Dr. Jon Burnham preached this sermon from Acts 10:44-48
on May 17, 2009 (Easter 6B) at St. John's Presbyterian Church in Houston
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.
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Jesus was very much into feasts. The feasts that Jesus celebrated served as living parables of the diverse community of faith that formed around him. The feasts Jesus celebrated included sinners and tax collectors, fishermen and women, a diverse group of people. They showed that Jesus was calling out a new Israel, a new church, a new group of people. These feasts culminated in Jesus last Supper with his disciples when he said, "This is my body, broken for you ... This is my blood, shed for you ... Do this in remembrance of me." As Presbyterians, we put no fence around the Lord's Table except one. You must be a baptized believer to partake in the Lord's Supper. We get this emphasis on baptism from the Bible. We see it even in our text this morning, a scripture that tells how the Holy Spirit resolved an ongoing argument in the early church.
The early church had a conflict over the requirements for membership in the church. Some leaders of the church such as Peter thought the church should fence off the Lord's table. Only those Christians who had been circumcised should be allowed to partake of the Lord's Supper. On the other side stood the Apostle Paul who argued against fencing off the table from the uncircumcised. Finally, the Holy Spirit was the deciding factor in the question of the requirements for membership in Christ's church as described in Acts chapter 10.
Peter and six Jewish Christians, "the circumcised believers" as Luke calls them (Acts 10:45), had come with Peter to Caesarea. Peter was preaching to the uncircumcised Gentiles. During his sermon the Holy Spirit moved upon the Gentile audience. Peter heard the Gentiles begin praising God. He became convinced these Gentiles had been touched by the Holy Spirit in a real and meaningful way. Now this was not supposed to happen. In Peter's way of thinking, the Holy Spirit was not supposed to move in the lives of uncircumcised Gentiles. Of course, Peter had been wrong before and perhaps he recalled the time when Jesus spoke to the disciples about his impending suffering and death in Jerusalem and Peter had said to Jesus: "This must not happen." And Jesus responded: "Peter, get out of my way. You have no idea how God works." (Matt 16:21-23)
Peter was not going to cross the Holy Spirit like he had crossed Jesus. Since they had already been baptized by the Holy Spirit Philip laid aside the requirement of circumcision for membership and baptized the uncircumcised Gentiles with water. The Holy Spirit got Peter's attention that day and the Holy Spirit wants to get our attention as well. The Holy Spirit gave Peter a new revelation that day and the Holy Spirit wants to give us a revelation as well. The Holy Spirit broadened Peter's vision of the church that day and the Holy Spirit wants to expand our vision of the church today.
I remember one time when the Holy Spirit expanded my vision of the church. I was standing in line with some other American seminary students. We were waiting to gain entrance into the Church of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. As we waited our turn to enter I noticed a contingency of African men dressed in what appeared to be traditional African garb with brightly colored scarves and hats. I wondered what they were doing here outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. As it turns out, I learned they own the place. That's right. The Ethiopian Church is part owner and operator of the Church of Holy Sepulchre. We are talking about perhaps the most sacred church building in all of Christendom. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, said to be built upon the very rocky hill called Golgotha, the place of the skull, the place where Jesus was crucified. It also is said to contain the place where Jesus was reportedly buried (the sepulchre). The church has been an important pilgrimage destination since the 4th century. And this church is co-owned and operated by several Christian denominations some of which I had never even heard of. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is jointly owned and operated by the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Coptic Orthodox Church , Syriac Orthodox Church, and yes, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. So the Africans were there because this is their church. They were not mere tourists like the other American seminarians and me. I found this to be a humbling revelation. They work there. They live there. They own the place. The other American seminarians and I — we were the outsiders at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We were the chief Gentiles among all the Gentile Christians gathered there.
My revelation when I visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is that there are Christians of whom I knew not who have big responsibilities in important places in the Kingdom of God. This religion called "Christianity" is more inclusive than I had ever imagined. I belong to it but I don't own it and I don't even know the half of it. I serve here at the bidding of the Holy Spirit. And if the Holy Spirit says someone belongs here too, even if it be someone of whom I may not approve, I'm going to do like Peter. I'm going to call for the water. I'm going to baptize them in the name of Jesus Christ. And then we're all going to sit down and eat. And I hope you will join us at the table. Let's think of a name to call this party we'll have. Let's make it a theme party. We don't have be original, let's call it what the Bible calls it: The Messianic Banquet. And we'll invite everyone we know. And lots of people we've never met will be there. People from different cultures and different colors who speak different languages. Jesus himself will host the party and he will sit at the head of the table and serve the bread and the wine. Everyone is welcome at this party — even people like you and even people like me. We will need a bigger table for the Messianic Feast. A bigger table to seat the great multitude of people from every tribe and nation. A bigger table to feed them with the bread and the wine of the Lord's Supper.
This vision of a big feast in the kingdom of heaven is as old as the Bible so it is not a new concept to us. Some of us sang the song in Vacation Bible School when we were children. "Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world." Jesus loves the little children. Even the Gentile children such as us. Even the uncircumcised children. Jesus was a carpenter but we never hear about him building one single fence. Jesus was a carpenter and he seemed more interested in building bigger tables and deeper fonts. Bigger tables to feed more people and bigger fonts to baptize more people.
St. John's Presbyterian Church is an inclusive congregation. We open our hearts invite others to join us in Christ's mission. And we will continue to be an inclusive church. Our membership is composed of people who have come to Houston from all other cities and states and nations. We work together to glorify God by making disciples and meeting human needs. Today we welcome Shannon and Mark DeSouza into the church and next Saturday we will celebrate their wedding in this sanctuary.
St. John's Presbyterian Church will continue to be an inclusive congregation. We will continue to grow and baptize believers. We will continue to eat the bread and drink the wine. We will continue to worship God and proclaim the gospel. We will continue to reach out in mission to this community and to the world. And if we grow so much that we need a bigger table and a deeper font, well, we may just have to remodel the place. Some folks already think we could use a good carpenter around here. A carpenter who knows how to tear down walls to make room for more people. A carpenter who knows how to build a bigger table and a deeper font. A carpenter like the one from Nazareth.
