Guess Who Is Coming to Dinner?

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Guess Who is Coming to Dinner

ACTS 10

Fires have been raging all week here in Southern California. Destructive fires consuming 1,000s of acres and causing 1,000s of people to flee their homes have been burning in and around the Idyllwild area. We must keep the people affected and the 1st responders in the center our prayers.

But, in my message today, I'll speak about the relational fires that have been raging since the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin verdict came down last weekend. What we are being forced to see is that we still have huge cultural/ethnic/racial divides in our country. As I was watching one news report earlier this week, the extremity of that divide became clear through the way the report was edited:

In Part 1: Some legal experts said that, simply looking at Florida laws, the case should not have even gone to court. They said there was no way a jury could convict Mr. Zimmerman of anything because the evidence demanded by Florida state laws for conviction does not exist. That part of the report ended with a man, who was about my age and skin-color, declaring, "Everyone will agree that justice was served in the verdict."

In Part 2: People demonstrating in Chicago were interviewed. They said that this sort of profiling, i.e., going after a person simply because of age or ethnicity, happens every day in their neighborhoods. That part of the report ended with a woman (much younger and of a more vibrant hue than I am) saying, "When a completely unarmed young man who is just going back home after getting some food at a store ends up being shot... well, everyone will agree that this was an injustice."

One thing has become clear this week: Not everyone agrees. And, some people have said to me, when I've spoken about race and ethnicity in the past, "Oh, you had problems with racial division growing up in the south or living where you have in Chicago or Miami – but we don't have those problems here in Southern California. We grow up alongside one another and know how to live in community." Well, may I respectfully but firmly disagree. We face the same issues of misunderstanding and prejudice here that the whole world grapples with. When sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, one of the foundational things that happened was that relationships were broken. So, we gather together in the 21st C AD in the midst of a world still divided by sin to see whether God's Word has anything to say to us. And it does.

I'm quite sure that someone can speak much more knowledgeably and profoundly about this topic than I can – but God has called me to the task today. Of the many things I might say, the point I want to make is that God has planted us as a local church into this deeply divided world to make known what He is like. In our current situation, I believe God is calling us to show His love for all people, His passion for justice, and His deep commitment to mercy-filled reconciliation. The powers of this world cannot bring together what is broken – but God can and we are placed here to show the world the greatness of a God who brings broken people into one unified family, i.e., God's unexpected family.

The origin of cultural and racial divides: Babel
According to Genesis 11, God himself divided humankind into language groupings and nationalities in response to creatures uniting against their Creator. The creatures (human beings) no longer wanted to be creatures subject to the Creator but wanted to be the Creator themselves – so they sought to unite against God. In his wisdom, God determined that we are much less dangerous to our world and to one another in separate people groups. But, God has never intended to leave people divided from him and from one another. God did not create people made in his image to live lives of prejudice and suspicion. God is committed to reconciliation. God has declared that, someday, his people will be one united family made up of individuals from every language group, people group and national group (Rev. 7:9).

But, the problems that lead to misunderstanding and prejudice in our world are deeply rooted in our fallen human nature. And, we need to be perceptive enough to know they cannot be rooted out through human means alone – even through political or military force. This was one lesson that we should have learned from the downfall of the Soviet Union. For four decades, the Soviet Union tried to end the divisions of tribalism and ethnic pride through totalitarian government and force. But, what we witnessed was that as soon as that oppressive force was removed with the overthrow of the communist governments, the old tribal and ethnic divisions came back up immediately. It became clear that we cannot effectively legislate unity. Laws and external force alone do not end the human divisions created by sin.

But what the world cannot do, God can. And God will. When God has finished his work, according to Revelation 21-22, everything will be new. Basic to God's renewing work is that he will reconcile every broken relationship. And until his work is done, God has planted local churches in neighborhoods like ours to declare that God is a reconciling God.

With that in mind, let's look again at what happens in Acts 10.

