Changing the Rules

If you have read Acts you would have noted several themes that run through it. The first thing you might have noticed is that there are a lot of sermons in the book. We heard one today from Peter explaining why he baptized Gentiles. Another theme, closely related, is the ever growing church. Acts begins with the eleven disciples choosing Judas’ successor, then tells of the conversion of Jews who lived in and around Jerusalem, then the mission expanded to God-fearers like the Ethiopian eunuch, then to Gentiles, and finally into all the western world. The church probably did not expand as smoothly as Luke depicts it. I would guess that it was much like the church today. We do know that a great deal of effort went into telling others about Jesus. Some of those efforts were fruitful like Peter’s trip to Cornelius’ house, whereas some led to arrest and imprisonment. When change came, there was also controversy. Today’s text is an example of one of those controversies. Peter had to convince the others of his reason for going to Gentiles and baptizing them. It most likely did not go as smoothly as Luke tells us here. Paul’s letters can give us a glimpse of that. Luke tells us about a conference that happened in Jerusalem. Paul was in attendance at that meeting and writes about it in Galatians. Paul’s account indicates that there was more controversy than Luke’s account indicates.

Let’s face it: Change is hard. That’s because we prefer our lives to be predictable. It’s easier to make decisions if we know what will happen. That is part of the reason we reminisce about the “good old times,” and resist change. You know people like that. You are people like that. Even those who like change, don’t want a lot of change all at one time. Yet we live in a time of great change. You may be able to argue that the past one-hundred years has seen more change than all of human history: From trains to airplanes, radio to the internet, newspapers to cell phones. We certainly have seen a great deal of change. That change has solved some old problems but has ushered in new ones. But all of these problems, old and new, come from the same place: the desire of people to be loved and accepted, to be part of a community. Unfortunately there are people who try to exploit our desires for community by dividing people into groups (us and them). They and their divisive rhetoric seem to be growing in our society. In the end they only bring empty promises.

We are called to a different standard. That standard is to love others as Jesus loved us. That command of Jesus is what led the early church to expand beyond the single community of Jews in and around Jerusalem. It was following that command that taught Peter that even Gentiles were to be invited into the new community. Yes, there are many people who wish to hijack the Bible and Jesus’ gift to push for their own self-centered ways just like some of the early Christians. But Jesus calls us to see all people as God’s people and to treat them with love. Pray that God will strengthen your faith so that you may be able to share God’s love with all people and when hate tries to take over you will have the courage to stand up to and proclaim Jesus.

Christ is risen!