Easter 6B | Acts 10:44-48; Psalm 98; John 15:9-17

St. Peter’s, Perth Amboy

In this season after Easter, we hear many of the stories of Jesus after his resurrection, of his appearing to the
disciples, of the earliest witnesses coming to terms with what Jesus’ death and resurrection meant to them and to the world. Those stories are in the Gospel lesson each week. But we also get to hear stories of this same group of people, fast-forwarded a few years and even a few months into the earliest days of the Early Church. We hear those readings from the suitably titled “The Acts of the Apostles”, which is really the second half of Luke’s Gospel. Last week we heard the story of Philip encountering the Ethiopian Eunuch. These stories tell us what the early Church, now under the leadership of the remaining apostles, would look like and where it was going.

The lesson from Acts this morning clearly begins in the middle of the action, “When Peter had finished speaking…”. We know that Peter has been preaching the good news of Jesus the Christ to crowds who have never heard the story. Peter and the apostles are doing what Jesus told them to do. They are going out into the world, preaching the good news. And we see the amazing reaction of this crowd, but what we don’t hear this morning is the sermon that Peter preached that comes just before this passage. And we also miss out on all the other amazing and transforming events that Peter witnessed leading up to this relatively short passage. So here’s a little background.

One of the first challenges the Early Church faced immediately after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus was an identity crisis. The original followers of Jesus, his immediate apostles and the rest of those who chose to follow Jesus, were all Jews. The men had been circumcised, and they all had been raised in Jewish communities, to keep the Law with dietary restrictions and observe other holiness codes. Their observance of the Law continued even after Jesus’ ascension and the Day of Pentecost.

But, as the gospel continued to spread in the cosmopolitan cities under Roman rule, more and more Gentiles heard the story of Jesus. They began joining the Jesus movement, and it was quickly looking less like a local, Jewish sect, started by some rabbi and his rag-tag followers. It was more and more looking like an international movement.

Of course, no event could have been more symbolic or prophetic about the future of the Early Church than the day of Pentecost – the day that the Holy Spirit fell on these followers of Jesus in a new way. We celebrate that two Sundays from now. The story of the powerful deeds of God was spoken aloud in many strange and foreign tongues. To their surprise, the Spirit was evangelizing non-Jews. It would seem that the Spirit was determined not to be contained, but rather to move like the wind, defying expectation.

But the question for the earliest Church leaders remained – what to do with these Gentile converts? Do they need to become Jews first and then Christians? Must the men be circumcised? (Which, as you can guess, was NOT the best-selling point for church growth!) Should new converts follow the Law first in order to be followers of Jesus? Jesus hadn’t prepared them for this. The early Christians were forced to decide for themselves what to do with these unexpected brothers and sisters. They were DEEPLY divided. Read the epistle to the Galatians for Paul’s very personal take on this debate. Would Gentile converts be considered second-class citizens in God’s kingdom? Would they ever be allowed to fully serve as leaders of God’s people?

Last week we heard the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8, another example of someone who became an unexpected follower of Jesus. He was African, a eunuch, but he was also a student anxious to learn more about Jesus. Philip even ends up baptizing him in a very unexpected, surprising place: the desert. The group of us who went to Israel/Palestine spent our time in the north, the green, agricultural areas for the most part. This scene, however, takes place in the south on the road to Gaza, a desert road. And yet, they found water!

At the beginning of Acts 10, the chapter we are in this morning, we hear the story of yet another of these unexpected followers – Cornelius the Centurion. We are told Cornelius was a devout man, even though he was a gentile. He gave alms generously and that he prayed constantly. Cornelius has a vision of an angel telling him that his prayers have been heard by God. The angel also told him to send someone to go find a man named Peter.

