Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Sermons 

Even when he does his best to stay out of trouble,

trouble seems to follow him around.

Our story from the book of Acts begins

with Peter being hauled before "the circumcised believers" in Jerusalem

and queried about his recent suspicious activities.

In other words, the lifelong Jews want to know

why he has not only been preaching to unbelievers, that is, Gentiles …

but – horror of horrors – he eats with them?!

That is to say, he doesn’t "keep kosher."

Ignores the dietary rules that his people have been living by

for a thousand years or so.

Why would Peter even want to hang out with those

who aren’t "our kind of people"?

Much more, why would he waste his time

preaching to them a message

that was clearly meant for us?

Bless their hearts, they don’t get it.

Now at least, they are a step ahead of those

who did not, would not, could not accept Christ at all.

But having done so,

this group of believers believes that he belongs only to them.

So rather than getting into a theological argument with his accusers,

Peter tells them a story.

At the very beginning, he makes it clear that

this wasn’t his idea.

I was praying in the city of Joppa, he says,

and while I was praying I had a vision.

It was like a big ol’ sheet being lowered down out of heaven,

with all these different animals in it,

just exactly the kind we aren’t supposed to eat,

only a voice was telling me that I should

get up, kill an animal for my dinner, and eat.

I said no way!

I’ve never eaten one of those unclean animals,

and I’m not going to start now!

The voice said to me, Listen up, Peter:

What God has made clean,

you must not call profane.

This happened three times,

and then the vision was over,

not that I had a clue what it meant at that moment.

But then, three men came to me from Caesarea,

and the Spirit told me to go with them.

So I did, and when I began telling Jesus’ story to them,

I saw the Holy Spirit fall upon them,

just like it did upon us!

God gave them the Holy Spirit,

just like God gave the Spirit to us!

It was amazing!

And I realized,

that it wasn’t my job to get in God’s way.

Now, to give Peter’s hearers credit, they believed him.

It’s not clear from their final words

whether they thought this was a good thing or a bad thing,

but clearly, they understand that

"God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."

Well, as many of us know,

this is a favorite Bible story for those of us

who are always pushing the church to be more inclusive.

If God has given the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles,

how can those of Jewish background exclude them?

If God has sent the Holy Spirit upon our former slaves,

how can White Americans exclude them from our churches?

If God has sent the Holy Spirit to inspire women to preach,

why have men thought it was their job to hinder God?

If gay and lesbian persons have been gifts for leading God’s people,

who are we that we should hinder God?

In a sense, it is a really freeing kind of argument.

When I come across one of those charming folks who ask,

"How can you justify being a woman minister?"

I can simply tell them, hey, it wasn’t my idea.

God told me to go into ministry;

God made me a woman.

You don’t like it,

take it up with God.

Who are you that you can hinder God?"

In my heart of hearts, I believe that

any time we say that a certain kind of person

cannot be ordained,

cannot serve the Lord according to the gifts they have been given …

then we are trying to place limits on what God is allowed to do.

We are trying to hinder God,

to limit God’s amazing and sometimes frightening freedom.

I, of course, try to limit God in just the opposite direction.

"God," I say, "I don’t think you should call bigots into ministry."

"I think that you should hinder

anyone who thinks that they should hinder you."

Really, that’s just as bad.

Who am I to direct God?

How could I possibly know what God has in mind

for the life and ministry and service

of any person whom God calls …

whether they are a bigot, or a fascist, or homophobic,

or racist, or any of those other things I don’t like?

Do I not believe that God can change anyone – me included –

who answers God’s voice, and receives the Holy Spirit,

and embarks on the journey of discipleship?

Don’t we have to answer the call first,

and then get transformed?

Would any of us ever receive the Holy Spirit

if the Spirit waited until we already had our act together?

Who am I … who are any of us …

that we could – or should – hinder God?

At any rate, that’s one important angle on this story:

what God has called clean, we must not call profane.

Anyone who has received the Holy Spirit is our sister or brother in Christ,

regardless of whether we like their politics, or the way they dress,

or their choice of a life partner, or the music they listen to.

Who are we, that we could hinder God?

But we hear a lot less about the reverse angle on this scripture,

and I think it’s also important.

It’s really very Reformed,

and has to do with God’s unlimited freedom.

Another way to ask the question is to focus on the first half:

Who am I, that I could hinder God?

Think about that.

If God wants Gentiles to hear and receive the message of Christ,

do the leaders in Jerusalem really think that they could stop God,

even if they wanted to?

Who are they, that they think

they could stop God from doing whatever God wants?

If God really wants women to have roles of leadership in the church of Jesus Christ,

does the Pope really think he can keep God from making that happen?

Does the Southern Baptist Convention?

Who are we, that we could hinder God?

If the Holy Spirit has given gifts of ministry and leadership

to persons who are gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgendered,

does the Presbyterian Church (USA) really think

that any number of amendments to the Book of Order

is going to stop the Holy Spirit from doing that?

Who are we, that we think we get to

lasso and corral and steer and hinder the Holy Spirit?

Now of course, the dangerous thing in talking about God’s freedom

is that we also are free to be wrong

and to misunderstand God.

It is possible – not likely, but possible –

that we are wrong about God calling women into ministry alongside of men.

Certainly, we as individuals sometimes make mistakes

in believing that God has called us to do a certain thing

when, in fact, God has done no such thing.

It is possible that we in this congregation are wrong

in claiming and living out a welcoming and affirming stance.

I don’t think so … and this passage of Scripture seems to suggest not …

but it is possible.

Even in this case, though … who are we

that our actions and choices can hinder God?

Even in cases like these,

where we believe passionately that God’s word is for everyone,

and God’s church is for everyone,

and the Holy Spirit comes to everyone …

we have to have humility within that passion.

Whether we turn out to be right or to be wrong,

who are we,

that we can hinder God?

Now … short-term, of course,

we can hinder God’s message being heard;

we can live our lives in such a way that people don’t want to follow God

if it means being like us;

we can place stumbling blocks in the way

of people on the journey of discipleship.

Because God has chosen to depend on us,

we do, to that extent, have some power to hinder God

if we do not do what God requests and requires.

But in the grand scheme of things,

God is God, and we are not,

and who are we,

to think that we could stand in God’s way?

In a sense, it would be comical if it didn’t have such an impact

on people’s lives here and now.

So we do have to be careful about promising only

a happy pie-in-the-sky future,

when God can finally do whatever is required,

unhindered in the short term by any of us.

It’s not enough just to leave it in God’s hands,

knowing that some day, in some future realm,

things will be as they ought.

We do have a responsibility here and now

to reshape the world and our lives in it

as God wants them to be,

as best as we can discern what that looks like.

We have the task of being in regular communication with God,

so that we can hear clearly, or even see a vision,

of what it is that God needs for us to do.

We have the task of opening the way for God’s message

rather than placing barriers in front of it.

And we also have the task of asking for forgiveness

in those times when we thought we were helping God’s work get done,

but it turns out we were hindering it.

Who are we, that we could hinder God?

Who are we, that we could presume to label as unclean

something that God has made clean?

Who are we, but God’s beloved children,

who sometimes get it right and sometimes get it wrong?

Thank God – literally! –

that our hope is in God, and not in any human thing.

Who are we?

We are not God,

but we belong to God.

Alleluia! Amen.

© 2007 Julie Adkins (e-mail: DrJAdkins@trinitypresdallas.org)