Sermon by The Very Rev Chris Yaw, 5/18/2025
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, With you, All things are possible!
It's not infrequent when a visitor will enter our beautiful mid-century modern church building –
- look up at the soaring ceiling with its caramel wood finishes,
then around at our captivating rainbow of stained glass windows and their depictions of our sacred stories
- then at our sanctuary and our immense cross
- the simple, enduring, and modern symbol of an ancient faith -
And they will remark to me, "Fr. what a beautiful church you have!!" To which I always say, "Yes, the building's not bad either!"
Please turn to your neighbor and tell them they're beautiful.
(PAUSE)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, whom God has called from many places to worship the one true God,
- we gather on this 5th Sunday of Easter and our parish's annual Cultural Sunday
- both of which are anchored in a celebration of diversity
- a unique and wondrous commemoration of the vastness and variety that God has graced upon us
- both society and humanity
- to which we receive with thanksgiving... and challenge.
For ours is an age in which diversity and difference have come under serious fire.
We are witnesses to mass deportations, arrests, and persecutions of people of color on a scale this nation has never before seen.
We read of corporations and governments, once very conscious of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of those who have been traditionally ignored and penalized by a biased system, now quick to table and even shed those conversations and initiatives.
And we have heard of even our own Church, which is in the news.
Earlier this year The Episcopal churches immigration ministry had been forced to shutter because of a lack of immigrants allowed to enter the U-S -
- but then was asked to re-open for business this week only if it would agree to resettle a group of white South Africans claiming status as persecuted immigrants.
They were being allowed to skip the queue,
- hopping in front of a long line of previously vetted Afghan allies, religiously persecuted, and life-threatened
- all people of color who arguably face much more serious jeopardy.
And to this our Presiding Bishop said
'No thanks'
- we cannot be a part of this initiative
- we have partnered with South Africa, and our brother Archbishop Desmond Tutu, for too long
- to bring justice and equity to a country torn by racial strife
- that persistently threatens to tear asunder its rainbow fabric of equity and harmony.
Yes, we are aware that DEI efforts have the perception of lowering standards and shunning meritocracy.
We know the claims of reverse discrimination.
We understand that some see the celebration of diversity as a creation of division instead of unity.
And we know the political and ideological opposition to 'wokeness.'
This is why together, as God's family, we must handle our diversity with care and reverence.
With respect, mutual love and affection -
For it is a precious and valuable gift to be wisely and reverently tended to.
No, we must not shy away from difference
- but love one another enough to lean in,
to get to know one another,
to be charitable and forgiving as we take the risk of real, authentic relationship.
That's why I cannot think of a time when it is more important for us to lift up and celebrate Cultural Sunday
- and our amazingly diverse parish
- as we dive deep into a lesser-known,
- but incredibly significant story of our faith
- that guided and shaped the early church
- and could not be more crucial for you and me today as we negotiate these turbulent waters of diversity.
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We are in the Book of Acts this morning
- which is nothing more than an extension of the Gospel of Luke
- same author
- but one who goes beyond the Resurrection and into the first few decades of the formation and growth of the Church.
And we are in Chapter 11 - and are witnesses to growing pains.
The loving, liberating, and life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ is growing at an incredible pace
- yet growth never comes without tension.
Here we join St. Peter
- who went up to Jerusalem
- where the circumcised believers criticized him
- saying 'You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them!"
Can you hear it, my brothers and sisters?
Can you feel that tension?
The early church, a seed planted by our Lord Jesus, was beginning to sprout beyond familiar soil.
Peter, our dear brother, that favored disciple of Jesus, the man others would name "Pope,"
- had dared to cross the lines
- to break down the barriers that humanity so frequently erects.
He dared to sit at the table with those considered "others"
- those not of the traditional fold.
And the voices of doubt arose,
the voices of division,
the voices that cling to the comfort of the known,
- even when the Spirit is beckoning us towards a new horizon.
They questioned him.
They criticized him.
The accused him:
“You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”
It echoes the whispers of prejudice we hear today,
the murmurs of exclusion,
the fear of those who look different,
who worship differently,
who come from different walks of life.
But Peter, guided by the hand of the Holy Spirit, stood firm.
He didn’t shrink back in shame.
He didn’t apologize for obeying the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Instead, he recounted the vision, the undeniable sign from God.
He spoke of the sheet descending from heaven, filled with all kinds of animals,
- and the voice that commanded him,
“Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”
Peter, a faithful Jew, initially hesitated.
“Surely not, Lord!
“Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.”
But the voice came again,
- with a power that transcended tradition,
- with a truth that shattered preconceived notions:
“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
Three times this vision repeated itself,
- until Peter understood.
God’s love,
God’s grace,
it knows no boundaries.
It leaps over the walls we build.
Skips past every obstacle we construct.
