Christ the King-Epiphany Church, Wilbraham

The Rev. Martha S. Sipe

May 18, 2025 / Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 11:1-18; John 13:31-35

It ought to go without saying that Jesus loves us.  And it should also go without saying that his commandment, as we heard again this morning, is that we should love one another.  It’s one of the first things we learn in the church, whether as a child in Sunday School or as an adult newcomer to the body of Christ.  We love one another, we care for one another, we welcome one another – no exceptions.  It goes without saying.

Except that for the members of the early church in Judea, it apparently did need to be said.   As we heard in the first lesson from Acts chapter 11, Peter went back to Jerusalem to check in church headquarters and to share a report about his mission work.  And the authorities in Jerusalem – they criticized him for associating with “the uncircumcised,” meaning Gentiles.  Non-Jews.  I guess for the members of the early church, it did have to be said that the love of Christ, and our mission to share that love, meant welcoming even Gentiles into the church.  That’s why Peter shared the story of what had happened in Caesarea, which is narrated in Acts chapter 10.  For the sake of brevity, I’ll summarize the story for you.

In Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, who was a centurion – a Roman soldier in charge of a battalion of 100 men.  Cornelius was a Gentile.  And Cornelius was a really good and devout man, who prayed all the time and who was generous in helping people in need.  One day, Cornelius had a vision where an angel appeared to him and ordered him to send men to Joppa to bring to him a man named Peter.  OK – put a pin in the story.  We’ll come back to Cornelius.

Meanwhile, in Joppa, Peter had gone up to the roof of the house where he was staying in order to pray, and while he was waiting for lunch, he fell into a trance where he saw the vision that you’ve already heard in this morning’s lesson:  of something like a sheet being lowered from heaven, suspended by the four corners, holding all kinds of animals in it – both clean (or kosher) and unclean.  Then in his vision, Peter heard a voice from heaven telling him to kill and eat, and Peter was like, “No way.  I’m a faithful Jew and I have always kept kosher.  If I eat meat from that sheet, it will make me unclean,” to which the voice from heaven responded:  “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.”  Three times this happened before Peter awoke from his trance.

Back to Cornelius:  while Peter was still mulling over his vision, a knock came at the door – it was the men whom Cornelius had sent.  The Spirit urged Peter to go with them, and when they arrived at Cornelius’ house, a crowd had assembled.  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 (in this vision) that I should not call anyone profane or unclean.”  And while Peter was preaching, the Holy Spirit fell on all of them, and they were all baptized – the first Gentiles to be officially incorporated into the body of Christ.

Now to us, today, for whom it goes without saying that Jesus’ love is for everyone, it’s a little hard to imagine what all the fuss was about over including Gentiles.  We know from Scripture that the Gospel was meant for the whole world.  And while it’s true that Jesus’ primary focus during his lifetime was on the Jewish people, it would be wrong to say that he excluded those who were not Jewish.  His first recorded interaction with Gentiles was at the visitation of the Wise Men, which shows that, from the beginning, all the world was drawn to Jesus.  We read in Matthew about Jesus healing the servant of another Roman centurion (a Gentile) and the daughter of a Canaanite woman (also a Gentile).  You could argue that the Samaritans were viewed as non-Jewish because of their idolatry and intermarriage with foreigners; and yet, John’s gospel includes the incredible story of the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.  And of course, when Jesus commissioned his disciples, it was to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and to spread God’s love to all nations.  With all of that evidence, you would think that it would go without saying that no one is excluded from the body of Christ.  And yet some in the early church needed to have it said to them – and more than once.  We understand this, though.  Human beings are naturally inclined to divide ourselves into groups: who’s with us and who’s not, who’s in and who’s out, who we associate with and who we don’t.  And yet, as Nadia Bolz-Weber reminds us:  “Every time we draw a line between us and others, Jesus is always on the other side of it.”  (from her book, Pastrix)

The message of Jesus’ radical inclusion, while it ought to go without saying, needs to be said.  It’s too important not to be said.  And it needs to be said clearly, emphatically, and repeatedly, especially in those times when we might be inclined to exclude others, especially when there are those who have, historically, felt excluded from the church, including our LGBTQIA+ siblings.  Did you know that a 2024 study showed that LGBTQIA+ people experience discrimination at higher rates than their heterosexual and cisgender peers?  (Cisgender meaning not transgender: those whose gender identity corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth).  This kind of discrimination has both immediate impacts, such as making it harder to get and keep a job or find a home, as well as lasting impacts on physical and mental health.  Did you know that LGBTQIA+ people contend with significant barriers to adequate healthcare?  Did you know that, since 2020, more than 100 state laws have been passed attacking transgender people’s dignity and rights?  This ought not to be so in our society.  And it especially ought not to be so in our church.

Both of our denominations have long welcomed, included, and celebrated LGBTQIA+ siblings in Christ.  For half a century, Episcopalians and Lutherans have been working toward a greater understanding and radical inclusion of all God’s children when it comes to the LGBTQIA+ community.  And even though the Lutherans were a little slower to catch up to the Episcopal Church in our acceptance, at this point neither denomination has any barriers to LGBTQIA+ folks fully participating in the life of the church.  Closer to home, or rather here at home, the former Christ the King Lutheran Church became a Reconciled in Christ congregation in 2014, meaning that for 11 years already, we have advertised ourselves to the world as LGBTQIA+ friendly.  So it ought to go without saying that here in this place, we welcome, include, and celebrate people who identify as LGBTQIA+.

But there are still those who equate Christianity with anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric, and those who believe they are not welcome among us.  Especially in today’s divisive climate, “welcome” is a message that needs to be communicated.  That’s why I was delighted when a group of members from our worshiping community petitioned the Parish Council about putting up a Pride flag, to signal to the larger community that we here in this place are trying to practice the radical and inclusive love of Jesus.  And so thanks to the work of our Reconciled in Christ study group and the unanimous and enthusiastic approval of our Parish Council, we will conclude our 10:00 service on Sunday, June 1st, outside on the lawn (weather permitting, of course), when we will sing and pray and dedicate and hang our new flag.  Because even though some things shouldn’t have to be said, they’re too important not to say.

You know this to be true.  Your spouses, children, parents, family members, and friends – they know that you love them, right?  It goes without saying.  But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t need to be said.  Our love for one another needs to be communicated clearly, emphatically, and repeatedly.  How much more, then, ought we to be communicating the radical love of Jesus to the world?

 _____________________

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-lgbtqi-community-reported-high-rates-of-discrimination-in-2024/

https://www.aclu.org/issues/lgbtq-rights