the Torah, the first five books of our Bible. According to the Jews, remember the early Christians were of Jewish ethnicity, Gentiles were unclean. So the first question to Peter from his colleagues was “Why did you eat with them?” Although in our lifetime we are familiar with Christians being anti-Semitic, but in Jesus’ time, the roles were reversed. The big question was about the possibility of Gentiles being able to be equal in the eyes of God. Even though Jesus pretty much ignored and disregarded these exclusions, it seems that it was still difficult for the Jews to accept such a radical change in how they had been acculturated. You may remember Jesus was often accused of keeping company with the wrong kind of people: women, tax collectors, Samaritans, prostitutes. In the Torah it calls on the faithful to “be holy as I am holy” (Lev. 19:2), yet Jesus deliberately substituted the call to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Peter from his dream had learned that God is not a God of partiality or favoritism. In several of our scriptures the last few weeks, we have been told of the Good News being given to all people and God’s love and mercy extending to everyone. Peter now goes about trying to explain his dream and his insights from it to his friends and followers. He does this step by step. Let us too take a quick step by step look at this reading. As Peter was praying in the city of Joppa when he went into this trance and saw a vision. The trance is all about the new message to Peter that all things are clean. He heard a voice saying, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” The “spirit”comes to Peter and urges him to go with these Gentile brothers to Cornelius’ house, telling him that there is “no distinction” between us and them. There was an angel at the home ofCornelius telling all about what had to come to be. And then we are told that as Peter began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon these Gentiles just as it had on the Jewish Christians. Therefore, Peter concluded that if God gave them the same gift, who was he to disagree.—“who was I that I could hinder God?” In other words if God did not divide the people into us and them, neither should Peter or the rest of the believers. After this explanation Peter’s followers were silenced, and then praised God for this new revelation.
We as today’s followers of Jesus typically learn God’s will over time thru a series of “aha” experiences. So it’s important to be patient with ourselves and open to God’s messages. Peter’s vision initially left him baffled. It unfolds as a result of his vision, internal reflection, reports of others and by Cornelieus’ hospitable reception of him and his word. Peter turned to Scripture for confirmation and clarification only after he learned by these multiple experiences over several days that God’s acceptance and forgiveness is offered to all people without partiality. In the New Interpreter’s Bible, the commentary I consult, it says, “The process of getting on the same page with God is frequently confusing, profoundly dependent upon others and often takes a considerable time. But God will tell us the page number.” (Acts, p.171)
For the rest of this sermon I want you to think with me very personally about who you and I as the body of Christ here in Deering see as us and them. Who do we separate out—if not out of the church, out of our life? Who do we spurn as unclean, dirty, contaminated and far from God? Who is my Cornelius? Who do we look down on? I’ll start: conservative politicians, especially those that tell a lot of lies; greedy corporate executives, especially those that are dishonest. I have a hard time with folks that are prejudiced, especially toward African Americans as that group includes my children. I also feel strongly about people who believe it is okay to kill, to go to war, to be violent towards other people. I’m sure I could come up with others but now it’s your turn. Can you just shout some out? It can be personal or just something that you see happening in the church.
Our Bible and our denomination both emphasize that God shows no favoritism but loves us all even though God may disapprove of our behavior or our values. As a church and as individuals I pray that we will stop thinking about categories of us and them. Not only do these ways of thinking offend those that we are talking about, it is also not following Jesus’ words and life. We are all God’s children, gay or straight, Republican or Democrat, Christian or Muslim, wealthy entrepreneur or beggar on the street. Jesus in our Gospel lesson tells his disciples, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) It’s not easy folks, yet being a Christian means accepting both the joy and cost of discipleship. As we participate together in receiving the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion in a little bit, I am going to ask you to try to imagine bringing to the table someone or some type that you have difficulty accepting. Imagine that person beside you and imagine how much God loves you both and wants you to love each other. It doesn’t happen all at once, but I want to become more loving and I hope all of you do too. Let’s see if we can eliminate the divisions and all be the Beloved Community, the body of Christ. Amen
[1] This idea is taken from Walter Brueggemann in Theolog for May 6 online.
In our Acts scripture today, Peter tells about his most amazing dream. When I was looking for jokes to illustrate this sermon, I came across an amazing story—the closest I could get to finding an appropriate joke. An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening of religious service when she was startled by an intruder. As she caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables, she yelled, "Stop! Acts 2:38!" [Turn from your sin] The burglar stopped dead in his tracks. Then the woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done. As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked him, "Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell a scripture at you." "Scripture?" replied the burglar, "She said she had an axe and two 38s!"
