Day 1228 - The Same Gift That He Gave Them

A reflection on Acts 11:1-18 for the Second Presbyterian Church Men’s Bible Study, April 21, 2016, Chattanooga TN.

As a prelude to appreciating this passage about Peter and Cornelius, we should acknowledge three ideas underneath the reading. They are the importance of a shared meal, the breadth of God’s grace and the irresistible action of the Holy Spirit.

Also, we should ask ourselves a few questions to get into the state of mind of the passage. Who would you invite into your home for dinner? Your friends? Would you invite the hostile prosecutor who sought to jail your friends because they hold a religious position different than yours (a tactic John Calvin employed)? Would you invite the person into your home whom you thought an apostate because the person thought it was OK for two persons of the same gender to marry? Would you invite one of the school board members in who had been acting the fool in public? Would you invite a Republican who was a fanatical supporter of Ted Cruz or Donald Trump, or a Democrat such as Hillary Clinton? Would you invite a Muslim into your home?

What if the early Christian congregations had persisted in only allowing Jews, people of their own kind, to participate and be welcome in their midst?

William Willamon suggests appreciation of this lectionary passage relies on understanding the entire passage from Acts 10:1 to 11:18. I agree because without reading the extended passage, we miss a number of literary devices used by Luke. As you read it you will find many instances of Luke using repetition to tell this story in a way that solidifies it in one’s memory so it can be told across the ages even if his gospel and history of the start of the "Church" is not at hand.

Luke presents the story of the gift of Grace by the Lord to the human community as a “min-play” of seven acts. Here is Williamson’s take on the answers:

Act 1: A Gentile has a vision.  A devout Gentile, Roman soldier at that, is moved along by the power of God almost as a passive participant without free will. He is directed to go to Joppa and find Simon Peter at Simon the tanner’s home.

Acts 10:1 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. ²He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.*

³ One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.”  ⁴He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” He answered, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. ⁵Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter; ⁶he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.” ⁷When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him, ⁸and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa.

*Read Job 1:1  to find a very similar description of another divinely honored Gentile who provides a lesson in righteousness to the Promised People. I find it interesting sand profoundly important that the Lord uses Gentiles as model of righteousness to open the eyes of his Chosen People, even in the pre-Christ era.

Act 2: Simon Peter has a vision. Meanwhile Simon Peter is confronted by the Lord three times with the same vision or dream and an imperative to do something that violates a cardinal rule of Jewish Law, eat meat of a cloven hooved animal, a pig, even suggesting he eat a snake.

Peter is stunned and troubled because this is exactly what Rome desires of Jews, to abandon their adherence to the Law (that is an affront to Roman power). Maybe he thinks he is on a slippery slope slowly sliding away from all righteousness he holds dear if he reforms his thinking about the law if he follows the state’s intent? After all, the Law is for the Jew, it is inviolate and distinguishes them from all other peoples.

Acts 10:9  About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. ¹⁰He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. ¹¹He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners.  ¹²In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. ¹³Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” ¹⁴But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.” ¹⁵The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” ¹⁶This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.

Act 3: An unexpected visit. Suddenly the emissaries from Cornelius appear before Simon Peter. The Spirit told Peter three men were there to see him and he should accompany them where they desire him to go. But Peter asked the big question, “Why have you come for me?”

They tell him that the Lord told Cornelius, a Gentile God-fearer, to hear Peter’s testimony about Jesus. Peter answers (more or less) with the words of one of our hymns, “Here I am Lord,… I will go if you lead me.” (See the prior edition of the Presbyterian Hymnal, page 525, or listen to a little syrupy version by Eric Tom. This hymn by Don Schutte is also based on the “call experience” of Isaiah 6:1-13  within which the Lord points perhaps to this 6 act play as the great reconciliation.)

Acts 10:17 Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon’s house and were standing by the gate. ¹⁸They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there. ¹⁹ While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three men are searching for you. ²⁰Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them.” ²¹So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?” ²²They answered, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” ^23aSo Peter invited them in and gave them lodging.

Act 4: Peter and Cornelius find common ground. Cornelius and friends welcome Peter to reside in his home! But even doing so, observant Peter says the only reason he violates the Law to be here is because the Lord told him to come.

Both Peter and Cornelius are giving up something quite valuable - Peter his adherence to the Law, Cornelius, the Roman soldier, his pride and power by exhibiting the humility to kneel and grasp the knees of Peter. Peter is being treated as something divine (anathema for a Jew) but he knows he is only a man. Both are “humiliated" in this divinely directed encounter.

They find themselves in the unexpected context of household hospitality. Conversion is taking on the shape of answering the question, “Who shall eat at my table?”  This is a point every proclaiming believer should acknowledge, grace begins at the shared table.

^24b The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the believers from Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵On Peter’s arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshiped him. ²⁶But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.” ²⁷And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled; ²⁸and he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. ²⁹So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?”

³⁰Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me. ³¹He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. ³²Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter; he is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ ³³Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.”

