Eastertide
May 4, 2015

Scripture Reading: Acts 10:44-48

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

What matters more outward signs or inward change? I do not believe that it is possible to hate the sin and love the sinner. I think that is why God through Jesus Christ relieved us of the responsibility of making judgment calls related to other people’s salvation. Actually that is stated in Acts just a few verses before our scripture today: Acts 10:32, He 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.  To love someone, we must love them as they are. The healing touch of love comes in that acceptance. C. S. Lewis suggest that we are the ones who need to change in order to be the conduits of God’s love. He says, Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.

Gentiles were unclean to the Jews. They were not marked with the ancient sign of Abraham’s covenant. To the Jews, gentiles were outside God, and then they were not. This whole question of circumcision seems pretty irrelevant to us today, a medical procedure usually recommended, but performed or not performed by the choice of the parent. It was not irrelevant to the people of the first century. Following this scripture in Acts, dealing with circumcision is dotted through chapter after chapter of Paul’s letters back to the cities of Asia Minor. Our rituals and culture give us a standard that is important in defining who and what we are. When these patterns, paradigms of life are challenged or changed, we must decide who we are and who God wants us to be without the comfort of these preexisting standards. In some instances such standards have lost their relevance for us and accepting such change comes easily. Sometimes though, these patterns of life have become our accepted definition of ourselves and we do not want to let them go.

The issue being dealt with here is our need to define our standards for ourselves as God’s standards for everyone and that is not our job.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I am guilty of judging my worth by any standard that devalues the worth of another. Help me to accept that your love for me is as unconditional as your love for all your children. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.