What the church is in God's plan – and must become in our world
When we get to the end of Acts 10, we find a conservative Jewish man named Peter preaching a sermon at a Roman military leader's home, a sermon like the one I'm trying to preach here today. Peter made three related and powerful points about God:
1. God does not show favoritism – his eternal plan is to bless and remake all people (10:34).
2. God's family is open to people from every people group – and is entered the same way by all, i.e., through faith in Jesus (10:35).
3. God's salvation is for all people (10:36) – yes, ALL people!
It was a good sermon. But, it took a miracle from God to get Peter and the Roman Cornelius together. Cornelius was more open to it than Peter. And Peter's excuses for not connecting with Cornelius would have made sense to the people in Peter's church. Peter said, "God, I've never defiled myself by associating with defiled things – including those defiled people out there who shouldn't even be in your country." You see, Peter would have regarded Cornelius as an illegal immigrant. Cornelius, according to Acts 10:1, was "a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment." In other words, Cornelius oversaw a regiment of over 600 soldiers who were in Israel for one reason, i.e., to keep Israel under the authority of Rome. The Jewish people wanted the Romans out of the country. But, it soon becomes clear that one of the reasons God had sent Cornelius to Israel was, ironically, to invite this Roman man into His eternal, unexpected family.
How did Peter change from being one who excluded Cornelius to one who called Cornelius brother?

The necessity of cross-cultural relationships
It took dreams and visions from God to get these two men even to sit down together. Cornelius was already seeking God and spending time in prayer so he only needed one divine vision saying, "I've heard you, Cornelius and am ready to bless you but guess who's coming to your house for dinner. Yes, a Jewish man named Peter. Go, invite him to your home." And Cornelius obeyed.
Meanwhile, Peter was resistant. Peter may have thought that he didn't need any instruction from God. After all, Peter had always sought to obey God's law. Peter had placed his faith in Jesus. Peter was even filled with the Holy Spirit! But, there were still some things deeply rooted in Peter's mind that had to be rooted out -- and one of them was his prejudice against Gentiles. According to 10:16, God had to give Peter the same vision three times to get His message into Peter's closed mind.
In Acts 10, God makes it known that the division caused by hatred and prejudice that had existed between Peter and Cornelius was no longer an option. And the beginning step was that God forced them to meet – to enter into a relationship with one another. Then, when they were in relationship and shared their testimonies with God, the wall that separated them came down. Cornelius greeted Peter with graciousness and honor. Listen to what Peter said to him in v.28: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean."
Then, Cornelius shared what God had said to him in a vision and Peter's heart melted. He said in vv. 34-35: "I now see how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right."

And you have heard the rest of the story. Peter taught these Romans about Jesus – about Jesus' death in our place for our sins and Jesus' defeat of sin and death through his resurrection. Peter called upon all of them to believe in Jesus and receive forgiveness of their sins through Jesus' name. They believed and then the Holy Spirit came on the Gentiles just as he had come upon the Jews in Acts 2. And, Cornelius and his friends were baptized in the name of Jesus and became a part of the family of God.

My main point is that this marvelous story started with God demanding that these two men, separated by centuries of their families' differences and prejudices, enter into relationship with one another. When they did, they discovered that they both were known and loved by God. They both needed God's forgiveness. Then, they both became followers of Jesus. And, they saw that God gave them both the Holy Spirit. God's work started with a relationship that neither man would have chosen on his own.

Many of you know how unexpected relationships have transformed my walk with God. I moved to Bluefield, West Virginia when I was just 12. This beautiful little "All American" city was also very segregated racially. The schools were segregated. The residential neighborhoods were segregated. Our town officials even shut down the public swimming pool when they were forced to integrate it. Soon after I moved to Bluefield, I rustled up the courage to walk downtown alone. This required me to walk through the more color-filled part of town.

When I turned one corner that Saturday morning, I found I was in front of Bundy's Gift Shop. Three older black men were sitting outside on the sidewalk talking... laughing. They saw me come around the bend and must have recognized the terror in my eyes. One of them said, "Young fellow, you should just pull up a chair and sit down with us for a spell. You look like you need a cool bottle of pop. And... you might learn something too. You might find out that we're just folks."

So I did. And I began to learn. I met brothers in Christ that day – and it opened up a world of other wonderful relationships. Several years later, when I headed off to college in Chicago, I volunteered to go weekly to Cabrini Green, one of "the Projects," in the city. I led children's ministries and Bible studies. And again, I met great people. I especially remember single moms who loved their kids and loved the Lord but were worried about the kind of world their kids would grow up into.

Many years later, as the president of a school with more ethnic diversity both in our administration and student body than most Christian universities, I heard story after story of our people being stopped and interrogated simply because of their skin color. The school is located in Chicago's wealthiest suburban area so our people of color stood out as "not belonging" in the community. I'll never forget one day that about 18 of our students opened up their lives to me just a bit and told about how hard it was for them to feel like they were constantly under suspicion and even being taken down to the police department for questioning over and over. You see, apart of these students blessing me by trusting me enough to tell me their stories, I would never have understood anything about why people of color all over our nation get upset when a young African American man is killed as he walks across a neighborhood in a state far away.

