Epiphany 1, Year A, 2002

Trinity Cathedral, Trenton, NJ

Readings: Acts 10:34-43

The church had just begun. It was like a tiny baby
trying to work out
where its own body
begins and ends,
learning about the difference
between what's self
and what's other.

It was easy
at first.
Just 12 guys,
gathered around their Lord.
And
some women.
And
a few others, people who had traveled along with them
from time to time.
But all in all
it was a fairly distinct group.
They were all Jewish
and they had all known Jesus
when he was alive. They'd followed him round Judea,
and even up to Jerusalem.
They'd seen him die
and some had even seen him back alive again!
They were members
of the band
called believers.
So when it came time to choose a replacement for Judas,
it was fairly was
to work out who
was eligible.
They knew who belonged
and they knew
who didn't.

But then
came Pentecost,
and suddenly
the number of believers
jumped from 120
to three thousand or so,
and like all organizations, bigger size
means more rules.
So people began to ask,
"What does it take
to be a member
of this group
called
believers?"
"Who belongs?
And who doesn't."
and who didn't.
Did you have to have met Jesus in the flesh?
Or maybe one of the twelve apostles?
Was being there
at that first Pentecost
enough?

And then came Paul -
Saul, they had known him as, Saul
the persecutor.
Could he really belong?
How could they ever accept someone
whose past included opposition
and hate
and maybe even murder?
Did having a vision
make it all okay?

And then Cornelius, the Italian centurion. A soldier
of the occupying forces.
Different race, different citizenship, different religion.
Was it possible
that he
could be a believer too?
And if he could,
did that mean
anyone?

What had started out
as a close-knit band
of Jewish friends
had suddenly burst out of control.
Jews, Gentiles, men, women, slaves, businessmen, academics and soldiers.
they were all there, all claiming to be believers,
all wanting to be members
of this new born church.
It was chaos.
And the time was ripe
to set some rules, some boundaries.

And then came the sermon.

Peter
stood up to preach.
You remember Peter,
a rough and ready fisherman,
- the one who vowed to follow Christ wherever
he went,
and then stood by the fire in the courtyard one Passover
and three times
denied knowing his friend
- Peter, who against all the odds
became a leader in the early church -
Peter stood up.
"Friends," he said, "Friends, God
shows
no partiality."

God shows
no partiality.

For centuries
the Jewish people had lived
on the basis
that God was on their side. That faith
had kept them going, day after day, month after month, year
after year.
Through war, and exile and occupation,
they had survived
because of their faith
in God on their side.

So when Peter stood up and said
"God shows
no partiality",
it must have felt
to most people there
like a kick
in the stomach.
Their security, their safety, for generations
had been tied up with knowing
that God
was on their side. Even when Jesus came, that was just
a confirmation
of what they had always known.
Of course the Messiah
would come to them,
just one more sign
that God
was on their side.

So if God shows
no partiality,
where did that
leave them?

Of course
to some who were there
listening to Peter,
the words, "God shows
no partiality"
were like the breath
of life.

They were the ones
who had always been
on the outside.
Different race, different color,
different religion,
always strangers. For them
Peter's words
meant liberation.
No longer
would they be
strangers. No longer
would they be
outsiders.
They had as much right
as anyone else
to belong.

With those few words,
Peter pushed aside
all the insistence on rules, the pressure
for boundaries.
People who knew Jesus in the flesh
and people who didn't,
faithful followers
and reformed persecutors,
Observant Jews
and foreign soldiers.
God shows no partiality.
All are welcome
in this new-born
church.

The only criteria
for belonging
is to be a follower
of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ,
the word made flesh,
born of Mary,
baptized by John,
who preached and healed and loved,
who was put to death
and raised again, to judge the world
with his love,
and to offer forgiveness and hope.

This Jesus,
he
is the only criteria
for belonging.
God is with everyone
who is a follower of Christ.
God shows
no partiality.

There are times when the events of the early church
seems a very long time ago,
and there are times
when they seem
not far at all.
Because for all that we live 5 and a half thousand miles and two thousand
years distant,
some things
are always the same.
The church still feels chaotic
as often as not,
and we still wonder about
who belongs
and who doesn't.

And still
God shows
no partiality.
As much as we
like to set boundaries
and establish rules,
God's church
is open to everyone.
God doesn't have favorites. God doesn't take sides.
The way God sees it,
we are all the same,
deep down inside.
Human beings, full of promise
and beauty,
infinitely
worth loving,
infinitely
worth saving.

It doesn't matter
who we are.
It doesn't matter
where we've come from.
It doesn't matter
if we are 97 years old
or a mere 3 months.
God shows
no partiality.

It doesn't matter
if we're cradle Anglicans
or new arrivals
whether its been a lifelong pilgrimage
or is just beginning,
God shows
no partiality.

It doesn't matter
whether we have all the answers
or if we're full of questions,
whether we know the prayer book
off by heart
or stumble through the Lord's prayer,
God shows no partiality.

All it takes
from God's perspective
to belong to the church, to belong to God,
is to be a follower of Christ.

We are followers
when we look at Christ and say,
"that's who I want to be like
when I grow up."

We are followers
when we look at Christ and say,
I want to heal people,
I want to work for peace,
I want to forgive, and help others forgive too.

We are followers
when we look at Christ and say,
I want to tell people
about God,
and how much
God loves us.

We are followers,
and as followers
God shows no partiality. God loves us all
and is with us all,
regardless
of our backgrounds, our history, our influence,
our jobs, our sexuality, our nationality,
our successes, our strengths, our weaknesses.
God shows
no partiality.

When it comes to God
we're all the same.

Followers
of Jesus.
And its as followers of Jesus
that we follow him
into baptism.
Washing off
the weights of our past,
washing off
the things that divide us.
Till all that is left
is our common faith
in Jesus.

So that baptized into his life,
as followers
of Christ,
we stand as witnesses,
the body of Christ in this world,
witnesses to a God
who stands with open arms
and invites us all
into forgiveness
and freedom
and peace.

Raewynne J. Whiteley
13 January 2001