God of the Unwanted

April 28, 2013

John 13:31-35 Acts 11:1-18

One of the news stories that weve seen a lot lately is the ongoing argument that our government is having over immigration reform. Particularly in light of the bombers at the Boston Marathon being recent immigrants, we wonder what sort of regulations or controls would be reasonable. In states where immigrants are far more common than in Ohio, feelings about immigrations, legal and otherwise, can run high. Its bad enough to be unemployed in a slow economy, but if you are out of work and you see immigrants doing a job that you would have been willing to do, it can be even harder. Situations like that can stir up anger and even hatred of those who came here in search of a better life. In the interests of full disclosure, I want to tell you that my family is the product of American immigration. My grandfather arrived in the United States from Germany only after passing through Ellis Island and my grandmother, his girlfriend, followed him after he found work in Pittsburgh as an electrician for Westinghouse. Because of the prevalence of white slavery at that time, it was illegal for a single woman to leave the ship and enter the United States and so, my grandparents, and about twenty other couples, were married right there on the docks of New York before going home and building a life here. My mother-in-law is also an immigrant, and for that matter, so are my children. I have strong feelings about immigration, but that isnt really the main point of todays message. Todays message isnt about immigration as much as it is about how we feel about people who are not like us. We dont want immigrants taking jobs from Americans, even if the immigrants are, legally, Americans. We worry that the Muslims down the street might be terrorists. We worry that American jobs might be going across the border to Mexico and to Canada and maybe that makes us like Mexicans and Canadians just a little less. We hear that the financial crisis was caused by banks and so we hate bankers. We think that Congress is going to cut the funding for Social Security, or Medicaid, or NASA, or some other program that we like, or need, and so we hate congressmen. That other political party is in favor of things we dont like or opposed to things that we do like and so say we hate Republicans or Democrats even though many of out friends are Republicans and Democrats. We fight for or against abortion and the fight stirs up so much passion within us that we are tempted to hate anyone who disagrees with us, especially those who work in the abortion clinics or who protest outside of them. We worry about the fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan, or the politics of Iran, or the threats from North Korea and we are tempted to hate Iraqis or Iranians, or Afghanis or North Koreans. Everywhere we turn, it seems, are people who are not like us and because they want things that are different than the things we want, maybe because they want the things we want, maybe just because they are different than we are, we are tempted to exclude them, perhaps even hate them. But when we have those feelings, we are challenged by the life and the teaching of Jesus. In Acts 11:1-18, we hear these words The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.
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Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, 1

and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.
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I replied, Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth. The voice spoke from heaven a second time, Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

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Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the mans house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.
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As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in Gods way?
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When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life. The followers of Jesus in Israel, both leaders and everyday members, are shocked to hear that Peter not only went into the home of a Gentile, but actually sat down and ate with them. A good Jew had as little to do with Gentiles as possible. Because Gentiles did not follow the Law of Moses, they lived their lives, as far as the Jews were concerned, unclean before God. After all, Gentiles did not wash after they had touched a dead animal, they ate unclean food, and they did not follow any of the rituals for purity and cleanliness. Just coming into contact with a one was bad enough, but no good Jew would ever enter the home of a Gentile and sharing a meal with them was absolutely unthinkable. But Peter did. Not only did Peter do all these things, he explains that God told him to do so and, in the process, overthrows all of the rules about food that the Jews had ever learned. Finally they come to understand that, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life. Even the to Gentiles Even to the Gentiles Can you hear the wonder in their voices? This was unthinkable. The Gentiles were those people. Outsiders. Outcasts. Unwanted. Unclean. They were despised and hated and yet God loved them anyway and called on his people to accept them. This was not the love that anyone wanted or expected. This was radical love. They shouldnt have been surprised. Jesus had always done that. It was Jesus who reminded everyone to care for the widows and orphans, outsiders who had no one to care for them, no one to love them, and no one to speak for them. It was Jesus was willing to speak to a Roman Centurion and who healed his servant, even though everyone hated the Romans for what they had done to Israel. 2

It was Jesus who broke the rules and spoke to a Samaritan woman and then preached to an entire village, when everyone knew that the Samaritans were the worst of the worst, the bitterest enemies of everything Jewish. It was Jesus who spoke to, and healed, the demon possessed man in a cemetery in Gadara. It was Jesus who ate with tax collectors and prostitutes. It was Jesus who welcomed the outcasts and the sinners. And Peter begins to realize that maybe God thinks differently that we do. Ultimately Peter says, So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in Gods way? Even after the example of Jesus, only now do the people of God begin to see something that scripture and the prophets had been saying for thousands of years. God is not only the god of Israel, not only the god of the Jews, but he is, instead, the God of the entire world, the God of all people. God does not love one and hate the other. Jesus challenges all of our assumptions and prejudices. There is no limit to Gods love. Remember, after Judas had left the room where the Disciples shared the last supper with Jesus (John 13:31-35), Jesus said these words Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
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My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
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A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
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Simon Peter asked him, Lord, where are you going?

Jesus replied, Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.
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Peter asked, Lord, why cant I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.

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Then Jesus answered, Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! Peter, I think, demonstrates the weakness of nearly every human being. Jesus instructs the Disciples to love others, and Peter completely misses the part about loving others because all he can think about is what this all means to Peter. Where are you going? Why are you leaving me? Why cant I go with you? Just look at how loyal I am. And Jesus simply replies that Peter isnt as loyal as he thinks he is and points out that Peter has enough problems of his own to deal with. Peter, like us, must focus more on the 3

needs of others instead of worrying so much about his own needs. The command, after all, was Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. And then the real zingerBy this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. Jesus says that we should love one another the way that Jesus loved us. But it was Jesus who loved Gentiles and tax collectors, widows and orphans, Roman Centurions and Samaritans, exiles and outsiders, the sick and the demon possessed, prostitutes and sinners. Jesus love was a radical kind of love. Jesus challenges all of our assumptions and prejudices because there are no limits to Gods love. Jesus calls us to love like that and more. Jesus says that because we love like that, everyone will know that we are his disciples. He doesnt say that we will seem to be nice people, or that our coworkers will like us, or even that our goodness might occasionally make people suspect that we are different. Jesus says that everyone will know that we are his disciples because our love is so radically different from the rest of the world. And just like the Jews in Jerusalem so many years ago, this may not be the kind of love that we wanted or expected. We are called to love the immigrants, the Muslims, the Iraqis, Iranians, Afghanis, Mexicans, North Koreans, Canadians, congresscritters, Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, Conservatives, Libertarians, progressives, regressives, Pro-Choicers, Pro-Lifers, homosexuals, lesbians, bankers, politicians, convicts, prostitutes, widows, orphans, exiles, outsiders, the unwanted, the unlovable and everything in between. And our calling isnt just to love when it is convenient, or when the weather is good, or when we feel like it. Our calling is to a radical love, a love so radically different from the rest of the world that everyone will know that that we are his disciples. God loves like that. God calls us to love like that. Who are we to stand in Gods way?

You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry heights in Massillon, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org. If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online). These messages can also be found online at http://www.scribd.com/Pastor John Partridge. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.