The issue struck closer to home here in our own church when a young woman I deeply respect wrote me an email this week. (She gave me permission to share this – but I will not give her name.) She wrote:
Hopefully, this verdict in Florida can begin a focused discussion of the responsibility of the local church to pray for and walk with those in our communities who live under the oppressiveness of suspicion. Maybe, we will be able to dialogue about the dangers (implicit and explicit) many experience living as minorities in our nation. I do not think some understand what that danger does to our families and our future families...
This current tragedy of Trayvon Martin's murder has been a reminder of the many black young men who have died in our country in similar circumstances. Many say that it is the Christian faith and hope that sustains the black community. That's where I see the opportunity for the church to learn to be a true family to us when we lose members of our own.
One day, I plan to have a family of my own. I dread the day that my husband and I will have to begin explaining to our son (in particular) the imperative of his survival despite forces and attitudes that would rather him not. On top of that, we'll also have the responsibility to teach him that God is still alive and real, and that having faith is worth it despite many injustices. Those are not conversations that all parents in our nation have to have, I understand. Though I don't have children yet, I know I'll have to have those conversations if God gives me children -- and I know why I'll have to have them. This is what I've been processing this week...and I still have more to pray over...

Acts 10 may help us to be a church family that helps us fulfill our sister's prayer – that we will walk with people across the racial, the generational, and the socio-economic divides. What we have to offer the world is a family of people who know that God's grace greater than our sin and that we have a Savior who unites in spite of the divisions in our world that would threaten to separate what God has brought together. Jesus is a Savior who brings us into one family and then asks us to walk together as good families always do.

How our lives should look as members of God's unexpected family (only by grace through faith)
• Develop God's eyes for people – knowing that is only possible through cross-cultural relationships. Peter didn't want this. God sent him three visions simply to get him to go over to a Gentile's house! Three visions were required! But it was only after clear instruction from God and a personal relationship with a man very different from himself that Peter would say in v. 34, "Now I see..." I'm sure it was hard for Peter at first to acknowledge that he had been wrong – that he had been blind. But, developing God's eyes opened up a whole world of ministry for him. It will for you too.

• Be willing to talk about the hard things. This will only be productive when you have a relationship of trust. And let me give you a phrase that my Mom passed on to me: Seek first to understand -- then to be understood. That's not a Bible verse but it is a principle rooted in biblical principles. And, it wasn't first found in management books. It's just good advice. When we listen to one another and understand one another, then we can talk about the hard things and learn from one another. We might have to talk these days about things like prejudice in our nation – maybe even in our church. If we do this like Peter did it, we'll end up in prayer and praise with one another even when we didn't agree at first.

• Be ready to walk together with your brothers and sisters in their hard times. Sometimes, there is a "pay the price" required when we begin to see more than we once did. We may have to go places we once would not go. We may have to support people we once would have ignored. Peter would have to learn that. Soon after Acts 10, he would have to go and explain to church leaders why he was spending time in a Roman Centurion's house. But he did it. And he was blessed. And the church was blessed.

What I want you to do:
• Pray – What is happening in our own community and world will be the focus of our Upper Room prayer time this weekend. We must pray for our church to be a place of unity with diversity – and for us to have a positive effect upon our divided and broken world. Come and join us in prayer.
• See – The Lake Avenue Church Foundation will have a table in back following the service. Those who are there can help you get to know our neighborhood better through taking you on a tour or even connecting you to someone to tutor or mentor. The relationships that could begin with people in our neighborhood will be life-changing both for you and for those you meet.
• Give – You can give through serving. And, you can support the work of the Foundation by giving financially in the offering that will be received as you leave the service today.
Let me end with this thought: I think we're only beginning to understand how profound Jesus' words were in John 13 and 17. Knowing that his church would eventually be made up of people from every people group living as brother and sister in this otherwise divided world, Jesus declared in John 13, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

And, perhaps envisioning how hard this would be for us to be a unified church family in this world, Jesus not only commanded us but he also prayed for us in John 17: I pray also for those who will believe in me..., that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one... Then the world will know that you sent me. Then the world will know that you love them even as you love me.

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor