Reading: Luke 9-10, Psalm 123
Let’s do a story experiment. Let’s try and forget what we know about what is coming next in the story of the people of God, and instead look at only what Luke has told us so far. Following the ascension of Jesus, the disciples are told to wait for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Vague but promising. While they are waiting, they decide they need to replace the missing number caused by the betrayal of Judas, and select a dude named Matthias, who promptly drops off the map. Then comes the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit’s arrival clearly heralds the coming of a new age, in which the people of God will be made up of men and women, slaves and free, young and old. The Spirit will be poured out on all flesh. Then we get a community of these people forming in which sharing in abundance has replaced hording in scarcity. Finally, we have the deacon Phillip sharing the gospel of Jesus with an Ethiopian eunuch, who repents and is baptized into the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of his sins and the promise of the Holy Spirit. Seriously, an Ethiopian court eunuch is the first international convert to the church of Jesus Christ. It might do us good to remember that today.
But Luke isn’t quiet about the problems, either. There was division among the new people. A couple lies about their generosity, and they are struck dead. Yikes. At another point, there is questionable distribution of the received resources to the poor and needy among the believers. Classic problems in charitable enterprises. But most significant of all is the introduction of a man named Saul, from Tarsus, who in fully engaged in trying to destroy this new community of people who claim Jesus is the Messiah. More than anything else, this is a massive threat. Saul is brilliant, as well as apparently ruthless and wholly committed to the destruction of the Jesus followers. He is a true believer that what he is doing is in the service of God. When such a person is actually in the service of God, they are epic heroes- see David’s victory over Goliath, or the deliverance of the nation of Israel from slavery through Moses. On the flip side, when such a person is not actually in the service of God, they are terrors of the highest level. The community of believers scatters away from Saul’s persecution, which results in the gospel message being spread throughout the Empire. As long as they can stay away from Saul, things are still pretty good.
Okay, that brings us up to the present. Now we get a wild story. One that is way out of left field. The most dangerous guy yet introduced in this story is directly picked by God, put in a situation where he cannot deny that Jesus is God made flesh, and giving the task of being an apostle! Jesus has popped back into the picture personally just long enough to pick his own replacement for Judas, and he chooses the least likely person in the world. Then sends him on his way and lets things unfold.
Of course, we know that Luke will start referring to Saul by his Romanized Greek name Paul, which is really the same name. Still, is seems Luke is employing some literary tools here to indicate that a change has occurred in the person Saul of Tarsus. When he shows up in Damascus proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah, everyone is terribly confused. This is the guy who was totally committed to the destruction of the followers of Jesus- why is he running around proclaiming he is the Messiah? Does he not understand that no followers of Jesus will trust him, and that those who supported him before will come after him to kill him? Apparently he does not care, because he just keeps at it. Eventually his actions are loud enough that people begin to trust him, at least to some level.
What has Luke just told us? When the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized, it was a foreigner joining the new age. When Saul begins proclaiming the gospel of Jesus, it is an enemy joining the new age. I think sometimes the familiarity of the story puts some of us off of how dramatic this story really is. The all flesh that Peter talks about the day of Pentecost really means all. The foreigner, the enemy, the slave, the persecutor. They are all in. Just about no one is left out except the Roman oppressor.
About that. Peter is in Jerusalem minding his own business when he sees a fantastic vision. God lets a sheet down from heaven filled with animals that were once forbidden for Jews to eat. He calls out to Peter, kill and eat! Peter of course demurs, as he is a good Jew and follows the dietary code. But then God says to him do not call common what God has declared holy. Oh boy. Where have we heard those words before? We have to go all the way back to the book of Leviticus. Oh, I know you missed it. Leviticus to the rescue. This book, which comes after the construction of the Tabernacle but before anyone is able to get inside of it, is all about making a distinction between the common and the holy. The people of God had to make a distinction between things which could be in the presence of God and the things that could not. There were extremely detailed regulations about it. People died when they did it wrong. It was a really big deal. Now God says to Peter: Hey, let me make the distinction. This is holy. Don’t you go calling it common. Then there is a knock on the door.
Its the Romans. Specifically the messengers of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, who God told to go get Peter and listen to him. Long story short, Peter winds up in Cornelius’ house, and has to let them know what he has learned. I am not to call any person unclean. God has declared holy those who repent and believe in the name of Jesus. Peter tells the story of Jesus, and while he is still talking the Holy Spirit shows up in the house of the Roman soldier. All flesh. No one is left out. The enemy, the slave, foreigner, the persecutor, and even the invader. The new people of God will be made up not just one family, but of all flesh.