Act 5: Peter preaches a sermon. Peter’s sermon is marked as usual in Acts by (1) proclamation, (2) scriptural proof and (2) a call to repentance.  But he precedes this with a personal confession, “I know God shows no partiality!”

Peter knows his vision is not about what food to eat. It is about what people to welcome with the good news!  (See Isaiah 56:1-12) Surely the Jewish brothers listening groaned at this sermon. The Holy Spirit is fully “upsetting the apple cart" of the world of Jerusalem.

Acts 10:34 Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. ³⁶You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. ³⁷That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. ³⁹We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; ⁴⁰but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, ⁴¹not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Act 6: The Holy Spirit blows where it will. With no evidence of self-determination on the part of the hearers, the Holy Spirit moved all who heard Peter’s words. The author and central actor of this conversion is…The Lord Himself.

Acts 10:44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. ⁴⁵The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, ⁴⁶for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” ⁴⁸So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

Act 7: “What have you done?” We might call this act a Reprise, except it also provides a full resolution to what has happened that inspired the outrage and question, “What have you done??” Peter Returns to Jerusalem and answers the question hangs in the air, “What have you done??”

How has Peter angered his fellow Christians? He has shared a meal with them, and most critical, as we will find out in Acts 15, his hosts were uncircumcised - that is probably the core of the anger of Peter’s cohorts in Christ.

Acts 11:1. Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. ²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, ³saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” ⁴Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. ⁶As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.

⁷I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ ⁸But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’  ⁹But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ ¹⁰This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.

¹¹At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. ¹²The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; ¹⁴he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ ¹⁵And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷If 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?” ¹⁸When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

And Peter concludes this account with the most powerful message (vv16-18). “When I saw the Spirit move these people I remembered John said he baptized with water but you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit. Who am I to hinder God who has chosen to give the same gift to them that he gave to us? And all his Christian critics were silenced."

Yes, even so, Peter has left the rhetorical question hanging in the air for every believer in every time and place to answer, “Who are we to hinder God and the Holy Spirit?”

Amen.

Day 1214 - Only The Dead Have Seen The End of War

I just watched “The American Sniper” directed by Clint Eastwood delivered by Netflix yesterday. I’d avoided the film due to all the political brouhaha surrounding it. It has been touted as a conservative paean of the glory of war, an oxymoron if ever one was coined.

The film, however, like many of Eastwood’s films, has a rather subversive element to it, One must presume Mr. Eastwood is aware of it. He flaunts the idea that war is an idyllic adventure. The protagonist of the film, a “good old boy” from Texas exhibits a dramatic persona that rivals the best of the more mature Greek tragedies wherein forces greater than the person evoke moral failure.

Having listened to the incongruities that war provokes in the words of my own father; I am certain this film speaks to the fact that in all warfare each party operates with the conviction they occupy a moral or ethical higher ground. That in itself speaks to the foolhardy moral failure that war is.

The principal reality portrayed by “The American Sniper” is that war dehumanizes its participants as well as the families and citizens of the participants. The protagonist with intentional deliberation killed over 150 persons, some children or mothers, and saw the wanton killing of his compatriots.

At the end of this true-life drama, the protagonist in order to deal with his own demons began working with the crippled and maimed (physically and emotionally) that led to his own killing. War in every aspect is a moral failure.

I recall the day when the woman broke the valuable jar of nard to anoint Jesus before his death in Mark (14:7). Some of the disciples objected about this waste of money when it could be used to help the poor, but Jesus said, “For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me.”

There is no excuse for poverty or war in the kingdom of God. The inevitability of war seems much like the inevitability of poverty. In each case, we can show kindness whenever we wish to abolish it, but the root subversion is the pervasiveness of the singular human poverty, sin, that obliges us to embrace. Such an irony it is that we are reckoned innocent of something we are compelled to pursue.

Some days, I really appreciate the insight of Paul.

Day 1207 - Reprise - Even the Stones would Shout

A bible study shared with the men’s group at Second Presbyterian Church, March 31, 2016, Chattanooga, TN

Acts 5: 12, 17-41

Some of the content of this reflection is motivated and guided by William Willimon's commentary on The Acts of the Apostles. He described The Acts of the Apostles this way, “Sometime between 70 and 100 AD, somewhere within the Mediterranean world, the Acts of the Apostles was written…by the same unknown writer we call Luke that gave us his gospel story.”

At its heart, Acts captures the essence of the Biblical narrative in the time-honored way through stories of the mighty acts of God for his chosen people. The magnificence of the story is its open-endedness.

Its story is as valuable today as when it was composed. It tells us stories about the relationship between Christians and Jews, Christians and nonbelievers, Christians within the stance of the state, the problem with prayer, why we teach and preach, and the host of issues that arise within the “church.” It is a kind of unabashed, candid snapshot of life in the church and the world.

We should try to listen to the stories with more attention than we might otherwise give them, and put the questions posed by our modern perspective on the backburner. When we read Acts, history and the future take on new meaning.

