Who are we to hinder God: May 18

 Year C, Easter 5                                                             Acts 11:1-18                                                                   Visions, trances, angels, the Spirit---Acts has just about everything that makes most Episcopalians a little uncomfortable. Yet if we are to believe this story is true, which I do, then these visions, angels, and the Holy Spirit are the main reason that we know the story of Jesus today.

          This reading from Acts may seem a little confusing because it’s summarizing what happened in the previous chapter.  I hope you will stay with me as I try to summarize it all. When Peter returned to Jerusalem, he was challenged by the circumcised believers for eating with gentiles.  It would be natural to assume the people challenging Peter were Pharisees.  This was something that the Pharisees questioned Jesus about. 

But these circumcised believers were followers of Christ, disciples of Jesus. In indicating that they were circumcised, the author of Acts was saying that they were most likely Jews who were now following Jesus, but still following the laws and traditions of the Jewish faith.  A lot of Jesus’ followers didn’t believe they were starting a new religion, this was just more like an evolution of the Jewish faith. And those people didn’t think you could be a real follower of Christ until you took on the traditions of the Jewish faith, which included circumcision.  These followers of Christ asked Peter: “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?”

          Some of us might think, well what’s the big deal? He had a meal with people who were not circumcised.  The problem was that in eating at the home of a gentile, Peter was almost surely breaking the purity laws of the Jewish faith.  He would also have been undermining the boundaries between observant Jews and non observant gentiles.  This was a very important distinction at the time. It would be like Eagles fans and Cowboys fans getting together for a potluck.

          Peter responded in a way that Jesus often did in these situations.  He told a story.  However, while Jesus often used parables in his story telling, Peter relied on his own life experience.  This story, was kind of wild. He fell in a trance and saw a big sheet descend from heaven and there were animals on the sheet, animals that Jews were not supposed to eat.  But then Peter heard a voice that said “kill and eat.” Peter argued with the heavenly voice, which finally replied: “What God had made clean, you must not call profane.” The detail that Peter skipped in retelling the story was that this whole vision left him very confused. He had no idea what this all meant.  But then three men showed up and the Spirit told him to go with them to visit the home of Cornelius. 

          These three men said that they were sent my Cornelius, a God fearing man who had spoken to an angel.  Saying that someone was God-fearing was a way to describe a gentile who was devout, but still a gentile.  When Peter arrived, he acknowledged that he was not supposed to be there as a Jew, but the Spirit led him and he followed. Then Cornelius told him the story of the angel visiting him while he was praying and asking that he send for Peter, a man he had never met.

          It was at this point, when all the pieces came together and Peter said, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” This would have been mind blowing to hear at the time, because it meant that there didn’t have to be a division between the Jews and the gentiles. It also meant that God’s love was available to everyone, not just the Jews.

          That was the story he summed up in the text we heard today. That was the story he told in response to the criticism he received from those followers of Jesus who didn’t think God’s message could be brought to the gentiles.  He added that when he had shared this good news with the gentiles, the Spirit descended and they were all baptized. He concluded “If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?”

          One of the things that I love about this story is that it’s both simple and complicated at the same time.  On first glance it seems that Peter came to this revolutionary understanding quickly and easily.  But that was not what happened.  So much had to happen for his eyes to be opened. First of all, the vision came to him when he was praying. He took the time to talk and listen to God. He then followed the guidance of the Spirit.  Meanwhile, another person was also praying, listening and following the guidance of the Spirit.  It required two people who had entirely different backgrounds to find this new way of being. Two people who should never have been in the same room together.  Two people who listened to God and were willing to be open to the movement of the Spirit.

          Does this mean that Peter then gave up all the traditions and rules of the Jewish faith? Christians often assume that but it never said that he did. What changed was that Peter was able to see that those who didn’t follow the same rules and have the same background were no less worthy because of it.

          During college I took a fair amount of religion classes, not because I expected to make it a career, but because I found it fascinating, especially the classes that focused on scripture.  Armed with this scriptural knowledge it was easier to deviate from the beliefs that I was raised with.  My brothers are all older and they had a major influence on me.  My oldest brother became an evangelical Christian and I had listened and not argued for many years.  After college, I started stating my opinions more boldly and talked about how the Holy Spirit had led me to some of these beliefs.  He said, “Yeah, but couldn’t you say that about anything? Does that mean anyone can say something is correct because they have been led by the Holy Spirit?”  I don’t think I had an answer for him then, but I do now. 

          Episcopalians often talk about something called the three legged stool.  The idea is that our faith is formed in three ways: Scripture, tradition and reason. Yet I would add that our understanding of those three things depends on the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  I love traditions. I even like rules.  What I have to continually remind myself, especially as I have more and more years as an ordained priest, is that traditions and rules shouldn’t bind us. They can guide us, but not bind us. 

Does that mean that we throw out the 10 commandments, the Nicene Creed and our beloved Book of Common Prayer? Of course not. But let’s not act like the Holy Spirit has stopped moving, stopped communicating.  Let’s not act like we have it all figured out, because we don’t. We can follow the example of Jesus, but also the example of Peter.  Peter who denied Jesus and left him to die on the cross. Peter who learned from his sins and then gave up everything to spread the message of Jesus.  He prayed and opened his heart to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  He acknowledged that even though he was one of Jesus’ chosen 12, he still had much to learn.  Because of his openness, we gentiles have this message of love to share with anyone and everyone. 

It is unlikely that you will be thrown into a trance or visited by angels, but the Spirit can still speak to you.  She might come in the form of someone who is different than you and tells you something or shows you something that challenges your preconceived notions.  She might come in the form of a realization that you might want to check out a church for the first time.  She might come in the form of a gentle breeze or even a heartbreaking moment. It’s shocking how many ways the Spirit can speak to us.  The question is, how can we be open to the Spirit?  As Peter says, “Who am I to hinder God?” Who are we to hinder God and who could we be if we got out of the way and let the Spirit move?