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Walls that Divide Are Cast Aside
Sometimes in the church today, the question is still
asked, "Will the Jews be saved, even when they do not believe in
Jesus?" The question is raised by someone who thinks of him or
herself as an insider who is concerned about the fate of the outsider.
From the standpoint of the Book of Acts, however, it's a curious question.
In Acts the question is not "Will the Jews be saved?" That
issue had already been decided by the promises of God to Abraham and
his descendants: the Almighty has chosen the Jews for a special role
and will keep those promises to be with them.
Read Acts 10:1-36
We've just heard the beginning of a cross-cultural
gospel. For the first time, those totally outside the Jewish camp are
converted. Gentiles, better known as pagans, accept the Christian faith.
Because this story is 66 verses long-much more space and detail
than anything else in Acts-we know we are dealing with a crucial concern,
a pivot for the entire book! It's also clear that acceptance of pagans
as members of the Christian community was due entirely to the Holy Spirit's
initiative.
I want to briefly trace the first scenes of this drama with you and
apply them to today.
We begin with Cornelius. Professionally, Cornelius commanded an
elite guard for the Roman governor of all Judea and Samaria. He was
also a devout man who was attracted to Jewish monotheism and its moral
values but did not become circumcised and adhere to Judaism's dietary
laws. It was impossible for a Roman soldier to be a good Jew, because
even an officer had to be on duty on the Sabbath and could not follow
strict dietary laws out in the field. Nevertheless, he was well respected
for being "a devout man who feared God…gave alms generously…and
prayed constantly."
At the same time, his attraction to the early church community was
not his heroic choice: a vision begins the story. He is instructed to
send for a man named Peter in Joppa.
Now it's Peter's turn for a strange vision. He is praying at noon
on the flat roof of a home on the beach. In a trance, he sees something
like a large sheet being lowered from heaven. The Greek word is literally
"cloth" or "boat sail," and that certainly fits
as he is on the housetop overlooking the ancient port of sailboats.
On this sail he sees all kinds of animals and birds. Peter is told to
"Get up and eat," but he refuses, showing his loyalty to the
sacred dietary laws.
The voice in his dream responded,"What God has created clean you
must not call profane." Still, Peter refused three times.
He was just waking up when Cornelius' messengers arrived, asking
for him. No wonder Peter was baffled: he doesn't have the foggiest about
where this is leading or why. Still, he is willing to be led.
He's a great model for disciples: there are times
when you simply say, "God, I don't know where
you are leading me, but let's go!"
The next day Peter and Cornelius meet up in Caesarea. Peter enters
Cornelius' house, ignoring Jewish law against associating with gentiles
only because God has rearranged his notions of what is clean and unclean.
Then, a stunning admission: "I now know that God shows no partiality,
but anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable."
Jew? Pagan gentile? Doesn't matter. Anyone who reverences God and
does right can be OK with God. The meaning of the vision is that not
only has the distinction between clean and unclean foods has been abolished
by God, so also has the distinction between "clean" and "unclean"
people!
Significantly, Peter doesn't have clear precedents of Scripture
or tradition to back-up this insight! He bases it upon how he understands
Christ:
(Verse 36) "…the message God sent to the people of Israel,
preaching peace by Jesus Christ-he is Lord of all."
Hear that: Christian efforts of inclusiveness are rooted in Christ's
lordship over all creation, all nations, all human traditions and former
religious teaching!
Walls that divided were cast aside.
Peter goes out on a limb here with no proof texts or precedents
to back him up. Yet, that's the way it is in the church sometimes. If
Jesus is Lord, then we have the adventurous challenge of discerning
new applications of his sovereignty!
Shouldn't we actually expect new implications of the Gospel which can't
be explained on any basis other than our God has shown us something
we would not have seen on our own?
Is that uncomfortable? Perhaps, but the Gospel is usually about change
of mind and life.
Today, other Walls That Divide Are Being Cast Aside.
I see Chapter 10 of Acts as a "More Light" precedent!
The breakthrough understanding of 1st century Christians was that
God's people were to include Gentile Christians. Whereas, 21st century
believers are discovering that God's people include gay, lesbian, and
bisexual Christians as well as the traditional heterosexual, ethnic
and racial mixture.
Scriptural texts about sexual orientation can be debated, although
Scripture nowhere condemns committed, loving, faithful partnerships.
Some will still say that homosexuality is a chosen action, but most
researchers agree that sexual identity is at least partially the way
a person was created. So if even partly not a choice, sexual orientation
belongs to creation! Or, as Peter heard in his vision: "What God
has created, you must not call profane, or unclean!"
To be sure, Scripture is clear in condemning irresponsible, unfaithful,
unloving sexual acts by any, whether they be "straight" or
"gay." Through all the debate to come, keep affirming that
we follow the Jesus who loved all kinds of people and engaged in justice
work that went beyond human-made boundaries and stereotypes.
The General Assembly amendment to be voted upon this year offers
a healthy middle ground: It doesn't force one interpretation of Scripture
on everyone. Instead, it leaves interpretation and application of the
high standards in the constitution to sessions and presbyteries.
It trusts local sessions to decide whom to ordain to the offices
of elder and deacon. It trusts presbyteries to determine who has been
called by God to be pastors. Always, we have to answer to the Book of
Order standards that they be, quote, "persons of strong faith,
dedicated discipleship, and love of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord,"
and whose "manner of life demonstrates the Christian gospel in
the church and in the world."
