Pastor Mike Pennell
Easter 5: Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-6; John 13:33-35
May 2, 2010
One of our favorite programs on weekends is the "Prairie Home Companion" show with Garrison Keillor. Each week Keillor tells the story of a small town in Minnesota called Lake Wobegon where 'all the women are strong, the men are good looking and the children are above average.' In a good natured way he frequently pokes fun at various religious groups, frequently the Lutherans, but also Methodists.
"You know you are Methodist when its 100 degrees and 90 percent humidity and you still have coffee after the service. You hear something funny during the sermon and smile as loudly as you can. Donuts are a line item in the church budget just like coffee. When you watch a Star Wars movie and they say, "May the force be with you," and you respond, "and also with you." And lastly you'll know you've been in the presence of a Methodist, if it takes 10 minutes to say good-bye!"
These are fun ways of type casting a group like Methodists. And most of these are really complimentary, except maybe for having coffee on a hot day, of course. But stereotyping is not always fun. The prophets of the Old Testament, Jesus, and others through history have spoken out against judging others from the outside rather than by who they were on the inside. Because of this I don't think religion was very much fun long ago.
In the ancient world if you didn't fit in with the popular piety, you were treated almost like an untouchable. This is the heart of Peter's dream about that large picnic blanket he sees coming down from heaven with various animals on it – "four footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds." Peter tells the '"circumcised believers" about his dream after they criticize him for associating with uncircumcised men and eating with them. This was considered bad because these kind of people were impure and unclean.
Circumcised believers are Jews who still follow the kosher or dietary laws of Moses even though they believe in Jesus. According to Moses observance of these laws was mandatory in order to maintain your purity before God. Gentiles were considered unclean because they ate these forbidden foods like pork (the other white meat) for example. Strict Jews and even Moslems do not eat pork because it will make you unclean.
This distinction between "clean" and "unclean" people based purely on diet is what Peter's dream is all about. And essentially what is revealed in this is that God has declared all foods clean in Christ. It is no longer valid to distinguish between people based on dietary restrictions. This means that both Jews and Gentiles are acceptable to God regardless of what they eat. They are acceptable because of the good news of God's grace revealed in Jesus Christ.
Eventually, Christians would not only give up the dietary laws, but also all the ceremonial laws of Moses concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices in the Temple. They even gave up the rite of circumcision as a religious duty. The message of Jesus is that God does not judge us acceptable or unacceptable merely by outward signs.
Even though for Christians salvation is a gift based on faith rather than on our works of religion, Christianity has regressed at times back to the old standard. We see this whenever a church makes a claim that it's way is the only way. The form of one's baptism, for example, that you are not saved unless baptized by immersion. Doctrines composed by humans about the bible or communion or stances on social issues can often be taken as litmus tests of one's acceptance before God. But the essence of Peter's dream is that external standards set up by man cannot supersede the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
Peter's dream follows the conversion of Cornelius in the book of Acts who was a Roman soldier, a centurion who was known for his devoutness towards God. He gave generously to the poor and was a man of prayer. Yet, he was a Gentile. He was neither a Jew nor a Christian until Peter comes to him. And this is what Peter says: "You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile, but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean…I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears (GOD) and does what is right is acceptable to him."(Acts 10:34)
"God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean." What an amazing statement that is. This is the good news. In Christ Gentiles have the same access to God without the law as Jews did with the law. The outward signs of religion no longer count as the stepping stone to life. God's grace is the great equalizer between all nations, races, cultures, and creeds.
While Christians dropped the ceremonial and ritual laws of Moses they did retain the moral law as enshrined in the Ten Commandments which Jesus summarized in the two great commandments: 'to love God with all one's heart, mind, soul and strength and to love our neighbor as ourself.' This was consistent with the message of the prophets who emphasized that it is our relationships with one another, how we treat one another with respect and dignity and care for one another, that this matters far more to God than our religious practices. Indeed how we love one another reveals the true nature of our religion and whether it is of God or not.
1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love
James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Not only do Methodists love donuts and coffee and take forever to say good-bye. They love open communion even more where non-Methodists are welcome to receive. God does not accept us because we are acceptable. Instead even though we are unacceptable God accepts us so that then he can make us truly acceptable. This is the spirit of Christ who invites and welcomes everyone to the table banquet of God's salvation.