It embraces those we deem unworthy
And then, the men sent by Cornelius arrived,
- and the Spirit urged Peter to go with them, without hesitation.
He entered the home of a Gentile,
- and as Peter spoke the words of truth,
- the Holy Spirit fell upon them,
- just as it had fallen upon the apostles at Pentecost.
They spoke in tongues, they praised God. The undeniable evidence that God’s salvation was not limited to one people or one nation, but was a gift for all humanity.
And when Peter returned to Jerusalem and shared this revelation, the critics, the doubters, the upholders of the old order,
- they could not deny the truth of what had happened.
They heard the evidence,
- they witnessed the undeniable work of the Holy Spirit,
- and the scripture tells us,
“When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying,
‘So then, even to the Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.’”
No longer must Christians first be Jews,-
- the message, and even miracle, of this story
- is that belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and a commitment to be baptized
- and follow in that way are the new requirements!
Now: Everyone is welcome.
This is nothing short of the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Promise:
in Genesis 2 that Abraham would be the father of a great nation whose descendants would be innumerable
- whose blessing to the world would be inestimable
- so that all peoples, everywhere,
- would come to know the Lord.
We see the seeds of this in the very beginning of the Bible.
You scholars know Genesis Chapter One quite well -
Let there be light - and it was good
Let there be water, sky, and land - and it was good.
Let there be plants - and it was good
Let there be moon and stars - and it was good
Let there be fish, birds, and animals - and it was good
Let there be humans - and it was VERY good.
Then, 'be fruitful and increase in number'
- which is what science tells us
- increases not just in number but in diversity
- so that this whole picture of a varied and vivacious diversity,
- is all part of God's plan.
Have you ever wondered why God did it this way?
What all these different people with all these different perspectives?
We can't even count them all!
Wouldn't it have been easier if God had just made one version?
Maybe one that looks like ME?!?
Raise your hand if you know and understand the totality of God?
I'm glad to see that everyone has taken their medication this morning...
Because you'd have to be crazy to say "yes" -
So let me ask, how many of us know just a tiny bit about God?
Anyone brave enough to join me?
Yes! So let's multiply that times 8 billion people -
And let's also count the 108 billion people who have lived before us - all with their different perspectives, opinions, and perceptions -
And we just might conclude that the combination of all of these observations just might get us to a place where we can all, together, see God -
Which is not only a keen philosophical and theological exercise
- but underscores the invaluable and irreplaceable importance of your distinctiveness and mine.
To see the fulness of God, we need each other.
To understand the workings and machinations of God, we need each other.
How many of you can quote St. Paul:
"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ."
"Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.
"If the foot would say,
“Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,
” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
"And if the ear would say,
“Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,
” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
"If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?
"If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
"But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as God chose.
"Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it."
My brothers and sisters, this Word speaks to us today with the same urgent voice.
It reminds us that God’s love is expansive, it is inclusive, it knows no color, no creed, no earthly division.
Just as the early church wrestled with the inclusion of the Gentiles, we too, in our time, must confront the prejudices that linger in our hearts and in our society.
We must ask ourselves:
Who are the “uncircumcised” in our world today?
Who are the ones we are hesitant to embrace, the ones we might deem “unclean” or “unworthy”?
Are they those of a different race?
A different religion?
A different social standing?
The Holy Spirit, just as it moved Peter, is calling us to break down these barriers.
It is calling us to see the image of God in every single human being. It is calling us to extend the table of fellowship, to share the bread of understanding, to drink from the cup of unity.
This, dear Mwanzo - is the faith into which you are about to be baptized.
We are about to celebrate you - clap for you - applauding you and your wonderful parents, Jasmine and Dennis - for their love and care for you.
But be warned: You are following a heritage of persecution.
You are embarking upon a narrow road.
You are trying to fit through a needle's eye gate that only God can make possible.
Taking a stand for God and God's values, fairness and equality is simple - But let's not confuse simple with easy.
This is a road many of our predecessors died taking.
We open ourselves to criticism and persecution.
So let us learn from Peter’s courage.
God equipped him - God will equip us.
Let us be open to the new things that God is doing. Let us not be bound by the limitations of our own making, but be guided by the boundless love of which we are all partaking.
For just as God granted repentance and life to the Gentiles, so too does God offer redemption and hope to all of humankind.
Let us embrace this truth. Let us live this truth. Let us be the living embodiment of God’s inclusive love in a world so desperately in need of it.
Let us go forth from this place, not with judgment in our hearts, but with a spirit of understanding and reconciliation.
Let us work together, black and white, Protestant and Catholic, Jew and Gentile, all children of God,
- to build a society where diversity is not shunned but embraced -
- equity is seen and understood by all for the peace it brings
- and inclusion is not a dirty word but an invitation to wonder and praise the God who has called all of us from different places to the worship of the one true source of light and life -
Amen.