These Walls That Divide Must Be Cast Aside- to end the tragic exclusion
of women and men who have heard the church say for generations that
they are morally inferior and that their God-created sexual orientations
are evil!!
I call it "tragic exclusion" because I know devout Presbyterians
and other Christians who dropped away from the church, hammered by those
who felt they had the right to be more judging than Jesus! It beats
them down; it leads them to believe it doesn't matter what they do:
they can never be "good."
No more. Let's set sail to catch the Spirit's energy. This congregation
is the only one in our Presbytery to claim being a More Light congregation-that
is, we affirm the gifts and calling to ministry of all who follow the
Christ, regardless of sexual orientation. This is a safe place!
Remember that we are witnesses to the loving, faithful persons in
our own congregation!
God's gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit also underscore that God
is keeping the promises to Israel. The question before the early church,
and Luke the author of Acts, is rather, "Will the pagans be saved?"
Here was the church at the turn of the first century facing Jewish rejection
of the gospel, which should have been theirs, and pagan acceptance of
the good news that was not addressed to them. In this reading from chapter
10 of Acts, note the Holy Spirit inspiring radical new understanding!
Shall the Terrorist Win?
Elder Derrick Kikuchi
(Read 2 Timothy 2:8-15)
Today, as we wear pink triangles on our arms, we remember
the sorrows of the thousands and thousands of gay men, lesbian women
and bisexual persons who were murdered as heretics, gassed in Nazi concentration
camps, shocked in mental asylums, labeled sinful or sick, and robbed
of self esteem and dignity. And we ask, "Shall the terrorist win?"
We recognize that our world has not responded with compassion and urgency
to the crisis of people living with HIV and AIDS. Many people who suffer
from this illness are still being treated as lepers in our society.
Shall the terrorist win?
We express sorrow and outrage for the many men and women who have been
beaten up or murdered on the suspicion of being gay, lesbian or bisexual.
We acknowledge that in some countries of our world being lesbian or
gay is against the law and is considered a crime punishable by a jail
sentence or execution. Shall the terrorist win?
We know of many ministers and ordained officers of our church and other
faith communities who have lost their positions because they have been
open about their sexual orientation or because they were suspected of
being gay or lesbian, or because they presided at a covenanting service
of holy union. Some of their stories can be read on the stoles displayed
in this Sanctuary from the Shower of Stoles Project. We remember the
congregations and individuals threatened because they were open and
welcoming to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons. Shall
the terrorist win?
We recognize that in this country gay and lesbian couples still do not
enjoy the same privileges and rights as other couples. These couples
are denied health benefits, pension payments, and the right for access
to their loved ones in hospitals. Shall the terrorist win?
We continue to be appalled by statistics showing that the largest number
of young men who commit suicide are those who are gay and that this
number is increasing every year. People who struggle with self-acceptance
and society's lack of acceptance of gay people often see no hope and
give up. Shall the terrorist win?
We recall the times when we have heard a racist, sexist or homophobic
joke or story and did not speak up. And we recall the times we have
groaned, "Not again! Haven't we talked about this stuff enough
already? I'm getting tired of all this." And so we ask, "Shall
the terrorist win?"
And who is the terrorist anyway? Isn't the terrorist the one in every
conflict causing us to operate out of fear instead of love; the one
who replaces hope with hopelessness; the one using our holiest words
to justify hatred, injustice, and violent action; the one who tears
down instead of builds up; the one who sees the Other only as evil,
and only sees evil in the Other and not themselves; the one preemptively
obtaining the strategic advantage over an opponent no matter what the
cost; the one who is the destroyer instead of the repairer of the breach?
In other words, doesn't the terrorist reside inside each
of us, even as God resides inside each of us?
Ultimately, then, our struggle in denying the terrorist
and not denying God is indeed a struggle taking place within each and
every one of us, and so, I ask again, "Shall the terrorist win?"
For me, our scripture today reminds us that the solution to our conflict
is not in the continuation of our fighting, no matter how reasoned,
no matter how seemingly legitimate. It isn't in our arguing about who's
right and who's wrong. It's about living as one already approved by
God, and getting on with the work. Living as one already approved by
God, living as if in an already liberated world, living as if the Gospel
truly is good news… and getting on with the work. In Luke Chapter
22, the disciples get into an argument about who's the greatest, the
rightist, the most qualified to lead, the most favorite disciple of
them all. They bring their argument to Jesus and in Jesus's answer is
something essential to our faith. Turns out, this movement created in
the life and teaching of Jesus isn't about who's the most qualified
to lead, it's about who's most willing to serve." And Jesus goes
on to say to those disciples in conflict then and now, "You have
stood by me in my trials…you will eat and drink at my table."
That's a good message for this solidarity Sunday. It's a definition
of solidarity. It's a definition of faithfulness. And it's what it means
to be a More Light Church.
As Janie Spahr said at the Witness our Welcome conference: "What
will we look like next time? Will it be different? And what will we
look like? Rainbows, blessed be! This is our Pentecost, our time! Now
go out and do the darn work!" (OK, Janie didn't say "darn.)
May the peace of Jesus be with you. Amen.
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