"ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING"
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Acts 10:44-48
A couple whose daughter had gone off to college received this letter:
To understand what is happening in the verses we read this morning you have to understand the perspective of the early Christians. From their perspective "Christianity" which at that time was called "The Way" was a form of Judaism. After all they were following Jesus. Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. He was executed for the crime of being the King of the Jews. All his first followers were Jews. He was the Son of the God of the Jews.
Gentiles in that day were only allowed to stand on the sidelines of Judaism. They could sit in the stands and watch. They could go to the temple and enter the outermost court. But they could not enter the interior. They could read the Bible but they had to become Jews to do any more.
So from the perspective of the early Christians you had to be a Jew first to become a Christian. It just did not make sense that a Gentile could be a follower of Jesus. After all they ate unclean foods and dressed in ways that were not Biblical and lived in ways that did not follow the Laws of Moses! The possibility that a Gentile could be a follower of Jesus had never occurred to them. Nor had they considered that a Gentile, much less a Roman, would want to be a Christian without becoming a Jew first. I know from our perspective it is hard to see that. After all most Christians today are ethnically Gentiles and Judaism is viewed as an entirely different religion.
But God had a different perspective. So God orchestrated a series of events to change their perspective. First God sent an angel to a God fearing Roman soldier named Cornelius. The angel told him to go to Peter and where to find him. Then God gave Peter a vision that told him that he was opening the doors of his new church to those they had previously excluded. Then the servants of Cornelius, the Roman believer, arrived at Peter's house to take him to Cornelius.
When Peter had just arrived and was explaining to the other Jews the vision he had seen. Then it happened! The same Holy Spirit that had been poured out on the disciples at Pentecost was poured out upon these Gentiles. These very people who no one had dreamed could become believers had been approved by God. God had anointed them with His Holy Spirit!
Peter had just been telling them that God had already accepted them. Now God had something to say. Through sending the Holy Spirit God proved that what Peter was saying was true. Now, all of sudden, the Church had a much broader reach that it had ever dreamed. Even Roman soldiers could become followers of Jesus! God had drastically changed their perspective; he had broadened their horizons and they saw things and people in a whole new way.
Sometimes God has to change our perspective on things. I know God has changed Grace's perspective in the past. I have heard some of the older members tell of a time over 10 years ago when Grace had a different perspective. There was a time when this church was struggling to stay alive. But a lot of time has past and God has changed this church's perspective. Instead of focusing inward and being afraid of closing down, this church is focused outward. We are actively trying to reach out to the community around us and to the world.
God is in the business of changing our perspectives. We are like a fly on the canvas. We are standing on a masterpiece but all we can see is the few changes and variations of color around us. From God's perspective He can see the whole masterpiece and the beauty it portrays God has to lift us above where we are to a new perspective. To see things as He sees them.
That is what happened at Easter. God change our perspective for ever! No longer was death the end. It is now merely a doorway into a new life. From our new vantage point we can see beyond the temporal and into the eternal.
God is about changing perspectives. The current advertising slogan of the United Methodist Church is "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors." I believe that here at Grace we try to live that out. Compared to most church in the south Grace is very diverse. We have a diversity of people in this congregation. We are diverse racially, economically, socially, culturally, linguistically�
For a lot of people that kind of openness takes having a shift in perspective. Perhaps some of you had to shift your perspective when you came to Grace. Praise the Lord! God is in the business of lifting us above our limited perspectives to see things His way. God glories in enabling us to see life where all we saw was death, to see hope where all we knew was hopelessness, to see grace where all we experienced was judgment.
John 15:9-17
Last week we heard how Jesus said that we must abide in him to bear fruit. Our lesson today falls right on the heels of those words. Jesus, still talking about the fruits of the Christian life puts a special emphasis on love. He says, "Abide in my love" and "love one another as I have loved you." This is the essence of the fruits of abiding in Christ.
But what is this love. You know I love cheesecake! It tastes so good. Is that the kind of love he means? To some people in our world love is just a warm feeling or a rush of emotion. To some it is merely romantic or even less.
