Fear Factor: Easter Edition: Acts 11:1-18 - Fifth Sunday after Easter

¹Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. ²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, ³saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” ⁴Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. ⁶As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. ⁷I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ ⁸But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ ¹⁰This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. ¹¹At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. ¹²The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; ¹⁴he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ ¹⁵And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” ¹⁸When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.” (NRSV)

pate by stu_spivack on Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0

What is the craziest, most extreme food you’ve ever eaten?

For me, it would have to be the time I was served pâté de foie gras—pureed goose liver. I put on my best poker face and ate it, while others raved at how delicious it was. I, however, did not ask for seconds. I’m a picky eater—and I know that my aversion to certain foods is what makes them taste bad. And there are probably plenty of people in the world who’d be absolutely disgusted by what I eat—especially hot dogs…

Our first reading from the book of Acts sounds like an episode of Fear Factor: Peter falls into a trance while he’s praying, and a large sheet comes down from heaven—and on that sheet are all kinds of four-footed animals, beasts of pray, reptiles, and ravenous birds. And a voice says to him, “get up, kill, and eat.”

Make no mistake: this was a nightmare for anyone who’d been raised in Judaism—because all these animals were unclean. Not only did the Torah prohibit you from eating them, you were also prohibited from touching them. And if you did happen to touch one, you became unclean.

Peter was right to object to breaking God’s own law. That is, until the voice said, “what God has made clean, you must not call profane.”

God wasn’t content for Peter to eat just one serving. God imposed three full helpings on Peter before the picnic cloth was lifted back up to heaven.

Then immediately, three men from Caesarea arrived at the house where Peter was staying. They had been sent there by an angel God—to escort Peter back to the home of Cornelius, a Roman Centurion. Peter is commanded by the Spirit not to make any distinction between them and himself—because these persons were not Jewish. They were not part of Israel or from the bloodline of Abraham and Sarah. And yet, Cornelius, his household, and many others were to be baptized by Peter.

The boundary line that separated Jew from Gentile was hereby eradicated. God’s kingdom was breaking out of boundaries and norms that had defined it for millennia. This was the Gospel truth that Peter was forced to eat—but don’t think that this truth will prove easy for the early Christians to swallow. I can only imagine the disapproving looks and murmurings as Peter tells them that the Church will now include the very people they’ve spent their lifetimes avoiding!

Then Peter says, “who am I to hinder God?”

This passage shows that God wants to be in relationship with everyone. The cross reveals how far God is willing to go to make it happen. But sometimes, WE get in the way.

For all the times you ask, “why am I not close to Jesus?” or “why is the church not growing?” do you ever ask, “am I hindering God?” We ask, “where is Jesus?” without ever asking, “am I locking him out?”

There are certain things about us—what we do, what we believe, how we act—that make us us. Whether we realize it or not, there are boundaries that separate who’s in and who’s out—when it comes to who belongs to this church (versus who’s not); who’s a Christian (versus who’s not), and who’s heaven-bound (versus who’s not).

We build up walls and boundary lines to make our Christianity fit comfortably and conveniently into our habits and ambitions. We build up walls and boundary lines to make the Church into a sanctuary for our own preferences and ideals. Within these walls, we seek a Jesus who makes sanctuary in what we ourselves desire. We seek a Jesus who’s made in our image and upholds our own values. We strive to minimize anxiety, stifle change, and prevent loss. And when the Gospel challenges those boundary lines and ideals, the Gospel suddenly becomes hard to swallow—and we spit it out.

Jesus, of course, came in love for the world and we crucified him. Nevertheless, God’s love cannot be contained within the boundaries we erect of who’s in and who’s out. God’s love will not be imprisoned within our preferences and ideals, prejudices and fears. Life-giving relationships with God lead to life-giving relationships among people.

When it comes to God’s kingdom, Jesus leads on—and you either follow, or get out of the way.

Somehow, some way, the Holy Spirit is putting pressure on you. Do you embrace the truth of God’s unconditional love and forgiveness? Is the Spirit breaking down your hard heart? Are your priorities God’s priorities? Is there something important in your life that needs to be let go? Is there someone for you to love and serve instead of rejecting or ignoring? With everything you crave and desire; everything you prefer—do you believe Jesus has a better life in store?

The resurrected life is not always easy to swallow—because it won’t conform to your comforts and preferences. You’re dying and rising with Christ, every single day. Nearly every change or challenge from the Lord will be bitter—but ultimately better.

New life awaits you like a food you’ve never tasted. Sure, you know what you love to eat—but you haven’t tasted life quite like this. It may be hard to swallow at first. But ultimately, when you trust, you will taste, and you will see that the Lord is good!