The basic story of Christianity is this:
God created mankind, but mankind was sinful and thus separated from God. So,
God sent a part of Himself—His Son, Jesus Christ—to become a man and pay the
price for sin and restore the broken relationship between God and mankind.
Now, the basic story of Christian
churches since Jesus’ time is this: After having their sins forgiven, followers
of Christ immediately sinned again by excluding people from their fellowship on
the basis of race, class, gender, or language.
In this week’s first reading, St. Peter
and his friends were stunned to witness the conversion of a Gentile. After it
occurred, Peter declared, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to
him.”
It’s as if Peter was saying, “Oh, NOW I
get it. When Jesus said ‘everyone,’ he meant EVERYONE.”
Throughout His entire ministry, Jesus
made it clear the gift of salvation is not just for one small group of people.
It is universal. It’s available to everyone. God offers His love to the whole
world, and anyone who responds with love and puts his or her faith in God can
claim that salvation, regardless of race, class, gender, or language.
St. Peter should have known this. He was
present when Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
(Matthew 28:19). Jesus didn’t say some nations; He said ALL nations. Then,
after Pentecost, Peter himself preached to a crowd: “And everyone who calls on
the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21). Inspired by the Holy Spirit as
he spoke, Peter clearly said EVERYONE.
In the second reading this week St. John
tells us what is required to be in relationship with God: “Everyone who loves
is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God,
for God is love.”
In the gospel reading this week, Jesus
tells his disciples: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.”
The key requirement is love. It’s not
who your parents are, not what language you speak, not how much money you have,
not the color of your skin. It’s simply love. Do you love God? And do you love
your neighbor as yourself? Love is the only requirement to be in a relationship
with God.
If St. Peter and the other first century
believers—the ones who saw and heard Jesus in person—had a hard time
understanding that God’s salvation is offered to everyone, it’s not surprising
that countless other people over the centuries have struggled with this issue,
too.
For 2,000 years Christian churches,
denominations, and faith communities have been in the habit of erecting high
walls plastered with “Keep Out” signs—sometimes overtly, sometimes subtly. It’s
part of mankind’s sinful nature.
This desire to be among “our own kind”
is an understandable aspect of human nature. (For example, I personally would
feel much more comfortable in a shopping mall that wasn’t crawling with young
people who are compelled to display their body piercings, tattoos, and foul
mouths in front of total strangers. My major prejudice these days seems to be
age-based. I’d love to visit a place where no one under 50 is present. Hmm,
maybe that’s why I enjoy going to church.)
To be a member of Jesus’ church, it’s
not about who you are, it’s about Who you serve. It’s not what you look like,
it’s what you believe.
If, as we read in this week’s gospel,
the Son of God considers us His friends—to the point of laying down His life
for us—what must He think when we are unfriendly and inhospitable to people who
wish to join our fellowship? When we finally stand before Him in judgment, the
moment after our death, that could be really awkward.
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