The Greek of the New Testament uses three different words of love. One is eros from which we get the word erotic. Eros love is a self-serving love. Eros means I love you because you can give me something. Another of the Greek words for love is phileo. This is brotherly love. This love is loving those who a similar to you. Then there is agape. This is unconditional love. It is love for the sake of the other. What does Jesus mean by "love one another?"
Jesus offers us a definition in the passage. He says "No one has greater love than this to lay down one's life for one's friends." The context of these words is important. Jesus was in the upper room with his disciples. He had washed their feet and served them communion. Judas had just left to betray Jesus. These words of love were spoken in the shadow of the cross.
So the "one" that Jesus is talking about has to at least in part be an allusion to his own death. Jesus gave his life for us. This is love. In Romans Paul said, "Christ died for us while we were yet sinners; that proves God's love toward us."(Romans 5:8) Even though we are sinners and unworthy of his love, Jesus loved us anyway by dying on the cross.
This is surely unconditional love. This is the agape love that loves for the sake of other. Having said that, the definition "unconditional love" pales in comparison to what Jesus did. His death was a living example of the kind of love we should live. When Jesus said, "Love one another," he meant sacrifice for one another.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. On it we remember those who died in service to our nation: the people who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation and often the world. Look in your bulletins. These are men and women who have made that ultimate sacrifice for the freedom and security of American and Iraq and the world.
Now Christians may debate the efficacy and morality of war in general and this war in particular. But even if you are a pacifist or you believe America was misled or mistaken to undertake this war, you still have to admit that the motivation of these men and women was to win freedom and security for the world. Their intention was to free Iraq and to prevent terrorism. So they gave their lives for their friends.
Also notice the ages. As I near 40 I begin to contemplate my own mortality. I find myself being more intentional about exercise and right eating so I can live longer. But most of these people were younger than I. They are a living example of love.
Memorial Day weekend is the official beginning of summer. Many of you will be going to the beach or the lake or to cookouts. As you do, remember the example - the living definition of love given by those that this holiday honors. And when you think that Jesus calls us to love one another, this is what he meant.
But wait a minuet. Very few of us we ever be placed in the situation of actually giving our lives for another. Is it impossible for us to love? No, we may never, I hope, be challenged to actually give our loves for another. But we can make little sacrifices. To place others first.
Jesus gave us another example of this love the upper room. He washed his disciple's feet. How low are you willing to stoop to help another. What sacrifices will you make? How will you abide in his love? These men and women (indicate bulletin insert) gave their lives. What about you?
Psalm 98
Do you know what a doxology is? Every Sunday we sing "the" Doxology. We all know it by heart. "Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise him all creatures here below, Praise him above ye heavenly host, Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost." But what I sang a minuet ago is also the Doxology. The words were similar, but the tune was different.
There is more than one Doxology! There are as many as you want to create. The word Doxology literally means "glory word" It comes from the Greek words "Doxa," which means "glory," and "logia," which means "word." A Doxology is any word of praise that gives glory to God.
Psalm 98 is a Doxology of sorts. Its purpose is to praise God. In verse 1 the psalmist claims to be singing to God a new song. And in verses 4 through 9 the psalmist openly admonishes the earth to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. "Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those that fill it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together." This psalm is a word of glory; it proclaims the glory of God and praises God for that glory.
But why is the psalmist singing to God? You know singing a new song is hard. Have you ever tried to write a song? It isn't easy. At least it isn't easy to write a good song. It's much easier to just learn to sing one of the old ones.
Yet this Psalmist goes to the trouble of writing a new song. Why did this song writer go to all that trouble? The psalm itself tells us. Because God's mighty arm has won victory! Because God has remembered the love promised to the children of Israel! God is being praised because the Almighty is coming to judge the wicked and to save the righteous.
We don't know the historical circumstances that led the Psalmist to write this psalm. Some suggest that it was written after some great battle when God saved Israel from a great army. Or perhaps it was written for the enthronement of a new King. The author doesn't say. What is clear is that God is being praised for saving Israel.
We are here today to praise God and celebrate God's glory. God's mighty arm has won salvation for us. We were doomed to die in our sin. We were helpless in our fallenness. Our foe was about to devour us. But God loved us. And God remembered the promise to send a savior for the human race. So Christ came and died for us.
