The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, May 17th: Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17)

GOD’S LOVE OFFERED TO EVERYONE

The basic story of Christianity is this: God created mankind, but mankind was sinful and thus separated from God. So God sent a part of Himself—Jesus Christ—to become a man and pay the price for sin, and restore the broken relationship between God and mankind.

Now, the basic story of Christian churches since Jesus’ time is this: After having their sins forgiven, followers of Jesus immediately sinned again by excluding people from their fellowship on the basis of race, class, gender, language, national origin, etc.

In this week’s first reading, St. Peter and his friends were stunned to witness the conversion of a Gentile. We read: The other men “who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also.”

Peter declared, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.”

It’s as if Peter were saying, “Oh, NOW I get it. When Jesus said ‘everyone,’ he actually meant EVERYONE.”

Throughout His entire ministry, Jesus made it clear the gift of salvation is not just for one small group of people. It is universal. It is available to everyone. God offers His love to the whole world, and anyone who responds with love and puts his or her faith in God can claim that salvation, regardless of race, class, gender, language, national origin, etc.

St. Peter should have known this. He was present when Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Jesus didn’t say some nations; He said ALL nations. Then, after Pentecost, Peter himself preached to a crowd: “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21). Inspired by the Holy Spirit as he spoke, Peter clearly said EVERYONE.

In the second reading this week St. John tells us what is required to be in relationship with God: “Everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.”

In the gospel reading this week, Jesus tells his disciples: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.”

The key requirement is love. It’s not who your parents are, not what language you speak, not how much money you have, not the color of your skin. It’s simply love. Do you love God? And do you love your neighbor as yourself? Love is the only requirement to be in a relationship with God.

If St. Peter and the other first century believers—the ones who saw and heard Jesus in person—had a hard time understanding that God’s salvation is offered to everyone, it’s not surprising that countless other people over the centuries struggle with this issue.

For 2,000 years Christian churches, denominations, and faith communities have been in the habit of erecting high walls plastered with “Keep Out” signs—sometimes overtly, sometimes subtly. It’s part of mankind’s sinful nature.

In the early years of the United States, it was not uncommon for all the “decent” folks in town to gather on Sunday mornings to hear the Gospel of God’s universal love and forgiveness, while their slaves and servants tended to the horses and carriages outside. If one of those slaves ever entered the church to listen to some comforting words, he probably would’ve been dragged out by the ushers and severely punished.

Or more recently, when a friend first moved to my community, she called a nearby parish for the Mass schedule. The parish secretary, upon hearing my friend’s last name, bluntly said, “This is an Italian parish. You should go to church somewhere else.” Nice, huh?

Out of pride and jealousy and maybe a little fear, we humans are inclined to congregate with “our own kind.” We’re more comfortable if everyone in our group dresses the same, and has the same accent, and can boast of ancestors who hailed from the same ancient gene pool.

This desire to be among “our own kind” is an understandable aspect of our nature. (For example, I personally would feel much more comfortable in shopping malls that weren’t crawling with teenagers who are compelled to display their body piercings, tattoos, and foul mouths to total strangers. My major prejudice these days seems to be age-based. I think I'd be quite comfortable visiting a place where no one under age 25 is allowed.)

The desire to hang out with people with whom we are more comfortable is not a big deal if you’re talking about, say, a weekly golf league or the fellas you invite over to have a beer and watch TV. But when it comes to the church, when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, this exclusion issue is a whole ‘nother ballgame. Excluding people who are “different” from a faith community, or even just making them feel unwelcome, is directly opposed to the basic message of the Gospel. It’s not just bad manners; it’s a sin.

(And as my denomination, the Roman Catholic Church, becomes more and more a Spanish-speaking church here in the U.S., old fuddy duddies like me are going to have to work overtime to make sure our instinctive prejudices don’t put us in direct opposition to the will of God.)

To be a member of Jesus’ church, it’s not about who you are, it’s about Who you serve. It’s not what you look like, it’s what you believe.

If, as we read in this week’s gospel, the Son of God considers us His friends—to the point of laying down His life for us—what must He think when we are unfriendly and inhospitable to people who wish to join our fellowship? When we stand before Him in judgment the moment after death, it’s going to be really hard to explain.

©2009