Acts 11:1-18, John 13:31-35
Immigration. Vaccinations. Racial justice. LGBTQ equity. Abortion. These are just a sampling of the hot topics of our day. They are issues that divide. Arguments are made, lines are drawn, convictions deeply held. And anyone that challenges those arguments, lines or convictions is guaranteed to get a strong reaction.
I say all this not to stir up debate or division but to get all of us in a sympathetic frame of mind as we hear about an equally hot button issue, but because it’s not of our time or our culture, it can sound rather tame. That issue is Table Fellowship. And for an observant Jew in Jesus’ time it was a big deal. Because Table Fellowship involved a complex set of religious rules that dictated what you ate and with whom you ate it. One’s identity and faith were wrapped up in it and we all know when those things are involved people can get pretty hot. And it turns out that Table Fellowship was just as much a wedge issue in the early Church as any of the issue of our day.
We see that at play in our reading from
the book of Acts. It’s very early on in the life of the Church. Jesus has risen
from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now it's up to the
disciples-turned-apostles to spread the good news. But exactly who is worthy to
receive this news, who should be welcomed into this new group is still up for
debate. Peter pushes the boundaries when, led by the Holy Spirit, he preaches
the gospel to some Gentiles - a group of non-Jews, uncircumcised, unclean
Gentiles - and ends up baptizing a whole household of them.
And when the apostles and believers hear about this radical act they are not pleased, to put it mildly. Although it seems that they can live with the idea of preaching to the Gentiles and, because they’re so broadminded, they are even willing to tolerate their baptisms, but EATING with them??? Breaking Table Fellowship? That is a bridge too far! “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” they criticize.
Peter responds with a step-by-step explanation. I was praying and I had a vision, he begins. A vision of all these religiously unclean animals that were laid before me and a voice saying, “kill and eat.” Peter goes on to recount how he righteously protests. “By no means, Lord,” he says, “for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” To which God responds, “What God has made clean you must not call profane.” Then promptly the Spirit sends Peter to the Gentiles telling him, “make no distinction between them and us.”
Do you think that the Holy Spirit’s instructions only apply to Peter and the early Church? Unlikely. Although our concerns may be different, we have our ways of labeling someone as clean or unclean. Granted, we may not get so hung up on what someone eats or who they eat with. More often view people through the lens of moral, cultural or political issues. We may consider someone to be “clean” or acceptable if they think or act or vote in a certain way. But if they don’t, we tend to keep our distance. Whatever side we find ourselves on, distinctions are made between us and them.
But what God reveals to Peter and to us today is that God is not so concerned about our human made ways of deciding who’s clean and who’s not, who’s right and who’s wrong. God’s primary concern, it seems, is that we always move in the direction of crossing human made lines and boundaries. To act in ways that recognize the humanity of us all and how connected we all are to one another - that truly there is no distinction between us and them. Because what unites us, what makes us all clean, is the love that God has for each and every one of us without exception.
Which brings me to our Gospel reading. It is at the Last Supper and Jesus gives this command, “that you love one another.” He says it’s new, but that’s really not so. The call to love has always been at the heart of God's law. What is new is that Jesus commands us to love “just as I have loved you.” We are not expected to love with a love that we conjure up from our own limited, fickle, and easily depleted resources. Rather we are invited to tap into the source. To love one another with the love which we are loved with. So that we can love with Jesus’ love – the most abundant and inexhaustible love there is. Our love, therefore, is not our own. It is God's. And it has no limits.
It is this unlimited love of God which is always pushing forward to love even more freely, more indiscriminately, more generously than before. Still the path to that love is not always so smooth and clear. Even though the apostles accepted Peter’s bold actions there was still more to be worked out. Full inclusion of Gentiles didn’t happen right away.
And there’s plenty for us to work out as well. How do we love with God’s generous love those with whom we strongly disagree? I don’t have the equivalent of 5 easy steps to offer you. Nonetheless, I’d like to challenge all of us this week to pay attention to the times when we make a distinction between us and them - whoever “they” might be. The next time you notice yourself making a judgment that draws someone else outside the lines of grace, ask yourself or better yet, ask God, “How can I love them like you love me?” The answer may not come as clearly as it did to Peter long ago but try to listen to what the Spirit might be saying. And even if you don’t hear anything, know that just the act of being aware of when we make distinctions, when we draw lines, that that awareness opens up some space for the Holy Spirit to be at work.
A few months ago, I had a conversation with a parishioner who shared with me her struggles with judging others. She knew that that was not what God wanted her to do, but she felt like she couldn’t help it. But she didn’t just let it go there. She decided that every time she caught herself drawing lines and making distinctions she prays this simple prayer, “Bless them. Change me.” It’s a humble prayer of trust that can offer a starting point in breaking down barriers and surrendering control to God. Bless them. Change me. Because God does indeed want to bless all of us and change all of us so that we might live more fully into who we are created to be - children of a loving God.
“Love one another as I have loved you.” For your own sake and for the world’s.
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