Boxing God

Acts. 10:44-48

Bible Passage of Acts 10:44-48

Sometimes in life God throws us a curve ball. Well, usually in life God throws us a curve ball. We have all had the experience. We were going along thinking we were doing what God wanted and expecting the results. Then someone comes out of nowhere and throws your game. Where do they get off doing X, Y and Z?

The scripture this week hits even a little bit closer to home. Peter a devout Jew had been taught to not associate with anyone who was not Jewish. They were unclean and, well, just not right. He was taught by his society, by his culture, and by the norms of the day. These were not just little ways of not associating, but both sides clearly knew the rules and expectations. They knew their places. Not only did they know their places, but they also knew the places of the other.

We have groups like that today, don't we? Groups that we believe we know what they are, and what their place is. Groups that we can put in a box or category so that we can deal with them. We have the conservatives, and the liberals especially in congress. They seem to know their sides and have expectations and they play each other like a fine orchestra in order to put on a show. What about the rich and the poor, the business owners and the unemployed, wall street and the 99%. Let's not forget the social issues, the heterosexuals and homosexuals, the Christians and the Atheist, the extremist and the moderates in every faith. What about physical groups? Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Asians, Russians, Germans, French, Brazilian, Disabled, able bodied, female, male. We all have expectations. Not one person here could listen to that list and not have several moments of free associations. You either smiled or cringed. You had a thought good or bad just because of the labels you heard and many of you may have planted your foot a little deeper in that camp. You confirmed for yourself the type of people you put in that box and what they look like, sound like and how you think they act.

But here is the kicker, what you think you know about any of those things may not be how it actually is. If you got to know that gay Latino from Wall Street you may just be surprised that she didn't fit into any of your boxes. Once you start putting boxes of expectation around things you leave little room to actually get to understand them. We do the same thing with God. Once you put that box of expectation around God you are limiting your understanding of the working and movement of the Holy Spirit. When you box in God you tend to loose what the Holy Spirit is doing. The Holy Spirit is in charge and can do amazing things.

God had been working on Peter, showing him that maybe it wasn't quite so clear cut. God had let him experience Cornelius, the faithful Guard whose entire family converted. God showed Peter to start expecting the unexpected. Despite what his followers thought they knew about non Jews, Peter was preaching to them. He was stepping outside the social boxes that both the Jews and the Pagans had established. Peter stopped looking at the situation of life between Jews and non Jews in only one way and made room for the Holy Spirit. He realized that God can work outside of his expectations and was willing to do something completely opposite of what his culture told them.

And Boy did the Holy Spirit blow in like the wind before Peter could even finish his sermon. Did he continue with his sermon – because the people were expecting it? NO! He acknowledged the Holy Spirit and called it like it was. The Holy Spirit is in this place with these people and who could deny them baptism?

Think about who you have been denying? I don't care what good reasons you have, but think about that list about those you have been denying. Those you don't want to talk to or about or with. Ask yourself a truthful why? Pray for those groups and for your own understanding. It is about time we stop limiting God's work and start looking at the world with renewed vision given to us by Jesus Christ. It is about time we stopped boxing God into our own human categories and started appreciating the fact that God can do what ever God wants. If we but listen, we can see the Glory of the Lord all around us. It is time to stop judging people and start loving them. You don't have to go up and hug anybody now, just treat them with human decency, respect and an open mind. Perhaps if more people did this we could actually truly be living out the gospel of Christ.