Fifth Sunday of Easter YR C (Acts 11:1-18)  05-02-2010

Boundaries. The order of our lives is often maintained by boundaries. We create boundaries by establishing laws, drawing lines, and setting limitations. Much of my recent vacation was defined by various boundaries, beginning with my airline boarding pass, which told me I had a seat on the Southwest plane and the order in which I was to stand in line. There were lines for the boundaries of the baggage check line; lines for the roller coaster rides at the amusement park, and nearly every restaurant required that you place your name on a list so they could establish the boundaries of when you would eat and the table that was most appropriate for the size of your party. Boundaries followed me throughout my vacation…and as we were ending our vacation, standing in the very long baggage check line at the Tampa airport, an employee of Southwest airlines came forward to pass along some news about the boundaries of the baggage check line. She told us that it is not permitted to check bags prior to 4 hours in advance of your flight time. She then requested anyone whose flight was more than 4 hours from the current time to please leave the baggage check line. For those people, their time had not yet come…and the established boundaries did not permit their participation.

This morning in our lesson from the Book of Acts, we hear Peter explaining his experience with Cornelius, the Roman Centurion, and his family (all Gentiles). Peter is talking to the people of the Church in Jerusalem; at the time the church membership included only those who subscribed to the Jewish laws of the Torah. The Jewish Christians of Jerusalem are not convinced that the Gentiles should be included within the boundaries of their religious community – perhaps their time had not yet arrived, like the people checking in their bags too early at the airport. According to many of the early Christian believers, the Jewish laws did rightly establish the boundaries of their new religious community…and Peter has obviously broken through this boundary. But even for Peter, breaking through this boundary was no small thing.

Peter’s vision urges him to eat food that is not permitted by Jewish purity laws. Peter resists the advice of the vision (he is not ready to cross the boundary), but is prompted by subsequent visions a total of 3 times. If something happens in the Bible more than once, it is important…and Peter receives this vision 3 times! At the moment of his final vision, a group of Gentiles appear (also considered unclean by Jewish law) and the Holy Spirit prompts Peter to go with these men. Peter submits to the will of the Spirit and crosses the boundary of his current understanding.

Peter’s vision and his experience with the Gentiles is a new understanding for him (a conversion of thought), but Peter cannot hold this understanding alone; he cannot cross the boundary by himself. William Willimon (a religious scholar and professor) talks of the importance of conversion and its role in the community. Willimon writes, “Conversions are a part of the larger story of some issue within the life of the community…Conversions…are stories about beginnings…and conversion is the beginning of the Christian journey, not its final destination.”[i] And so Peter’s action toward the Gentiles is not the final word but the beginning of a process. And the process of spreading the Good News to all who are willing to hear and believe is a journey that involved the entire Christian community, as we are told in the Book of Acts. This particular story is not only a radically new understanding, but a radically new understanding that is consistent with God’s word…which is why the author of Acts carefully tells us that Peter explained his experience to the Christian community in Jerusalem step by step, recalling the word of the Lord and their original experience of the Holy Spirit descending upon them during their baptism.

Throughout this Easter season, the resurrection of Christ and the promise given us through the renewing power of the Holy Spirit lead us to a life of many conversions, many new understandings based on the work of Christ. Our reading from John’s Gospel account speaks of this promise through the new commandment of love. “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:35) This saying from Christ compels us to acknowledge Christ’s teaching to us, says former Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple, in his commentary “Readings in St. John’s Gospel.” “I am to care as much for the other’s interest and welfare as for my own; and I need a most penetrating ‘conversion’ before I do that,” writes Temple.[ii]

A conversion of heart; a conversion of mind; a conversion of understanding that Christ continues to work on us throughout our journey; a journey that we make together in a community that seeks the respect, openness and love of others. We live within many boundaries of life, defined by the lines, laws and limitations we create. But as children of God, we are called by Christ to a life-long journey of crossing these boundaries and breaking through our limitations! By this we will show that we have love for one another, and everyone will know that we are followers of Christ. AMEN.

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[i] William Willimon, Acts, a book in the series “Interpretation: A Bible commentary for Teaching and Preaching,” (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1988), 102-103.

[ii] William Temple, Readings in St. John’s Gospel, (London: Macmillan & Co. LTD, 1959), 223.