Acts 10: 44-48 (Common English Bible)
In 1962 folk-singer Bob Dylan released the song “Blowin In the Wind” during the background of the civil rights movement in America. The term “wind” can be a metaphor for the Holy Spirit. We can’t see the wind but we can witness the changes made through it, just like the Holy Spirit. Things are changing for the better. It’s similar to the statement Jesus made in John chapter 3, verse 8, “God’s Spirit blows wherever it wishes. You hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it’s going.”
The background of this reading from the book of Acts is about the spiritual wind from the Holy Spirit and change. Peter had an encounter with a Roman centurion named Cornelius. The Jewish people were forbidden to associate with unclean Gentiles like Cornelius. Not only was Cornelius a Gentile, but also a Roman, the arch-enemy of the Jewish people. Even though Cornelius believed in the one true God of the Jewish people, he was denied access to worship with them.
Peter came to the reality that God does not discriminate according to one’s background, but accepts anyone who honors God and does righteousness. Peter’s previous speech summarizes the Good News of Jesus combined with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The early followers of Jesus continued to do what Jesus did. Just as Jesus was criticized by welcoming the outcasts like tax collectors and prostitutes and dining with them, Peter was criticized for staying with Gentiles and eating with them.
When Peter preached the Good News at the home of the Roman Cornelius, the Holy Spirit descended on the people there, both Gentile and Jewish and they began speaking in tongues. Now, speaking in tongues is a difficult subject. In some cases it meant speaking in a foreign language so others could understand the message being spoken. In other cases it was words no one could understand unless interpreted by a spiritual person. Personally, I like to think of the unknown tongues as the language that is spoken in Heaven. Maybe I’m wrong, but we will find out someday. Anyway, the entire household of Cornelius were baptized as a sign these Gentiles were accepted by God.
Baptism and the Eucharist are the two sacraments we observe. They are similar in some ways. Both use the very common element of water. Without water, grapes will not grow. And of course water is used for baptism whether it’s done by immersion or by sprinkling. And Presbyterians welcome all people to participate in these sacraments.
Unfortunately, even today, many churches still have their kosher laws, who is in and who is out. Of course there have been some incremental changes in the last few decades, but more needs to be done. Sometimes we can be confused when the Holy Spirit moves beyond our religious mindset. How do we respond when the Holy Spirit disrupts a way we always thought was settled.
But God acts through the Holy Spirit whether we are ready or not. That is how a living God works. God is not bound by any book. When God unleashes the Holy Spirit things can become wild. Some describe the Holy Spirit as a wild goose on steroids. I was even told by the minister of the Scottsburg Presbyterian Church about a Wild Goose Festival that is held in Union Grove, North Carolina. It’s a place where religious and even nonreligious people flock together to camp and discuss religion, justice and creativity. It’s a place where the Holy Spirit can create a holy disruption. Sounds like a good time to me.
What can surprise Christians the most is the grace of God can extend beyond themselves to people who are considered the “Others.” Just read about the grace God showed to the people of Nineveh. That is in the Hebrew biblical book of “Jonah.” There is more in that short book than just a big fish. But there are still too many boundaries in too many churches. However the Holy Spirit is not tied to boundaries.
When we allow the Holy Spirit to eliminate those divisions between “us” and the “Other.” We can see grace poured out and some of that grace gives us a double-dose of a new reality.
God is still asking us to consider why some churches still withhold the water of baptism from people they think unworthy of this important sacrament. Baptism is not about salvation or going to heaven. The thief who died on the cross alongside Jesus, accepted and believed in Jesus, was not baptized, but he still entered Paradise after death. Baptism is about identifying publicly with Christ who told his followers to be baptized in becoming one of his disciples.
The baptism of Cornelius and his household was the outward sign of the inner conversion done by the Holy Spirit. The earliest disciples of Jesus had no idea what God was doing through the Holy Spirit. The first disciples were still close-minded and thought the only way to unite with Jesus was through the Jewish religion. Many Christians today still have this closed-minded theology. It’s hard for them to realize that God is larger than their small personal box. But God sees the full picture where everyone of any faith is welcomed into God’s Kindom. Jesus said the two most important commandments to follow are to love God and love all people. No strict doctrine required.
But one might ask, how did the disciples know the Holy Spirit poured out its power on the unclean Gentiles? You can’t see the wind, but they saw the effects of the wind through the Holy Spirit. Gentiles were praising God and speaking in tongues. This reminded the Jewish Christians of the first Pentecost, where uneducated Galileans spoke in multiple foreign languages among the Pentecost crowd. Christ was certainly among them in Spirit when this miracle of unity happened.
We can see a form of unity whenever we observe the Holy Eucharist. And today is a good time to partake in Communion, because it is Pluralism Sunday. A Sunday when differences can be celebrated and respected. Christ is our host and invites everyone to his table, God seconds the Motion and the Holy Spirit approves it.
AMEN
