Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells the story of Peter’s vision and how it led to his challenging of the apostles and other members of the early Christian Church. It was so important to the early church that it is told in chapter 10 and again in chapter 11 as Peter testifies in Jerusalem before a group of intense critics. It is worth taking a closer look at this because no issue was more debated by the early Christians  or more important to them than whether their newfound faith was intended only for Jews or whether it was intended to include Gentiles. And here is the central point of this: could the Gentiles become Christians while still remaining Gentiles? This, of course, included such contentious topics as the requirement of circumcision for Jewish males  and a wide range of dietary restrictions.

What is interesting is why the story was repeated. What changes in chapter 11 is the confrontation with the apostles and the new believers in Jerusalem. Peter has been called before them; he has heard their criticism and now he responds to it. But it is how he responds that is important. He doesn’t argue or try to reason with them; his response is to tell a story, a story that we have already heard but which is reported in detail.  It is the telling of the story, not argument, or presentation of reasoned facts that changes their hearts. The text tells us that they were silenced, but it is only their confrontation that is silenced because we are also told that they praised God.

Stories not arguments change lives and bind families and communities together.  If Peter had come with theological arguments or debated doctrinal differences, he would probably not have been able to change their hearts. Generally speaking, arguments only crystallize differences and debates tend to keep two sides separated as we are witnessing in our current political climate. Peter could have charged angrily into the Jerusalem court and argued: “Is it fair that we keep the Gospel to ourselves; does God not love everyone? Do Gentiles have to do everything in the same way as us to come to know God?”

We can easily imagine this argument becoming very heated and not being resolved.

But a story can change hearts and minds, because stories are powerful. A story invites people of different ages and times and cultural experiences to understand deeper truths. Jesus knew this and was able to change many hearts with parables. The consummate teacher never told people how to think but presented them with a story to consider. His parables often left people with questions for them to explore, rather than theological issues for them to debate.

As followers of the rabbi who taught mainly through parables, we sometimes forget the power of stories. When I was growing up, there was nothing I liked better than to hear the family stories: how my grandmother’s family came to Scotland from Ireland, how my parents met, how I came into their life. I never tired of hearing those stories in their own words. Our son is the same. He would like me to write some of the family stories for him and I’m considering that, but there is greater power in the spoken word. We might consider whether we tell our children and grandchildren the stories of our faith. Our personal faith stories, that is: not to manipulate them or to try to force something upon them, but to tell them about the times we have struggled and called upon God for help; the times we have been surprised by God; the ways that we hear that quiet but insistent voice. Do we bear witness to the personal nature of our relationship with God or do we remain at the level of doctrine and tradition? Doctrine and tradition have an important role of course, but only if they serve the more important aspect of our faith: a personal relationship with God and a call to discipleship. 

Peter wasn’t very comfortable with the changes he was challenged to accept. The Word of God presented a picture that was quite different to what Peter expected. But because he was sure that it was God speaking, he did accept it and committed fully to helping the transition to happen. His response determined the course of Christianity: God’s word of hope would be available to people everywhere and anywhere.

Christian churches over time have had to make necessary changes in the way they receive people who may have new or different ideas about their lives in general and the church in particular. To be clear, this is not about changing the Gospel message which is always about God’s love for all people regardless of their circumstances, but sometimes it means hearing the message in a new way. This is in contrast to the six often quoted words of our beloved Anglican Church: “We’ve always done it that way!"  Every community is always in a process of reshaping itself and this is determined by those who attend and participate.  Our ages, cultural and gender identity; our exposure to social networking and media, and our relationships all contribute to what we bring to our experience of church. As a result, our experience of church now is quite different from that of 50 years ago. The church is always being resurrected and we are always walking away from empty tombs.

Perhaps we can have some sympathy then for Peter’s initial resistance to the message he received, not once, but three times, from God. Peter who was called out of his comfort zone to accept people into the faith who were not from his own tradition.

Like Peter, God is constantly pushing us out of our comfort zone and it makes us, well, uncomfortable. We get stuck in the places where our own preconceptions, prejudices and stereotyping control both our thinking and our behavior. Faith in God isn’t about doing everything exactly as we have always done it, it’s about being open to change, to ongoing transformation into an ever-deepening relationship with God.

As Peter discovered, opening the doors of the church wider to allow a more eclectic, believing body to come in, leads to a greater and richer experience of who God is. Being open, welcoming and inclusive helps us to come closer to being the disciples that Christ has called us to be.

How are we being called to witness and to whom? It might not always be clear to us but we are given opportunities, some of them very small and some very challenging. In the words of an elderly friend who doesn’t leave her house anymore, “God gives me assignments from time to time: he keeps me busy!”

Let us continue to tell the stories of our faith: to our families and friends, to all the people whom God places in our path, and to one another in this community of faith. To do so will open us to new possibilities as a church as we remember God’s faithfulness on our journey so far.  Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

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