God has vindicated us. Christ has died, and risen again in victory over death. It was God's mighty arm that did it.
And Christ is coming again to finish the task. Christ is coming to judge the world. Glory be to God; all that is evil will be done away with! All that is opposed to God's love will be wiped away. All that oppresses God's children will cease to cause pain. And God's justice will be established.
Sing to the Lord a new song! God has won the victory: victory over sin, victory over death, victory over the forces of evil. And Christ is preparing a heavenly banquet for all of us to take part in.
Let the whole earth sing a new song to God. Go to the seas and hear them roar. Hear the floods clapping their hands. Let us join in with them in praising God.
We should sing to the Lord a new song today. Not just today, but every day. We were once dead, but now we are alive again in Christ! We were lost, but now we are found. We were unloved, but now we are loved greatly. Every moment of our new life should be Doxology. Every word from our mouths should be a word of Glory for God. Every thought and every action should be a new song, because through Christ's broken body and his shed blood we have been given new lives.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. A-men.
Acts 10:44-48
Peter must have thought to himself, "What have I gotten myself into" as he looked at the room full of Gentiles. It had started at noon two days before. Peter was on his roof praying as he always did, when he got hungry. Before the cook could finish fixing dinner Peter fell into a trance. Three times Peter saw a vision of a cloth filled with non-kosher animals come down and laid before him. And three times he heard a voice saying, "Rise up and eat." Peter, being a good Jew replied, "Never! They are not clean." But the voice said, "What God has made clean, you must not call profane."
As Peter was puzzling over this some men came to Peter's house. They had departed the day before from the house of Cornelius, a centurion, in Ceaseria. They had traveled all night to get to find Peter. Cornelius was a God fearing man. He studied the Scriptures and regularly gave alms to the poor. The day before an angel had appeared to him and told him to send for Peter. The Spirit told Peter to go with them, so the next day they left for Ceaseria.
After a day's journey they arrived and the next morning they went to see Cornelius. Peter was expecting one man to be waiting to see him, but instead there was a room full of Cornelius' friends and family. Peter, probably uncomfortable being in a room full of Gentiles, explained that this was a peculiar situation. You see he had been taught from the time he was a child that "God's People" did not associate with pagans. Their uncleanness might rub off on him. But God had shown him through the vision that he should should be careful who he calls unclean. Cornelius explained how the angel told him to send for Peter and that is why they had gathered to hear what Peter had to say. So as Peter began to tell them that God shows no partiality and that Jesus died and rose again for our salvation, the Spirit came upon the Gentiles. At that moment the Holy Spirit filled the Gentiles and they began speaking in tongues - the language of the Spirit. The Jews there were astounded that God's Holy Spirit was living in Gentiles. Peter said, "Who would say these should not be baptized if the Spirit dwells in them as it does in us."
The thing that stands out to me in this whole incident is the role of the Holy Spirit in it. It is not Cornelius or Peter that is controlling events. The Spirit of God is in control. Cornelius didn't come up with the idea of finding an apostle. It was an angel of God that told him to send for Peter and also where Peter could be found. It was not Peter that decided to evangelize a Roman Centurion, it was God in a dream that told him to reach out to those he formerly considered "unclean."
The obedience of these men to the Holy Spirit is also amazing. Cornelius was risking a lot. What if the great Apostle refused to come? Would he always be on the outside of the people worshipping the God he loved. What if his superiors were to find out and consider his religious behavior subversive. What if his soldiers found out and thought him weak and undisciplined.
The difficulties were no less for Peter. He had always been taught that certain people and things were unclean and righteous people were not to go near them. Anyway this was no ordinary Gentile. This was a Roman, like the Romans that nailed Jesus to cross. And this was no ordinary Roman, this was a centurion like the one that stood at the foot of the cross. This could be a trap you know! An attempt to draw Peter out into the open and entrap him. A conspiracy to put him in prison. And if it was not a trap, what would James and John and Andrew and Matthew and the others say? I mean Jesus was born King of the Jews after all!
