The Psalm: Psalm 148
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise God in the heights! Praise God, all the angels; praise God, all the heavenly host! Praise God, sun and moon; praise God, all you shining stars! Praise God, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, the one who commanded and they were created. God established them forever and ever; and fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed. Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling God's command! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and women alike, old and young together! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for God's name alone is exalted; God's glory is above earth and heaven. God has raised up a horn for the people, praise for all the faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to God. Praise the Lord!
The New Testament Lesson: Revelation 21:1-6a
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. God will dwell with them as their God; they will be God's holy people, and God will be with them; and will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." And also said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." And then said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
The Epistle Lesson: Acts 11:1-18
Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, "Why did you go to uncircumcised people and eat with them?" Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.' But I replied, 'By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' But a second time the voice answered from heaven, 'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.' This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, 'Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.' And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' If then God gave them the same gift that was given to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?" When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."
The Gospel Lesson: John 13:31-35
When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
"An All Inclusive Love"
Inclusivity, harmony, and order…all expressions of God's perfect world and found throughout our readings for this "Fifth Sunday of Eastertide" morning. You remember Easter, don't you? That saving act of Christ which transformed a group of hopeful strangers into a family called "The Church"? That concept is at the heart of what we seek to celebrate this morning.
The psalm is praise to the creator God, parent of all. Acts shows love in action to strangers and people we would not usually equate with family and home. John shows that Jesus commands us to love--everyone--wanting the best for them just as we want the best for ourselves. Revelation tells us God recognizes the concept of home--indeed-God designed it! It is so important to God that God will dwell there with us!
Love builds the home, be it our family home, our church home, or our community/home. We are all children of God. We are all equally responsible to care for the less able, the ones who haven't heard the Good News, those who are in need.
They are our sisters and brothers in the truest sense. A mother alone is not the one meant to be responsible for the love in a family---we are ALL called to such a position! Wouldn't it be wonderful if that were so?
However, unless one is from Lake Wobegone, where "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average," the concept of creating a day devoted to celebrating perfect stereotypes has to create more division than it does reinforce connectedness.
In a perfect world celebrations like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Children's Day, Granparent's Day. etc. would all be appropriate. BUT…this is not a perfect world.
Acts of selfless love however do occur. The "agape" love demonstrated by Jesus in this chapter of John's Gospel, seen first in the action of washing the disciple's feet, and then commanded of his followers in his good-bye speech do continue to happen, and can be accomplished by anyone, in any state of being. The Analytical Greek Lexicon defines "agape" as meaning; "to love, value, esteem, feel or manifest generous concern for, faithfulness towards; delight in, and to set store upon."
For many children such love is manifest to them first not from God, but from their mothers. Laurie Hays Coffman, a Christian Education Director who works for Cokebury writes:
Christian Education 101: A Child Learns to Trust
My mom is my shepherd; I shall not want. She makes me lie down under cool, downy comforters. She watches me play beside still waters. She restores my soul.
She leads me in paths of respect, responsibility, and goodness, for I am her namesake!
Yea, even though I walk past monsters in the dark, I will not be scared, because my mom is always near me. Her hands and her voice, they comfort me.
She sets the table and cheerfully calls me to dinner even in front of big, mean bullies. She anoints my skinned knees and broken heart with kisses. She smiles and throws me a towel when my cup runneth over.
Surely God's peace, power, and mercy shall uphold me all the days of my life, for she taught me to dwell in the house of God forever.
Such "acts" done by mothers or fathers, or relatives who stepped in, or adoptive parents, or spiritual guides within or without the church are continuing signs of the resurrection in these final weeks of Eastertide.
They can play out on the world stage as seen in the recent visit of the Pope to Damascus, his apology on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church to the Islamic people, and his call for all people to worship God as they know God, is a modern day example of following the spirit of what God's message was to Peter.
It is a startling reminder that if we share this vision: we are called not to fit into some socially accepted or idealized role, but instead are called to be profane! We are called to be "outside," where the outcasts are. We are called to go where the unclean are and by contact to be unclean with them.
Isn't that the point of the one who became unclean for us? To quote Paul from 2 Corinthians 5:21 "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
It wasn't so much that Peter welcomed the gentiles IN; it was that he was called to go TO THEM, that he discovered the presence of God AMONG THEM.
Peter not only dealt with profane people, he BECAME one, and therefore God was shown to him, and the Church, as the MOST profane one of all!
It is the great challenge to peace and harmony, the vision of Isaiah, the hope of all the prophets, the closure of The Revelation…that the day will surely come when all barriers will be broken down, and the The Church will finally realize it's true connectedness. We are not so different. We are one family. Was there ever a more appropriate Sunday to celebrate the diversity that such families can take than the witness we were given this morning in our baptisms?
God is a work in doing a great thing. May we realize it and do our part.
The Pastoral Prayer:
Parenting God, Creator and sustainer of us all, give us your grace and strength this day that we may receive it in the fullness of your intentions. Help us not to miss the beauty and the pathos of life in our preoccupation to be somewhere else, or in our desire to receive only that which we can easily understand. Unmoved mover, and force behind all good, transform that which would bring harm and pain into an element of learning and growth. Even in the midst of our grieving help us to find deeper faith. As we reflect on those who have loved us, present or now with you, make us conscious of our oneness. And as we rejoice in our baptism, and look to the future, inspire our dreams and usher in your kingdom already in our midst. We ask your peace for all your children, in the name of Christ, our brother and our friend. Amen