Inclusion at Christmas
Based on Acts 11:1-18, Isaiah 4:2-6 & Psalm 27
Acts: 11:1 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6I looked into it and saw four- footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
8“I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9“The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
11“Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’
15“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with a water, but you will be baptized with b the Holy Spirit.’ 17So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
18When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
I know the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day constitute the “holiday-season” and that for many of us it’s a time when family and friends eagerly anticipate coming together. It’s fun and often memorable. Photographic evidence proves it for posterity. However, for some of the rest of us, this season is a time when we feel very much alone, isolated, left out or otherwise not included.
Holiday season is cram-packed with parties, get-togethers, reunions and other social engagements, most of which involve invitations. Have you ever been asked if you are going to a party by someone and suddenly realize you didn’t get the invitation? Awkward, is it not? Your mind begins to explain this to yourself. Maybe it got lost in the mail. Maybe it’s still coming. Then again, maybe it’s not. You might begin to wonder, did I offend someone, or did I assume too much regarding a friendship that perhaps never really was. You begin to consider the possibility that you were forgotten, or ignored or simply over-looked? In any event, you are not going to the event. You were not included.It stings even if just a little bit.
I once attended a conference in Nashville. It was a conference for folks in the “caring” communities (medical, psychological counseling, and pastoral care providers). The conference was held at the Gaylord Hotel and Conference center and as large as that facility is, they ran out of rooms. I ended up at a hotel a couple blocks away and had to walk back and forth to the sessions. Next to my hotel was a bar and grill that also happened to have a small auditorium adjacent to the restaurant area. As I was ordering dinner, there was a band playing country classics. I was still waiting for dinner when I heard the band leader introduce a high school senior to the stage. The band started playing and she started yodeling. I was intrigued. As I was listening, an older gentlemen stood next to me in the doorway, who bore a stunning resemblance to Tommy Lasorda, former manager of the LA Dodgers. The young woman finished her song and the bandleader introduced a special guest to sing a couple of songs; Tommy Lasorda takes the stage and sings the “Tennessee Waltz” and “My Old Kentucky Home”. While he was singing two marines walk in, both in uniform. After Tommy finished singing, he walked up to the two Marines in the doorway. He asks them to join him, the singer, her family, and the owner of the establishment, for dinner. Just like that, the two Marines were no longer mere observers, but guests at a meal they would never forget. They were acknowledged, included, brought into fellowship with a family at dinner.
The apostle Peter once had a dream about this topic. He, being a “Jew”, could not imagine eating with a Gentile. He kept kosher. They did not. It was an issue. Peter’s dream was about “clean” and “unclean” animals and his dietary choices. The upshot of the dream centered on “inclusion”. Who would Peter share a meal with if he had to? The answer he got was “anybody” because the gospel, of which he was an apostle, is no respecter of persons. Jews and gentiles alike benefitted from hearing about that branch from Jesse’s stump. Both groups were invited to share a meal at the table of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit includes both Jews and gentiles in his invitation to both “taste and see” that the Lord is good.
Do you know anyone in the margins? Do you know people who are most likely not going to be included in the festivities of this holiday season? I don’t know if Tommy Lasorda is a believer in Jesus Christ or not, but he found a way to include a couple of total strangers to his dinner table that night. I bet we could think of one or two to include at ours.