There is a story about Groucho Marx
resigning from an exclusive private club.
Having joined the club at the insistence of friends, he did not want to
participate. So, Groucho sent a letter
of resignation. Apparently, he told them
did not want to belong and thus the letter of resignation to the club. In the next mail, he received a letter from
the club’s president, wanting to know why he had resigned. Groucho immediately wrote back: “Because I
don’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member!”
The question before us this morning is .
. . who’s in and who’s out? And, who
gets to decide?
Our scripture reading this morning is
set early in the start of the church. At
this point they are a loose conglomerate of Jesus’ original disciples and
followers . . . they had all been Jewish in their faith . . . they still viewed
themselves as Jewish, but in the final form of what Judaism should be . . .
they believed themselves as having been chosen by God for this particular
calling. Because of this they kind of
held in their minds some parameters of what it meant to be a part of this new
creation of an old faith. For them it
was quite simple . . . to belong to the club one had to be Jewish. No non-Jews—no Gentiles were allowed. This attitude is displayed when Peter is
criticized and accused of dappling with the unacceptable. They confront him with the statement: “You
went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
Peter does not deny that he did what
they were accusing him of . . . he did it.
He did it and from his explanation it came as a complete surprise, after
all, he was one of them . . . a member of the club. He had been one of the loudest proponents of
the club constantly arguing against the uncircumcised joining. As he explains it, he has a change of mind
and apparently . . . a change of heart.
As Peter explains it, as he was praying
he had a vision. In this vision he sees
all the animals that the Jews are not allowed to eat. As he is surveying these animals, a voice
speaks to him telling to kill and eat them.
Peter refuses: “Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my
mouth.”
But, the voice insists: “Do
not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
Peter remains adamant in his refusal
despite the insistence of the voice.
Peter states that this happened three times. Then it was over. The vision was gone, and he is approached by
three men who invite him to come to their house. It turns out that the house is that of a
Gentile. There Peter does the
unthinkable . . . he eats with them. The
house is blessed with the Holy Spirit.
Peter couldn’t believe it. In his
defense against his criticizers he states: “So if God gave them the same gift as he
gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could
oppose God!”
Ol’ Peter was quite a back-peddler. I love that line that he speaks: “. .
. who was I to think that I could oppose God!” That is a line that should speak to all of
us. I think that it is safe to say that
a foundational part of our faith as the followers of Jesus is that there is no
exclusion from God’s kingdom . . . no exclusion from God’s family . . . that
everyone is invited to take his or her rightful place at the table. We echo that fundamental belief each and
every Sunday morning as we gather around the Lord’s Table to issue the
invitation: “All are welcomed.” We
believe that all belong.
As the followers of Jesus, we state that
we believe that. We also believe that
practice is proof . . . our actions show our belief. And, as much as we don’t like
generalizations, when we lump the whole of Christianity together as we so often
see in the news, we quickly see that despite the proclaimed belief that “all
are welcomed” that it is not true. We
discover that there are still quite a few gatekeepers making the decision for
God of who is in and who is out. In this
action God and God’s will are being hindered.
The word “hinder” is a verb. It means “to create difficulties for someone
or something that results in delay or obstruction.” These human designees of the heavenly gate
and family have become a hindrance in God’s will and desire . . . restoration
of the kingdom . . . restoration of the family.
As staunch as Peter was in his belief
that the uncircumcised—the Gentiles—could not become followers of Jesus, members
of the club, until they first became a Jew, he recognized in his epiphany
vision that this was more of a hinderance to God’s desires than a help. In this revelation, Peter is shocked. Where he thought he was helping, he was
hindering. Thus, his proclamation: “. .
. who was I to think that I could oppose God!”
This is such a powerful revelation to
Peter that I imagine that the explanation that he provides his accusers is
filled with emotion and conviction that it is difficult for anyone who hears
the story not to comprehend the magnitude of his experience. Peter was changed. He has seen the err0r of his ways, and the
light of God’s. So moving was his story,
that those who had accused him also had a change of mind and heart. They come to see that this thing that Jesus
asked them to do is not an exclusive club only for a few . . . no! The doors are flung open for all to belong. Together they proclaim this by stating: “So
then, God has even granted the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
The doors are flung open for all to
belong. Those are the words . . . do the
actions of God’s creation portray it?
The other evening at the baccalaureate
for the seniors at the high school, the special music was provided by the music
teacher and three seniors. They sang two
songs. The first was a rendition of several
beloved Christian hymns; the second, was secular—though I would say quite
spiritual. The group sang, Imagine by John Lennon. To say the
least, I was mildly shocked . . . shocked because this is not a song that I
think most of the other clergy sitting with me would fine appropriate at a
Christian gathering and celebration. It
is a little too universalist in its leanings . . . a little too liberal in its
thoughts . . . and, offensive to certain corners of Christianity. For some it might even be un-American in its
desires.
Lennon wrote:
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today (ah ah ah)
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
When I listen to the
words of the song . . . really listen to them, I hear a call towards what Jesus
referred to as the Kingdom of God . . . what he referred to as the Family of
God. A Pollyannaish dream . . . maybe;
but, it is hard to deny that we followers of Jesus are called towards such a
dream . . . such a vision . . . such a reality because it is God’s desire,
God’s will. And, at the same time, I know
that we live in a world where we are a long, long ways from this dream. We live in a world where there are “us” and
“them” . . . where there are those who are “in” and those who are “out”. That we live in a world where the poor are
forgotten or ignored . . . that the naked go unclothed . . . that there are
those who hunger . . . that there are those who are excluded for whatever
reason . . . race, age, gender, politics, education or lack of education,
wealth or lack of wealth, abilities or disabilities . . . even whether they are
a Bobcat or Grizzly fan. We live in a
world where there are still gatekeepers that exert their desire to shape the
Kingdom of God to their desire that is often far from the desire of God.
In such a reality, I
cannot help but to think of Peter’s words: “. . . who was I to think that I could
oppose God!” Who are any who
hinder God and God’s desires and will?
In the world which we claim our place, maybe Groucho Marx said it best,
“I don’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member!” Peter finally got it . . . and so will
we. One step closer to the Kingdom of
God . . . where all are truly welcomed.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment