Missionary Renegade: The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection from Leawood, Kansas, United States for Monday, 23 May 2016 "God accepted Gentiles, too"

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection from Leawood, Kansas, United States for Monday, 23 May 2016 "God accepted Gentiles, too"

Monday, 23 May 2016 - "God accepted Gentiles, too"
Daily Scripture: Acts 10:9 The next day about noon, while they were still on their way and approaching the city, Kefa went up onto the roof of the house to pray. 10 He began to feel hungry and wanted something to eat; but while they were preparing the meal, he fell into a trance 11 in which he saw heaven opened, and something that looked like a large sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, crawling creatures and wild birds. 13 Then a voice came to him, “Get up, Kefa, slaughter and eat!” 14 But Kefa said, “No, sir! Absolutely not! I have never eaten food that was unclean or treif.” 15 The voice spoke to him a second time: “Stop treating as unclean what God has made clean.” 16 This happened three times, and then the sheet was immediately taken back up into heaven.

17 Kefa was still puzzling over the meaning of the vision he had seen, when the men Cornelius had sent, having inquired for Shim‘on’s house, stood at the gate 18 and called out to ask if the Shim‘on known as Kefa was staying there. 19 While Kefa’s mind was still on the vision, the Spirit said, “Three men are looking for you. 20 Get up, go downstairs, and have no misgivings about going with them, because I myself have sent them.”

21 So Kefa went down and said to the men, “You were looking for me? Here I am. What brings you here?” 22 They answered, “Cornelius. He’s a Roman army officer, an upright man and a God-fearer, a man highly regarded by the whole Jewish nation; and he was told by a holy angel to have you come to his house and listen to what you have to say.”

27 As he talked with him, Kefa went inside and found many people gathered. 28 He said to them, “You are well aware that for a man who is a Jew to have close association with someone who belongs to another people, or to come and visit him, is something that just isn’t done. But God has shown me not to call any person common or unclean;

34 Then Kefa addressed them: “I now understand that God does not play favorites, 35 but that whoever fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him, no matter what people he belongs to.

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Reflection Questions:
Three of our recent “Second Chances” sermons used gospel stories in which Jesus ministered to Samaritans and Gentiles. It’s logical to assume that Peter was present at all of those times. Yet it still took a forceful nudge from God, through a vivid vision, to make Peter willing to enter and witness to a Roman centurion’s household.

Peter’s vision struck him so hard because, like all devout Jews, he carefully followed the laws (especially in Leviticus 11) which forbade eating “unclean” meat. Those laws were not about kitchen hygiene, but about an approach to ceremonial “cleanness” before God. Entering a Gentile dwelling also brought ceremonial impurity (cf. John 18:28). Are there any places or people you avoid because you fear they might make you “unclean”?
Peter was there when Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well (cf. John 4). He witnessed Jesus heal the demon-possessed Gentile man who lived among the tombs (cf. Mark 5). He saw Jesus heal the Canaanite woman’s daughter (cf. Matthew 15:21-28). What do you think kept him from internalizing the meaning of Jesus' actions, so that he still needed that vivid vision before he’d enter a Roman’s house? What life-long barriers or habits might you need to re-examine today?

Today’s Prayer:
Lord God, I sense in myself the strong human urge to divide all people into “us” and “them,” and to believe you love “us” more than “them.” Teach me, as you taught Peter, that “I should never call a person impure or unclean.” Amen.
-------Insights from Randy Greene

Randy Greene serves in the Communications ministry as the Digital Media Specialist. He helps develop and maintain the church’s family of websites.
A couple months ago a local organization held a panel discussion called “The Crossroads of Politics and Religion.” The event featured panelists from various backgrounds – pastors, politicians and leaders of Christian nonprofits – coming together to discuss the way their faith impacts the politics of our nation. It was fascinating to hear how different people understood the way faith should inform their politics. Over the last few weeks, though, I’ve been noticing how frequently we Christians seem to flip that and let our politics inform our faith.
I do this all the time. I am so quick to lump a person into one of two buckets: either someone is “conservative” or they’re “progressive” (sometimes I call it “liberal”). And once I’ve labeled that person, I think I understand everything about her. But that is so wrong! A word cannot sum up a person’s beliefs, and it most certainly can’t adequately describe their identity. That person has unique views, experience and context that don’t fall within any simple descriptor, and by reducing her to a word, I’m saying that her perspective doesn’t matter – I’m arrogantly placing my understanding above hers.
As Christians, we are called to be better than that. We are all created in the image of God. Acts 10 reminds us that, even when we disagree with people, we are not to call them unclean – we are not to condemn them or avoid them. Instead, we are to remain in close communion with our fellow children of God. We are to abide with them and break bread with them. We are to listen to their stories and share their hearts. We are to see the beauty of God in them.
There is a lot of talk about unity these days. Many people question if it’s even possible to be unified across our vast spectrum of culture and belief. I don’t have an answer to that question, but here is what I do know:
Unity begins when I am willing to lay down my ego and confess that I don’t have all the answers. It begins when I sit at the table with those I disagree with and refuse to label them, choosing instead to listen to their stories and understanding their hearts. The choice for unity is mine.