Our Acts passage is quite an amazing narrative, one that has in it a trance, the Spirit, and an angel.[1] These are spectacular things, stuff that most of us don’t experience every day. When we get right down to it, the plot in this scripture is as old as human history. It’s all about us and them, and usually the us is believed to be better than the them. Peter was meeting with his followers, let’s call it a church meeting, and trying to explain about the Jews “us” and the Gentiles “them”. In those days, the rules were very strict and very clear about whom you could sit at the table with and what kinds of things you could eat, what was pure and what was profane. If you ever want to know more about this go to Leviticus chapter 11. According to some counts there are 613 “commandments” in the Torah, the first five books of our Bible. According to the Jews, remember the early Christians were of Jewish ethnicity, Gentiles were unclean. So the first question to Peter from his colleagues was “Why did you eat with them?” Although in our lifetime we are familiar with Christians being anti-Semitic, but in Jesus’ time, the roles were reversed. The big question was about the possibility of Gentiles being able to be equal in the eyes of God. Even though Jesus pretty much ignored and disregarded these exclusions, it seems that it was still difficult for the Jews to accept such a radical change in how they had been acculturated. You may remember Jesus was often accused of keeping company with the wrong kind of people: women, tax collectors, Samaritans, prostitutes. In the Torah it calls on the faithful to “be holy as I am holy” (Lev. 19:2), yet Jesus deliberately substituted the call to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Peter from his dream had learned that God is not a God of partiality or favoritism. In several of our scriptures the last few weeks, we have been told of the Good News being given to all people and God’s love and mercy extending to everyone. Peter now goes about trying to explain his dream and his insights from it to his friends and followers. He does this step by step. Let us too take a quick step by step look at this reading. As Peter was praying in the city of Joppa when he went into this trance and saw a vision. The trance is all about the new message to Peter that all things are clean. He heard a voice saying, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” The “spirit”comes to Peter and urges him to go with these Gentile brothers to Cornelius’ house, telling him that there is “no distinction” between us and them. There was an angel at the home ofCornelius telling all about what had to come to be. And then we are told that as Peter began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon these Gentiles just as it had on the Jewish Christians. Therefore, Peter concluded that if God gave them the same gift, who was he to disagree.—“who was I that I could hinder God?” In other words if God did not divide the people into us and them, neither should Peter or the rest of the believers. After this explanation Peter’s followers were silenced, and then praised God for this new revelation.
We as today’s followers of Jesus typically learn God’s will over time thru a series of “aha” experiences. So it’s important to be patient with ourselves and open to God’s messages. Peter’s vision initially left him baffled. It unfolds as a result of his vision, internal reflection, reports of others and by Cornelieus’ hospitable reception of him and his word. Peter turned to Scripture for confirmation and clarification only after he learned by these multiple experiences over several days that God’s acceptance and forgiveness is offered to all people without partiality. In the New Interpreter’s Bible, the commentary I consult, it says, “The process of getting on the same page with God is frequently confusing, profoundly dependent upon others and often takes a considerable time. But God will tell us the page number.” (Acts, p.171)
For the rest of this sermon I want you to think with me very personally about who you and I as the body of Christ here in Deering see as us and them. Who do we separate out—if not out of the church, out of our life? Who do we spurn as unclean, dirty, contaminated and far from God? Who is my Cornelius? Who do we look down on? I’ll start: conservative politicians, especially those that tell a lot of lies; greedy corporate executives, especially those that are dishonest. I have a hard time with folks that are prejudiced, especially toward African Americans as that group includes my children. I also feel strongly about people who believe it is okay to kill, to go to war, to be violent towards other people. I’m sure I could come up with others but now it’s your turn. Can you just shout some out? It can be personal or just something that you see happening in the church.
Our Bible and our denomination both emphasize that God shows no favoritism but loves us all even though God may disapprove of our behavior or our values. As a church and as individuals I pray that we will stop thinking about categories of us and them. Not only do these ways of thinking offend those that we are talking about, it is also not following Jesus’ words and life. We are all God’s children, gay or straight, Republican or Democrat, Christian or Muslim, wealthy entrepreneur or beggar on the street. Jesus in our Gospel lesson tells his disciples, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) It’s not easy folks, yet being a Christian means accepting both the joy and cost of discipleship. As we participate together in receiving the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion in a little bit, I am going to ask you to try to imagine bringing to the table someone or some type that you have difficulty accepting. Imagine that person beside you and imagine how much God loves you both and wants you to love each other. It doesn’t happen all at once, but I want to become more loving and I hope all of you do too. Let’s see if we can eliminate the divisions and all be the Beloved Community, the body of Christ. Amen
[1] This idea is taken from Walter Brueggemann in Theolog for May 6 online.
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 11:31 AM
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