21.05.06 Colin The Inclusive God Acts 10:44-48
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Carol
Craig has written a book called ‘The Crisis of Scots Confidence’
and she talks about the concept of a ‘tipping point’ when the
momentum for change is such that it becomes unstoppable. Her work is
focussed on the notion that Scottish people, need to become more
confident and she has established a Centre for Confidence and Well
Being to support this. She set up this organisation, and is holding
these events, hoping to create enough momentum to get to that
‘’tipping point’ when a change for the better in the character
of Scottish people will become inevitable and unstoppable.
History is littered with ‘tipping points’ which changed the course of world history e.g.
The election of Hitler as Chancellor of Germany in 1933 changed the course of world history
Or, the ending of the monolithic power of the Soviet Union in the 1990s brought about an unstoppable change in many of the nations which had been part of the U.S.S.R.
‘Tipping points’ which bring about unstoppable change are sometimes difficult to see at the time they begin, and one might wonder e.g. whether the election of a number of BNP candidates in the English local council elections is moving towards a ‘tipping point’ where Britain becomes more exclusive, and less welcoming for those whose family origin is not British.
This great reading from Acts 10 today was certainly a ‘tipping point’ in the life of the Jewish people, the believers who had already accepted Christ as their saviour and the whole Gentile world, whose history was about to be changed forever by what happened at this moment in time.
You have to read all of Acts chapter 10 and watch the story unfold to understand how this ‘tipping point’ in verses 44-48 came about. I encourage you all to do this and read for yourself the story that the writer of Acts believed was so important to early church history that he repeats the whole story again in chapter 11. It’s the moment in history when the Gospel vaults over cultural, social and political boundaries.
Peter is the human being who facilitates this change in church, and world history, by preaching the first ever sermon to the Gentiles. But, once more it is the Holy Spirit, rather than the Apostles, who is seen in Acts 10 to orchestrate and empower a significant advance in the Church's life, understanding and practice.
First, the God-fearing centurion Cornelius (a high status, wealthy Roman) has a vision telling him to send to Joppa and ask for Peter (staying with a low-status tanner) to come and preach. Then, Peter has this repeated troubling vision that unpicks one of the basic religious assumptions of his Galilean peasant inheritance - that their relationship to God is exclusive to the Jewish nation. Peter’s vision is a great sheet coming down from Heaven with all kinds of birds and animals and reptiles in it. Peter believed these were unclean and would not eat them, but in his vision, the voice of God declares them clean. Without these visions Peter might have refused to meet with Gentiles (10.28), yet even as he tries to make sense of his visions the messengers of Cornelius arrive and the Holy Spirit tells Peter to go with them. Peter then hears from Cornelius how God has spoken to him.
Peter’s response to Cornelius is indeed a ‘tipping’ point’ for the Jewish people, for the body of believers AND for the history of the world - he declares “Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but that in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him”. Peter’s mind has been opened to God’s plan.
In verses 36-43 Peter describes to the household of Cornelius recent events that he has witnessed and outlines the Gospel of forgiveness of sins through Jesus. While he is speaking, he is interrupted by God's Spirit being 'poured out' on the Gentile members of Cornelius' household. Peter compares this to their own experience (as Jews in Acts 2) and asks “Can anyone forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
Peter, like all of us, is shaped and limited by the social and cultural norms of his time. These are deeply ingrained and largely determine the way in which he would have responded to Gentiles. But now, he recognizes that God has spoken in his vision, in the words of Cornelius and most of all in the outpouring of His Holy Spirit on Cornelius and his Gentile household.
I once read a book once called ‘Your God is too Small’ which argued that our understanding of God is constrained by our experience and by the social and cultural norms of our time. We interpret the world through these norms and they provide a framework for us to make sense of the world. But, at times, they limit our understanding within what we have known so far, blinding us to what God wants us to understand now, and to the sometimes surprising directions that he might wish to take us in.
Peter’s current views are challenged in Acts 10 and he has to move from a parochial, racially defined perspective of God, to recognizing the vast inclusiveness of God's call for all people in His world. The God now revealed to Peter has no limits or boundaries. The Holy Spirit's direct interventions unpick Peter's limiting certainties and involve him in the wonder of God's welcome - a Gospel that speaks of God's love that knows no barriers or limits and is for people of all nations. This openness of God to the Gentiles surprises those Jewish believers who are present and also the church itself when Peter returns to Jerusalem.
Notice that the biggest obstacle facing God's Spirit is not the disinterest or resistance of outsiders, but the firm, inherited attitudes and understanding of committed believers who are convinced they know what is right.
As a Jew, Peter would not have travelled to the house of a Gentile, but God makes clear his will that the Gospel is for all people and not just the Jewish nation.
He would not have eaten with Gentiles
He would not have baptized unless they adopted the rules of the Jewish faith.
But, God makes clear that this limited picture of His church is now insufficient. Peter’s picture of God is ‘too small’.
For us to be effective today, as part of the Body of Christ in Leith, we need to be as sure as Peter was of the essential core of the Gospel as he outlined it to the Gentiles in this story, so that like Peter we can be witnesses to the Gospel. But along with that, we need to hold lightly to our own social and cultural norms, so that we do not exclude anyone from the faith whom God has embraced.
Peter’s power is not important to the story of Acts 10, for he had none. What is important is that he was willing to speak about what he knew to be true:
That our God is an INCLUSIVE God who wants every human being to come into relationship with him
That God treats every human being in the same manner
That God chooses those of every nationality, culture, race and class who accept the Good News of peace with God through Jesus
God surprised those early Christians by taking the church in a direction that they did not anticipate.
In our lives as Christian people, let us demonstrate the same commitment as Peter, listening to what God is saying to us; being witnesses to the Gospel and demonstrating by our words and our lives that the Lord our God calls on all, and welcomes all, to be the Body of Christ here on earth.
And, let us prepare to be surprised, at the directions God takes us in!