They Were Astonished… and so am I.

This week the United Methodist Church was pretty busy. Every four years, the entire body of the UMC gathers to set policies and rules, handle church business, and encourage one another. This General Conference was delayed by COVID and long overdue. Here’s a handy infographic of all they did. (scroll below for the rest of the blog)

I’m a pastor in rural Kansas. A few of these items will be most welcome. As someone seeking ordination as a Deacon and in pastoral ministry, Sacramental Authority is huge. It was our bishop who was the first native person to preside at General Conference. Our small churches will also benefit from smaller apportionments.

A few of the other items are still contentious subjects. Some in my congregations are hugely relieved and excited. Some are worried about the church they love. Some both.

On top of a big week with General Conference, I’m also in finals week. I’m giving the baccalaureate message in Pleasanton this week and have two tests and three papers due. I was thrilled to see that the lectionary text for this weekend was a scripture that I have preached before - phew! Cross that off the list. I’ll just do some recycling of that content and buy myself some extra time.

When I opened that sermon I wrote two years ago… I swear that God has a sense of humor because the sermon that I wrote is all about inclusion in the church.

The coincidence is too much - there’s divinity at work in this. I’m quite convinced now that this is the message I’m to give this weekend. So I wanted to share it here also.

Scripture: Acts 10:44-48

44 While Peter was still speaking,

the Holy Spirit fell on everyone who heard the word. 

45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter

were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit

had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 

46 They heard them speaking in other languages

and praising God.

Peter asked, 

47 “These people have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.

Surely no one can stop them from being baptized with water, can they?” 

48 He directed that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Then they invited Peter to stay for several days.

They were astonished!

Our scripture today outlines the experience of new believers in the city of Caesarea. The Holy Spirit ordains Peter’s message of the Gospel by coming to all the people in the group. For our context, the more important point is that Caesarea isn’t Jerusalem.

Peter is speaking and preaching to these gentile, non-Jewish believers. Peter is telling them of the Gospel. The good news is that “God shows no partiality” and that “anyone who fears God and does what is right” has salvation available to them.

To us, this message sounds pretty familiar. We have always been taught this, right? God loves everyone. Sunday school basics.

God’s grace and goodness is ours.

Always. Everywhere.

Nobody is excluded.

God’s grace is Infinitely available and infinitely abundant.

The group of gentile believers Peter is speaking to have never heard this Good News.

Peter had been traveling, heading out from Jerusalem, where God poured out the Holy Spirit to Jewish believers in Pentecost which we will celebrate in a couple of weeks.

Wind, fire, Holy Spirit, universal understanding of language. These faithful Jewish followers of the Gospel were doing just that. Following the Gospel. Peter was traveling to different regions and cities telling of Jesus’ life and the freedom found in Christ. This group of believers was helping Peter in his journey and learning from him.

These followers were likely all Jewish. Jewish people who saw Jesus as the Messiah and believed in the Gospel but still were born and raised Jewish. Jewish people in the Greco-Roman world were heavily persecuted. At the time Acts was written, the temple was the very place where Jews went to be in the presence of God. The place where God’s Spirit dwelt had been destroyed by the Romans. Before that, the Greeks imposed upon their religious practices. They had been scattered outside the Promised Land to the corners of the empire.

Their persecution had been going on for hundreds of years. The one commonality between these scattered or diaspora Jews was the Word.

The Torah.

The way they knew best to show their commitment to staying in God’s grace as chosen. These persecuted people clung to their identity and solidarity as a people. God’s chosen people. For all of these followers of Peter’s lives, they had been taught and studied the importance of practices and piety and purity. These kept them within God’s grace.They had all sacrificed, participated in rituals, and practiced the laws of Torah.

Shouldn't these new believers, these Gentiles, be required to as well?

Wasn’t Torah how to remain in God’s grace and among God’s chosen?

I think this is a very valid question. Our author in Acts and Luke, spent much time answering this question. The author tells us over and over in Luke that God fulfilled God’s promise to Israel through sending the Messiah, by sending Jesus. God’s favor is available to those who believed in the Gospel of Jesus. Not just the nation and people of Israel, not just to the pure and pious among Israel but to anyone who believes and hears the good news.

Pretty radical

All of a sudden, Just as Peter is telling the crowd that God’s favor is not limited to a particular group, the Holy Spirit is poured out on ALL the people. The Gentiles and Peter’s followers. Almost, as if God wanted to ordain what Peter was saying.Peter says “God shows no partiality” and everyone has access to salvation and God gives a resounding amen.

Our scripture tells us next that the circumcised were astounded. Shocked that they are witnessing these Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit, just as they had at Pentecost. They had been following Peter around the countryside, hearing the Gospel teachings over and over and they hadn’t considered that God’s infinite and abundant grace was ALSO available to these believers? These “lawless” Gentiles? Their categories and conditioning had blinded them. They missed seeing that these people were ALSO God’s people.

God gives the Gentiles a Pentecostal experience. Speaking in tongues, praising God, clear, visible astounding signs of the Spirit’s presence. Just like in Pentecost, these Gentile believers are linked by the Holy Spirit to God’s Grace and Salvation. Peter’s words are important but so is Peter’s presence as the deliverer of the message.