What is truth?” - Pilate

Acts does not portray the physical reality of the world - the world of Caesar, of selfishness and enmity between people and death itself, but rather it portrays the alternative world where God makes good on his promises to defeat that world. It describes a future that is never closed, whose ending, day by day, is forever an ongoing writing of the history of God’s faithful hesed – covenantal loving kindness, a future living its ongoing fulfillment.

The story as we read today is not about “the stubborn refusal” to shut up and accept an unalterable world, but is about the unfolding present Kingdom of God.

What is historical truth?

Every story reflects the perspective of its teller. The idea of historical “truth” is inevitably colored by omissions and distorted recollections constructed to make it more “sensible.” The subjective interests of the historian always shade history. Willimon says,“Whoever looks for nothing in history finds nothing. Whoever looks for meaning finds it.”

Read any church history and you see the donors of the stained glass windows or the organ glorified. You read the names of beloved Sunday School teachers, leaders of PWA, donors who funded the education building, but you seldom if ever read about the members who left over disagreement with the pastor; or the pastor who was driven out because he took an unpopular stand on a social issue.

Whenever we tell the story of our lives and our church we should expect some fancy creativity that covers up error and unpleasantness because viewing our lives truthfully is difficult. “Truth” has a way of contradicting our intellectual perspective of how things ought to be. We need to make sense of the world, to find concrete ways to assure us and sustain our hope. This is a reality we all face.

How then can Acts be read as Truth?

Nevertheless, as Willimon says, “Our claim is these stories are true as they help us see the world as it really is. It is a place where God’s promises make a difference.” Acts uses the history of the early church to form and equip the disciples to Jesus’ call to a new way of living and dying. Acts depicts not only the promises of God but also the new way of living in discipleship through the church.

The accuracy of Acts is not measured with a yardstick of absolute coincidence with historical facts. It is measured by its correspondence to the evidence of the Apostolic faith in Christ that establishes and sustains the church. After all, we are reading Acts today in 2016.

Who is the Audience of Acts?

The audience of Acts is not the state; it is the church.

Luke 24:44-47 ended with the call of the disciples to be the witness of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Acts continues the story of witness.

It is a proclamation of what has happened, of God’s work in the world. The good news is that the promise made in antiquity to Israel has been fulfilled. The “Christ event” is fully grounded in God’s promise to Israel. Israel’s acceptance or denial of this work and its extension to Gentiles proclaimed by Isaiah (chapter 56) does not negate the promise to humankind.

We should read Acts with a constructive literary eye understanding the meaning of its stories and history in the context of our life as the modern congregant and church in the world. Acts struggles with the argument between synagogue and church over who constitutes the People of God and how the faith of Israel is embodied in the human condition. Faith makes this an unending story.

As we read today’s passage we should keep Luke 12:11-12, and 19:28-40 in mind. I encourage you to read the full story as it is written and then return to the comments.

Acts 5:12   Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles.

¹⁷Then the high priest took action; he and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), being filled with jealousy, ¹⁸ arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. ¹⁹ But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, brought them out, and said,  ²⁰ “Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life.”  ^21a When they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching.

comment: Do you recall the religious leaders instructing Jesus to quiet the crowd in Luke 19:28-40? You can see how Luke gives us The Acts as a continuation of his gospel story.

^21b When the high priest and those with him arrived, they called together the council and the whole body of the elders of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.  ²² But when the temple police went there, they did not find them in the prison; so they returned and reported,  ²³ “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”  ²⁴ Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed about them, wondering what might be going on.  ²⁵ Then someone arrived and announced, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”  ²⁶ Then the captain went with the temple police and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

²⁷ When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them,  ²⁸ saying, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.”  ²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.  ³⁰ The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.  ³¹God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins^{.  32} And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

Comment: Luke 19:47-48, John 11:45-55 both note the intent of the religious leaders and their fear of the people. They also show that among these leaders were people who suspected the truth of Jesus’ presence.

³³ When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.  ³⁴ But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time. ³⁵Then he said to them, “Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men.  ³⁶ For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared.  ³⁷ After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered.   ³⁸So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail;  ³⁹ but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!”

They were convinced by him,  ⁴⁰ and when they had called in the apostles, they had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.  ⁴¹ As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.

Reflection

Luke understands that the words Jesus offered in Luke 19:28-40 mean Jesus is serious about proclamation. What is proclamation?

Proclamation is not the shouts of Christians shouting, “Here comes the King,” "Repent or burn in Hell," or the judgment, “That is a damnable offense.”  The shouts of Christian proclamation of  received, unmerited grace cannot be silenced. Those shouts, our voices, are the acts of our daily living that reflect the compassion and grace Jesus taught.

In a thoroughly secular world, are we the stones that cannot be silenced, sharing the magnificence of the Lord’s hesed: loving kindness and mercy for which we have unmerited justification to enjoy, or do we give only lip service to the gift of unmerited grace?

Is this timeless story of history by Luke a message to the modern church?