Let’s Work Together

Acts 10:17-33

In 1969 blues artist Wilbert Harrison released his song, “Let’s Work Together.” It has since been covered by others, most notably the group Canned Heat. In it Harrison sings:

Together we will stand divided we'll fall

Come on now people let's get on the ball

And work together, come on, come on let's work together, now, now people

Say now together we will stand, every boy, girl, woman, and man...

Based on our reading from Acts today I have this mental image of Peter singing these words to those gathered in the home of Cornelius. “…And (Peter) said to them, ‘You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection’" (Acts 10:28-29).

Unity is a beautiful thing, and God desires it for humanity. It begins when we allow ourselves to be instruments of reconciliation. It begins when we are willing to let others talk while we listen. It begins when we look for similarities and commonalities instead of bashing each other over perceived––and often petty––differences. And even when the differences are significant and seemingly overwhelming God calls us to love and care for one another anyway. “Now together we will stand, every boy, girl, woman, and man.” My hope for the world this day is that somewhere someone will lay aside his or her assumptions and biases and reach out to another person just long enough to recognize a shared humanity with common needs and aspirations because in that moment God will be glorified. “Together we will stand divided we'll fall/Come on now people let's get on the ball…”

Prayer: Almighty God, help us to find a common purpose in your will and to share the joy that you seek with others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Who Will Go For Us?

Acts 10:1-16

According to Acts 10, a certain centurion named Cornelius was visited by an angel from God. The angel told him look for a man named Simon Peter. “When the angel who spoke to him had left,” we read, “(Cornelius) called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him, and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa” (Acts 10:7-8). Clearly neither the angel, nor the slaves, nor the soldier are central to this story, and yet without them there is no story. They are the ones who carry the message and who seek to convey the word from one place to another. To a degree, this is what it means to be missionaries or evangelists.

Few if any of us will be remembered as significant in the life of the Church. For every Mother Theresa there are hundreds of millions of people who go unnoted by the world despite their faithfulness. No matter. All of us have a role to play, and quite often that role is to carry the message of the gospel from one place to another, or to share in the search for the truth that is Jesus Christ. When we play our part, when we carry the message or convey the word, we bring the story to life. Cornelius and Peter might never have met were it not for the angel, the slaves, and the soldier. Whose life might we touch today with the good news? Who might we help in their search for the truth? How might we further the spread of the gospel? These are questions worth asking, for while Cornelius and Peter are the ones we remember, there were others who had to play a part if the story was to move ahead. We, too, need to play our part. We, too, need to move the story along.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us to serve you by serving others, and give us the courage we need to share the good news. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Don'ts and Dos

Colossians 2:8-23

Think back to the story of Peter in Joppa, sitting on a rooftop one day, waiting for lunch. As he waited he experienced a vision in which he was offered all sorts of animals to “kill and eat.” As a devout Jew he declined; to have killed and eaten these animals would have violated the law. But God spoke to him saying, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane” (Acts 10:9-16).

Now listen to a portion of our reading from Colossians for this morning. “Why do you submit to regulations,” it asks, “‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’? All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence” (Colossians 2:20-23). It would appear that Peter and the author of Colossians have been led to a similar conclusion, that it is quite possible to get lost in a profusion of legalities which serves, not to enable our faith, but to obscure it. Devotion to Jesus Christ is not about checking requirements off a list, it is about accepting Jesus as Lord and allowing him to work through us.

Ever notice how young children will make up games as they go along? If we are not careful we may do the same thing, making up “requirements of faith” to meet our opinions and not as a response to God’s will. God calls us to love God with heart, mind, soul, and strength and our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:25-28) which is all very straight forward if not particularly easy. So maybe we would prefer a lot of rules that we can accomplish on our way to salvation, but that is certainly not what we find in Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord, help us to love you with everything we are and to regard those around us with love as well so that we do not get lost in a maze of pointless rules but instead live as your people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.