The New York Times declared in a 1964 article that the most segregated time in the United States was at 11:00AM. That is the time that people gather in their local churches to worship. Research as recent as 2022 concludes that this still remains the case in the United States. In Paris, Kentucky—where my wife Dana grew up, there are two Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregations. One, First Christian Church has been there for nearly 200 years; the other, Seventh Street Christian Church has been there for over 155 years. They are located several blocks from each other. One is the white congregation; the other is the black. Even though they both espouse to believe the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) beliefs, they have never joined to form one congregation.
Though there is a smattering of diversity in both congregations they are predominantly a black congregation and a white congregation. They are segregated. As is most of our nation on Sunday mornings.
I wonder . . . why. Why if they believe in the same Jesus? Why if they believe in the same tenets of faith? Why if they declare themselves to be of the same faith movement—the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)? Why if they believe in the same God? Why would there be two congregations of the same faith in a community where both are struggling to remain viable and vital congregations?
Well, shoot . . . why do we have six congregations here in Joliet!
Makes one sit up and ponder, doesn’t it?
A couple of weeks ago we heard the conversion story about the Apostle Paul. Heard how he was once known as Saul—a feared persecutor of those who were the followers of Jesus and became Paul one of Christianity’s greatest defenders and evangelist . . . a real saint! As you know of Paul’s story, he began his ministry within the synagogues but was quickly rejected. Being rejected he took the ministry to those outside the synagogues . . . he took it to the streets to the Gentiles. In the Gentiles he found a willing audience to the Good News of Jesus. During the tenure of his ministry Paul was quite successful in establishing congregations of the faithful. At the same time, those of the original followers . . . well, they rejected both Paul and the congregations.
One of the reasons was that Gentiles had never been Jews. The popular argument in this arena was circumcision. Gentiles had not been circumcised and many of the those who had been Jews first felt that these outsiders had to be circumcised. This was not real popular among the adult Gentiles. The bottom line was that the Gentiles were not like the Jews . . . different backgrounds, different histories, and different cultures. In the minds of those who argued against the Gentiles becoming followers of the way they had to first become Jewish.
Another part of this argument is what we heard in our reading from the Book of Acts. Peter had apparently gone to Joppa where he had entered a house of uncircumcised men and ate with them . . . not only did he eat with them, but he ate “unholy food”. Of course, by “unholy food” it was meant kosher. For this he was criticized by the other apostles. Now Peter, firmly ensconced in this way of thinking himself, defends himself by telling them of a vision he received. In the vision he is surrounded by all sorts of unkosher foods. Then a voice tells him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
In his story he tells those listening that he opposed such actions because he would never let anything “impure or unclean” enter his body. Which seemed to offend the voice that was speaking to him: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” Peter tells them that this happened three times . . . imagine that! Then he is invited by some Gentiles to come and eat at their house, and he went. Then he told those gathered, “So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
Peter’s revelation was quite simple . . . though the Gentiles were different they had the same gift as did the followers of Jesus. They had all been touched by God . . . they had all been blessed with the Holy Spirit. Though they may have looked and acted differently, they were still chosen by God. They were one of the family. In Peter’s mind and in his argument with the others, who was he—or anyone else for that matter--to deny these people a place in God’s family?
It is human nature for people to gather in groups that have similarities. We humans are attracted to others who are like us. Thus, it should be no surprise that when we gather to worship most of those gathered with us are like us. Differences make us feel uneasy. We like things the way that we can understand them, and we understand ourselves and those who are like us. It should not be a surprise then that Sunday mornings at 11:00AM is the most segregated time of the week.
Years ago, Groucho Marx said, “I wouldn’t want to belong to a club that would have a me as a member.” That is human nature. Birds of a feather flock together. Yet, the table of grace is set by God through the actions of Jesus for everyone. No one is denied a place at the table for all are the children of God. All are wanted. All are welcomed.
Peter came to this conclusion with a little help from God. After the vision Peter experienced the hospitality of strangers . . . he was welcomed . . . he was fed . . . and, he was loved. There in the actions of strangers . . . people different than himself . . . he was loved.
Love is a sign of the Spirit.
In our other reading this morning from the Gospel of John, Jesus is speaking to his disciples prior to all the activity that would take place in Jerusalem that last week of his life. In his words to his disciples, he tells them a new command: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Did you hear what Jesus said? “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
In the end it all comes down to love. This is the sign of the divine . . . a sign of the Holy . . . that we love. It is not a matter of whether or not we all live our lives alike . . . whether we eat the same foods . . . read the same version of the Bible . . . or even worship in the same way. It comes down to love and the way that love is manifested in our lives. God did not create us in the same way. We are all unique in who we are as a child of God. Because of that we should not be expected to experience God in the same way; nor should we be expected to relate to God in the same way. But because we are loved we are expected to love others as God has loved us. At least that is what Jesus expected . . . that is what Peter experienced in Joppa.
In the Peter’s story this morning, what he was dealing with was not God’s issue . . . it was Peter’s issue. As far as God was concerned it wasn’t an issue at all. Everyone is welcomed as far as God is concerned. It was Peter who had the problem and it had nothing to do with God at all . . . it was all wrapped in his humanness. So, it is with many of the issues we face in our world today . . . what we want as humans too often goes against what we know God wants.
How do we know?
In the hymn, They’ll Know We Are Christians, it states:
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah they’ll know we are Christians by our love
In the end it all comes down to love. Peter discovered it. Jesus spoke it: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” It is the only way we will ever change the world. It is the only way the Kingdom of God will come. In the end it is love. Amen.
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