5th Sunday of Easter

 

So the story I told you from 2 weeks ago about Peter baptizing the first gentile believers is back again in our readings this week.  And the I told you this story from Acts then as an example of how Peter had to keep learning and growing even after the resurrection.  We know that Peter was an imperfect leader, that he wasn’t always open to change.  And he wasn’t meant to be.  What is important is that Peter kept trying, kept learning, kept following Jesus.  And that Jesus kept working on and with Peter to further the Gospel even after his return to heaven.

And now this week, we hear of what comes of all that work.  And the little passage we heard today in Acts 11 is actually a recap of Acts chapter 10.  And I am actually really thankful the lectionary authors gave us this version of the story.  First of all because the version in Acts 10 is 48 verses long, and if we had to read the whole thing, the poor lector might pass out.  But more importantly because today’s story tell us not just about Peter’s change of heart, but it also prepares believers for what we will face almost every time we make a change in the church, criticism.

Peter goes and does this crazy, radical, groundbreaking and ultimately really successful thing.   And then what happens?  Our story tells us “Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God.  So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’”  The first thing that happens is backlash, people saying ‘What are you doing?’ 

And to be fair, this was a really big deal.  This was a huge violation of Jewish law, and a fundamental undermining of Peter’s identity.  For folks who are watching the Chosen right now, think about the relationship that is going on between Peter and the Centurion, and how separated they were.  We know very well that Jesus and his followers took enormous care in every single aspect of their lives, to follow the Torah and to keep their community safe and holy even in the face of the enormous social pressure of living under the empire.  Their whole lives, from birth to death, had faithful Jewish practice and separation from the wider world at its center.  And then to the eyes of the first believers, suddenly Peter goes and throws in all away, of course there is going to be pushback, especially in Jerusalem.

So the question then and now becomes, how to discern when a change in practice is warranted?  And this passage suggests three ways.  First, consistency of call.  The holy spirit calls on Peter 3 times.  And when he refuses the feeling comes back, again and again, he can’t let it go.  Now, we picked on Peter for his stubbornness a bit for this last time, but also maybe a good idea to go a bit slow sometimes.  When discerning a change to ask, is their consistent ongoing call it or is it just a passing idea or a flash in the pan?

Next is the discernment of the wider community.  Peter is the leader of this movement but not the only one involved.  Peter is the one called by the Holy Spirit, but he brings in at least 6 other members of the community to accompany and guide the process.  And more importantly the call comes from the other side as well. The Holy Spirit also goes directly to the gentiles, calls on them, and they come ask for Peter.  The effort is not one sided, the people being served have an important role in the process.

And then third we look to the fruit.  It works.  The holy Spirit shows up, lives are changed, people believe, the faith of church is increased.  And this is ultimately what convinces the doubters, because it is hard to argue with obvious results.

But the ultimate tool we learn for discernment today isn’t even in this passage.  It is in our gospel lesson, in Jesus’ final teaching to his disciples.  Here at the last supper he tells them what it truly means to be a disciple: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."  This here, this passage this new testament of Jesus Christ becomes the ultimate decider.  We are called first and foremost to love one another.  Just as Jesus loved us, we should love one another.

And how does Jesus love?  He loves outsiders, sinners, unbelievers and outcasts.  It’s all over the Gospel narrative and written into the personal stories of each of these disciples, from Peter kneeling at Jesus’s feet calling himself a sinful man, to Matthew being called out of his tax booth.  That is how we are called to love.

And that is also how we win. Because Jesus says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” This is how people come to know us as disciples of Christ, by our love.  It’s like that old folk song, “And they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love”

But we also know, by our history all the way back to the first days of the church in Acts 11, this reality will never be popular.  Every time church makes a move toward inclusivity, it WILL be met with criticism. Every time. The elevation of women, and gay and lesbian people into leadership, every time we change the prayer book, every time we make a move toward racial or economic justice, every time we stand in solidarity with the marginalized and outcasts, there will be pushback.

And that’s okay.  It is Part of the process, part of the testing of the spirit, because not every single change is for the better.  Real changes, hard changes, meaningful changes, need a process of discernment.  But that chance of criticism is also never a valid excuse to back away from Jesus’s command to love.  Because Jesus tells us that how the world must come to know him is through our love.

And right now the opposite seems to be true, because the dominant popular Christian narrative in this country is anything but loving, and the threat of Christian Nationalism is real, and it is telling a story about control and exclusion that feels to me like the opposite of everything Jesus is teaching us in our bible lessons today.

And there is only one way to push back, real and pervasive love of our neighbor, love that crosses boundaries, love that loves those that others won’t, love that makes sacrifices and takes risks, love that stands firm in the face of inevitable criticism. Because that is the love that ultimately wins, because that is what Jesus commands and Holy Spirit working in the name of Jesus Christ can never be contained.  Amen.