Today’s reading is Acts 9:1-10:48.

“And he said to them, ‘You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean’” (Acts 10:28).

I should not call any person common of unclean. It doesn’t matter if they are black or white, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, employee or employer, upper or lower class, southern or northern, Democrat or Republican, whatever or whatever else.

It doesn’t matter if their hair is painted green, if their pants are hanging low, if they have tattooes or nose rings. It doesn’t matter what they have done. They may have been idolaters, coveters, adulterers, or homosexuals.

Peter’s statement is not saying the person is holy. They need to be in Christ for that. The point is I must not believe that somehow I’m so good and someone else so bad that he can defile me by simply being near me. The point is I must not look down on anyone as if they cannot be saved by the blood of Jesus. I must not look down on anyone as if they need to be saved more than I do. I must not look down on anyone as if they are so bad I must not share the freeing message of Jesus with them.

I am so glad Peter learned this lesson, since I am a Gentile and not Jewish. I would be upset if anyone viewed me as common or unclean. I must not do the same for others.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

According to Revelation 7:9, the people of God in heaven, gathered around the throne, come from every nation, tribe people and language. That means there are Americans, Europeans, Arabians, Indians, Hispanics, Africans, Australians, Russians, Chinese, Japanese, Germans, etc. They all gather around the throne without notice of their differences. They do not argue over politics. They do not argue about heritage. They do not ridicule color, language or culture. They simply gather in unity to honor the God of heaven and the Lamb. 

That is what it looks like in heaven.

Why doesn’t it look like that in my home congregation? I obviously recognize if there is a language barrier the people may not be able to come together in the same congregation (cf. I Corinthians 14:13-15, 27-28). But, I can’t help questioning why are there black churches and white churches? Pockets of foreigners move into the country. They learn the language, but they still assemble with their “own people.” When will our own people simply be the people of God no matter nation, tribe, people or language?

When will our congregations look more like heaven?

I know some congregations are doing a great job with this issue. If you are part of one of those, that is awesome. Continue being an example for the rest of us. The majority of congregations, however, need some work here. I’m not talking about “affirmative action.” I’m just talking about getting the message out beyond the lines of people who look just like us.

I once heard a white brother say he was all for teaching a black man and bringing him into the congregation if the opportunity arose, but he didn’t think we needed to just make that our goal. If you have that thought, let me simply remind you of Acts 11:19-20. There were some people that spoke only to Jews. There were others that specifically made it their goal to speak to Gentiles. Maybe it is not so bad to make it our specific goal to get some diversity in a congregation. And yes, before some wounded white person trying to salve his conscience says it, I know this goes both ways. 

Let’s quit working on having congregations that look like our culture and start working for congregations that look like heaven.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

There are a ton of things that catch my attention in today’s reading. But one overshadowed them all. James 2:1 says, “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (ESV). It then goes on to describe  a form of partiality and expresses that to be partial is to “become judges with evil thoughts” (James 2:4, ESV).

This struck me because of Barak Obama and the recent election. Let’s face it, whether we like Obama’s politics and philosophies or not (and I assure you I do not), we have to be able to see the momentous occasion his election represents. Since November 4, however, I have been seeing a disturbing trend even among Christians. For some reason many are just honing in on race. Some white people are quick to rebuke black people for being excited about finally having a black president. If a black person says anything about how glad they are that it has finally occurred, some white person somewhere is going to accuse them of being racist. Well, it is always easier to take someone else’s inventory than our own. It makes us feel better about that little bit of prejudice that still remains if we can point out how “they” are just like us or possibly even worse.

The fact is, I’m not all that smart and I have a hard time trying to be philosophical. I cannot possibly articulate what the right amount of happiness is for black folks this week. But here is what I say to all the white folks who are desperately trying to pin partiality on black people, we should be just as excited that we have reached a point where a black man can become president. This doesn’t mean racism has ended. In a practical sense, it doesn’t even really mean that any issues black people have faced in their every day lives will change. But it least it says something about our country in general. Let’s face it. There really was a reason why a black man was not elected president in the 1700s. There really was a reason why a black man was not elected president in the 1800s. There really was a reason why a black man was not elected president in the 1900s. 

Frankly, based on politics, I can find so little to rejoice about regarding this election, I say we as white people should rejoice with our black friends and brethren who see this as a momentous, earth-shattering moment that is worthy of rejoicing no matter your political persuasion. I say we work to try to understand all that it means for our fellow men and women whose skin is darker than ours. The fact is, we white people cannot possibly understand what it has been like growing up black in America. Instead of tossing the joy of our fellow man in their faces and trying to act like they are sinning for being excited about the success of someone in their race, let’s work on being impartial. The fact is, if Obama had been a man from a particular college and everyone from that college was rejoicing, we wouldn’t be blasting them. If he was simply a man from a particular town that had not ever had anyone as president before and everyone in that town was rejoicing, we wouldn’t be pitching a fit. 

Frankly, I tend to think if Obama were a conservative Republican and had won the presidency, that few of the white people who keep blasting away at our black friends for their joy would be saying anything about it. So, let’s get over ourselves. Let’s be impartial. Let’s let folks rejoice at the great meaning behind having our first black president whether those rejoicing are black, white or some other race. Let’s quit trying to put everyone in their place and show them how wrong they are for some issue of race in this election.

Instead, let’s act like Christians and simply love our brethren, love our enemies, honor and submit to the governing authorities and let’s be impartial about it.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS: If you would like to listen to the sermon I presented about James 3:13-18 just this past Sunday, go here.