Peter was a personal follower of Jesus. For the entirety of Jesus’ ministry, Peter was there. Peter was at the Last Supper, Peter was there when Jesus was arrested. It was Peter who denied Jesus three times, and three times, Jesus forgave Peter for this after the resurrection. Peter was there at ascension when Jesus was zipped up to heaven. Peter was there for Pentecost, lending wisdom and clarity to the Spirit’s works.

Peter, more than almost all of these early Christians knows Jesus. In knowing Jesus, Peter knows God and Spirit. Peter understands when he sees the work of God. He is a credible witness to all of these works and a witness to the presence of God on earth.

When Peter asks the crowd “Who can deny baptism to these people?” People who all have witnessed receiving the Holy Spirit. There is immense gravity in the rhetorical answer. Who can deny baptism and full acceptance to the church community?

Who?

The definitive answer is no one. Nobody can deny these Gospel followers the same umbrella of God’s grace and love. The Holy Spirit brought and in the Spirit’s presence mandates inclusion in the church community.

What a radical message!

No matter who you are, you have access to the grace and love of God. Nobody can deny you access. God has given it abundantly and infinitely.

Anyone trying to deny access to God’s grace to others is only denying themselves.

Some messages in the bible are timeless, extending out of their original contexts and to us today. I think this message is one of those. Today, we are of the “people of God.” We have received the Holy Spirit as the church body. We are here, meeting, praying, praising God, reaching into God’s Grace and love to fortify us to be more like our Creator.

The last words of this scripture pull us into this scene. “These Gentiles have received the Spirit, just as we have.” What a challenge we’ve been issued!

Who are we excluding?

Who have our upbringing and society conditioned us to be blinded to as beloved children of God?

Before I wrap up, I have a confession. This sermon is one that I’ve preached before. As a matter of fact, this was the first sermon that I preached. I wrote it almost two years ago. I was filling the pulpit of my lead pastor who was away at Missouri’s annual conference. When I saw that the lectionary text for this weekend was this text, I went back to see if I could use any part my previous work for you all today. I always try to balance recycling any of my sermons because my number one goal is to not just speak the Gospel but to speak it directly for you all. That’s my job, to make it personal. I was also hesitant to even try to reuse the content because I was quite sure from my memory that it was not good.

When I preached this the first time, I was so nervous. I’ve certainly gotten more comfortable with practice. But also because I’m at home here. I’m not in someone else’s church, I’m in our church with my friends who I love and trust. I was happy to revisit this because when I read it, I made almost no edits to it. I am grateful to be able to think back to past Rachel and reassure her that she did indeed do a good job. My memory had told me that it was awful. I want to share the rest of it with you if that’s ok

In my prior ministry setting, I had been asked me how I landed as a Methodist after growing up Southern Baptist. Do you think that I responded with some grace-filled answer?

Nope.

I quipped back with a derogatory answer about Southern Baptist theology. How they didn’t include women in their leadership. How now more than ever, they choose extreme views and push out the moderates. There was no space for those who didn’t all think alike. My answer was not abundant in grace. It was not a reflection of the love of God.

I realized, after contemplating with God, in prayer and study, preparing to speak today, that I have been just as blinded as the followers of Peter were. I have created a narrative for myself, and shared it with others, that somehow my church growing up, because of theology I don’t agree with, was less a part of the body of Christ

I had brushed aside all of the works of the Spirit I had seen there. The widowed farmer who paid for church camp scholarships each year. The Sunday school teachers who patiently answered my extensive and probing biblical questions, for years. God bless them.

The way that people in that congregation were so passionate about sharing their faith. Welcoming people to their homes for breaking bread and bible study. I allowed myself to no longer think of these beautiful spiritual works as part of God’s grace and love. They were outside what I considered the baptized body of the Church.

Do you know who gave us their vacation bible school supplies my first summer here?

The same church I grew up in

Peter’s question is a conviction for me

Who can deny THEM inclusion?

Do you know what is at the root of all the parts of their theology that I don’t agree with?

Excluding others from the baptized body of Christ’s church.

So, I will rephrase Peter’s question, who can deny full inclusion in the body of Christ? Our answer today is the same as it was thousands of years ago.

No one.

Our answer today is the same as it was for me two years ago

No one.

I’m going to challenge you, just as God challenged me two years ago, to examine who might be less worthy of God’s grace and love. Who might be less acceptable here in our church body? Less desirable to break bread with, less entitled baptism into our community?

I pray the Spirit keeps reminding me that for me to live fully into my place in Christ’s church, to be the good creation that God created me to be, full of abundant and infinite grace, the answer has to be the same.

No one.

Creator,

you have made us good.

You have made us in your image.

Thank you for the gift of your Grace and the freedom afforded us in salvation.

Let us embody your gospel.

Let us accept and reflect your abundant and infinite grace in our community.

Let us bring hope and fortitude into our world.

Shining your Grace and Goodness everywhere we go.

Embolden and encourage us to walk closer to you this week.

Amen.