This incident and the obedience of these men teaches us two very important things about life in the Spirit. First of all it teaches us that if you obey the leading of the Spirit, you will get in trouble! I don't know any other way to put it. If you do what God tells you to do, you will land in hot water sooner or later. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but sooner or later God will call you to do something that will get you in trouble. Peter was later called to church headquarters in Jerusalem to answer for this and other similar incidents.
You see God's goals are often at cross purposes with the world's goals. God is always trying to include people in the Kingdom. God started with one nation, but the plan from the beginning was to draw all people into the Kingdom. Jesus is the prime example of this at work. The tax collectors and sinners were excluded, but he ate with them. The Samaritans were despised, but he spoke to a Samaritan, a woman - and not even a reputable one - at a public well! The world on the other hand is always trying to exclude others. Instead of caring for the other, the world looks out for number one. Instead of drawing people in, the world tries to protect its turf.
I saw it over and over again in seminary. A seminary student, on fire for the Lord, went out to a small church. By small I am thinking 20 or 30 members. Maybe one Sunday School class and 10 in worship. Then this green pastor began doing things differently because that is what the Spirit led him or her to do. People were a little hesitant, but when their children and grandchildren and next door neighbors began coming to church, they liked it. But before long other people start coming. People they don't know. People who maybe spoke with strange accents. People who brought strange dishes to the covered dish supper. Maybe some of these people were of different races or even different colors. Pretty soon these "other" people wanted to sing in the choir and teach Sunday School and usher. Then someone got the idea that some of these people should serve on the committees and boards of the church! Sometimes at this point the church obeyed the spirit but sometimes the asked the Bishop to get them a new preacher. In short, the leading of the Spirit led these fired up pastors into trouble.
The first thing we learn from Peter and Cornelius is that if you follow the leading of the Spirit you will get in trouble, but, and this is the second thing they teach us, God's Spirit will always reward that obedience. That is the glory of this passage. Cornelius and Peter were both faithful to the Spirit's calling. They both did what they were called to do despite the risk. They were both in trouble or soon would be. That obedience had brought them together, Jews and Gentiles, to proclaim and hear about Jesus.
Then, before Peter could finish his sermon, something happened! The Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles gathered there and they began speaking in tongues. In other places in Acts the Spirit comes only after Baptism. Yet here the Holy Spirit precedes baptism as a sign that God is already in their hearts. In other words, God's Spirit has already accepted them even if the rest of God's people were still unsure. God honored the calling of the Holy Spirit and rewarded the obedience of these men. God could have just left everyone guessing, but the Almighty demonstrated that these God fearing Gentiles were meant to be part of this new church too.
God will always honor the Spirit's calling and reward our obedience. It may not be as dramatic as this event, or it may be. If God calls us to do something, He will not leave us alone. Obeying the Spirit will get us in trouble. But in the end God will work things out for the better.
What is God calling you to do today? Often times because of the racial dynamic between Jews and Gentiles, this passage has often been used to addresses the issue of segregation in the church. Sunday morning 11 am is the most segregated hour in America. And many of us think that is a shame. I know many of you are concerned about this because you have said as much to me. Some of you have also asked about inviting black friends to church.
But the issue is broader than that one issue, as important as it is. What is the Holy Spirit calling you to do right now? Is God calling you to show love to your neighbor, to lovingly tell someone close to you that they are ruining their life through sin. Is the Spirit calling you to accept Christ, recommit your life to him, accept your call to ministry? Is God calling you to serve or teach or learn?
You know in our worship services we have a time of responding to God. I give an invitation to pray at the altar, we make offering, lift up prayers, and we praise God. During this time and at all times we should respond as the Spirit leads us. You know there are some people who feel self conscious about going to pray at the altar. They wonder what people will think ot them. Others feel not need to come to the altar. Whether you do this or do that is not issue the issue is what is God calling you to do.
Not everyone is called to respond to the Spirit in the same way. Just do what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do! No matter what the Spirit is leading you to do. Whether it be addressing racial segregation, inviting a friend to church, or kneeling at the altar. Just do it! You may get in trouble. People may be offended or their feathers might be ruffled. But in the end you will see the power of God poured out in acts of grace and salvation, and you will experience the Holy presence of God in your life just as Peter and Cornelius did!