Meanwhile, Peter is in Joppa, a Roman city. It’s still there today by the way, called Joffa, just south of Tel Aviv. Anne-Marie and I had a chance to visit it when we visited the Holy Land a few years ago. So, Peter is in Joppa, and he also has a vision, or what the reading calls a “trance.” In this trance Peter sees a sheet descending from heaven and spreading on the ground. On it are all kinds of animals, four-footed animals, birds and, as the writer of Acts especially notes, “even reptiles”. Peter is told in the trance to “kill and eat.” But the problem is that not all of the animals on the sheet are kosher, so Peter objects – “I’ve never eaten anything unclean. I’ve kept kosher, Lord!” But the response Peter hears is clearly what he is meant to take away from this encounter, “What God has made clean, you must not call unclean”. Clearly, a new day was dawning. And at that very moment the servants sent by Cornelius to find Peter arrive at the house. The Spirit has remarkable timing.

Peter ultimately meets with Cornelius and Peter himself comes face to face with someone very like the Ethiopian Eunuch, an unexpected follower of Jesus. And so it is in this context that Peter is preaching the sermon that immediately precedes today’s lesson. Shew!

Peter’s sermon that day began with these monumental words, words that would reverberate throughout the early church – “Truly, I understand that God shows no partiality.” I hope that takes on new meaning with the background in mind. Peter goes on to give eyewitness testimony to the life and ministry of Jesus and tells some of his own story.

But then the Spirit interrupts Peter. It would seem the Spirit isn’t very good at following the bulletin. The Spirit interrupted on the Day of Pentecost and here we go again. What is even more remarkable is that this happens in a Gentile setting – the day of Pentecost had been in Jerusalem, but this Gospel takes place in Caesarea, a town full of Romans and other Gentiles. The Holy Spirit falls on this gathering, much like on the Day of Pentecost. The results are very similar – people speak in tongues and are praising God. But the shocking fact that the writer notes is that these people hadn’t even received water baptism yet.

Peter and the others are astounded. These gentiles, not even officially converts yet, are filled with the same spirit of God as the apostles! What do we do now Peter? “Quick,” Peter says, “Baptize them!” So, these gentiles are given water baptism en masse. Sound familiar? Doesn’t this remind you of the Ethiopian Eunuch, who was baptized right away while he was still with Philip. I love that moment of agency for the eunuch. It wasn’t Philip’s idea. The eunuch demanded to be given this sign of conversion.

God’s expectations and plans are not always what we can predict. In those early days of the church God did amazing and unexpected things, bringing into the followers of Jesus unexpected people. It has often been said that God’s Spirit doesn’t follow a clear path, but instead works in a trajectory, drawing us all toward God’s kingdom.

Perhaps the lesson from John predicted this trajectory. Jesus seems to be speaking almost in a riddle. “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus had gathered this group of followers from different professions and backgrounds, and he treated them the same. Was he showing them how they should behave once he was gone?

The commandments of God that defined the Jewish nation were many, but Jesus has simplified what it means for his followers to keep his commandments – love. And the epistle from I John has a similar meditation – if we love God, we will keep God’s commandment to love.

This Spirit was doing remarkable things in the early church, driven by love, breaking down barriers, confounding expectations. God’s spirit is still moving among us today, guiding the church to new places and including unexpected people.

Who are the unexpected people today? If you look back at the history of the Episcopal Church, you’ll see growing pains in our very midst. Our church has faced issues of integration, doing away with segregated seating. We have had to deal with issues of class – we are still dealing with them, both, class and race, to be honest. I think we should always ask ourselves, “Who are we holding at arm’s length? Who are we resisting?” We need more liturgies for those for whom English is not their first language. We need liturgies specifically crafted for the neurodivergent, those living with Autism and similar issues. Do you see how “messy” church growth can be? I think the days of demanding full compliance to the way things “used to be” are quickly coming to an end. I think the last year has taught us that. Who could have predicted that all priests would become tele-evangelists overnight? And yet, I think streaming our worship is here to stay.

The church has struggled with leadership as well – do we allow women to be priests? Bishops? Presiding Bishop? What about LGBTQ people? What about divorced people? For generations such things were unthinkable! How does the church change so much? We haven’t been able to keep “those” people out. Despite efforts to discriminate and marginalize, “those” people kept showing up. Why? The Spirit is calling them here. Read the stories again – I’m not making this up.

In the words of the Psalmist, God has done marvelous things indeed! And God is still doing marvelous things!

What’s next? God’s spirit is moving. Stay tuned! Amen.