Scripture Texts: 1 Kings 8:41-43, Luke 7:1-10
Pastor's note: I'm including in the midst of this sermon a screen capture from a friend's Facebook page as example of the sort of fear and hatred we are dealing with in our society as a whole. Be forewarned that the language within said picture is extremely harsh and profane, but I've included it uncensored (except for the name of the guilty party) to give emphasis to just how poisonous things are becoming. We who are in Christ have our work cut out for us if we are to steer society closer to Christ's Pentecost vision.
Pentecost was just the beginning.
I said as much when I preached on that day. That singular moment was simply a start. The grand list of nations from which those first recipients of the Holy Spirit hailed was a hint at greater things to come. But they were all Jews, all descendants of the original Chosen people who had crossed the sea with Moses in the lead. But there were hints even then that what God was doing was not limited to one people or one tribe or one ethnicity.
Among the list of often-unpronounceable names Acts 2 offers up, there is a small aside about the Roman guests present: “both Jews and proselytes.” What are “proselytes?” They are Gentiles who have converted to Judaism. Not born into the covenant of Abraham, but have embraced it none the less. Another hint of things to come.
But there are further hints. Jesus himself for instance. Matthew begins his Gospel with Christ’s genealogy, making the point to name three women in the list (in addition to Mary, his mother): Tamar, Ruth, and “the wife of Uriah” (aka Bathsheba). Two of these are foreigners drawn into the great story of God’s plan: Ruth is a Moabite and Bathsheba is a Hittite. Even in his lineage, Jesus hints that the plan is greater than we realize.
And then there’s Jesus’ life itself, his welcoming nature, his openness to anyone who comes to him to learn and for help. Today’s Gospel lesson is one such example, the story of the centurion with the sick servant. Jesus is approached by Jewish elders who speak on the centurion’s behalf. Ever willing to help, Jesus goes, but is intercepted along the way by some friends of the Roman soldier. They explain to Jesus that he need not come into the house of a Gentile (a faux pas for any good Jew), but merely speak a word of command to heal the ailing servant. I don’t think Jesus would have cared much for the social nicety that prevents from entering this house, but he is astonished at the Roman’s faith. Just say a word, sight unseen, and my servant will be well. That, my friends, is faith and from someone outside God’s covenant.
Time and time again, we see these hints that God has something big planned for our world. Even in the Old Testament. Solomon dedicates his temple in our first lesson today from 1 Kings. He includes in his invocation that this is meant to be a place of prayer for ALL people; not merely those of the old covenant, but also foreigners who come to praise and pray to God.
So what does this all mean for us?
First off, we’re a part of this story too. In fact, we are only here because of God’s expansive welcome to all people. Last time I checked, I have no Jewish ancestors. I could be wrong, but as far as I can tell I am as Gentile as they come. And yet here I am, a part of God’s great covenant, grafted into his plan for the universe. I’d imagine the rest of you could tell similar stories. Gentiles all, and yet welcomed into God’s family through the spirit of Pentecost.
We should never forget that. God’s big on remembering where we come from. He instructed his Chosen to always remember the story of their wanderings: Never forget where you came from, where you started, and what God has done for you out of his goodness. The same applies to us. Remember who we are and where we came from and what God has done for us to bring us into his family.
With that said, I come to my second point. If God has welcomed us, he welcomes others. Which is why bigotry in any form is so antithetical to the Christian life. We are living in trying times, with great anxiety and fear in our midst. Our society has decided to scapegoat its problems on a variety of outsiders and outcasts: trans people, immigrants, Muslims, you name it. And that’s in addition to old imagined villains who’ve come back from past generations, largely dead (or at least underground) prejudices that have found new life in these ugly times: blacks, women, and Jews.
From the cesspool of Facebook. Welcome to 21st Century America.
This is a dangerous road to be on. People will die. Families will be destroyed. As the Church, we can’t let that happen. This poisonous hate is not what God wants. He wants a kingdom where all are welcome, all are accepted, because all are loved.
Brennan Manning, whose teachings I go back to time and time again, talks about God as being a passionate suitor, so inflamed with love for us that he’ll do anything to be with us. Think about that metaphor for a moment. Think about how you felt when you first fell for your spouse. About how you couldn’t be without them. About how you wanted to spend every minute in their presence. What God feels for you is even greater than that. It’s how badly he wants to be with you. As Brother Manning so eloquently put it, God wants us so badly that he’d rather die than be without us.
Well worth the full 45 minute watch, by the way.
That is his whole plan. That’s what this is all about. From Abraham to Christ to today, it’s always been about God finding a way to be with his beloved, to be with you and me.
And that passion isn’t just for us. It’s for everyone. Everyone who has ever drawn breath on this rock or ever will. It doesn’t matter what color their skin is, or how much money they make, or what language they speak, or who they spend their life with, or even if they know who he is or whether he exists or not.
Whatever our personal predilections are, at some point in our spiritual journey as disciples of Jesus, we have to come to terms with the fact that God loves atheists, Muslims, gays, trans people, blacks, immigrants, young, old, rich, poor, blacks, Jews, and everyone else with same fire as he does us. God loves all the people that we may dislike or even hate with the same passionate desire as he does you and me. Jesus went to the cross for all of us. He died there for all of us. He rose again from the grave for all of us. And as I said a couple weeks ago, all means ALL. That was the plan all along. God’s passionate love affair with all his people, a desperate hunger to find a way to bring us all together in one family. He loves each of us with such fervor that words fail to describe it. Each one of us and all of us. Amen.
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