Sharing Our Differences

May 2, 2010
Acts 11:1-18
John 13:31-35
Year C
Fifth Sunday of Easter

Salma and Lily were best friends at school.
They drew pictures together.
They played on the swings together.
They jumped rope together.
And they ate their lunches together.
But just what they ate was a little different.
Lily ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch.
Salma ate a hummus and pita sandwich every day for lunch.
And although Lily never said it out loud, she thought Salma's sandwich looked weird and yucky. She felt terrible that her friend had to eat that icky chickpea paste every day. EW. Yuck.
And although Salma never said it out loud, she thought Lily's sandwich looked strange and gross. She felt just awful that her friend had to eat that gooey peanut paste every day. EW. Gross.

You will have to wait a couple of months in order to hear the rest of the story. That is an excerpt from a childrens book coming out by the Queen of Jordan called the “sandwich Swap”. It is about her experiences as a child, where she at one type of food and her best friend ate another. Both felt uncomfortable with what the other was eating. But it was through food that they came to understand one another and developed a closer relationship in the process.
A perfect story for our scriptures this morning. Peter prided himself on being a good jew and making sure that everything that he ate was kosher. He considered that to be a part of what God called him to do – that is until he heard from God – which told him something different. That in the name of trying to understand others, he was free to eat whatever god’s people ate. There was nothing wrong with it
But not everyone of the disciples heard that same voice, and they criticized Peter, until he explained it for them. Once again this is a demonstration of how the holy spirit works in our lives It takes something that makes sense to us (in this case food- we all understand food) in order to explain something that doesn’t make sense to us. (in this case how to get along with other people)
This fits in with the gospel lesson which talks about love- Jesus tells his disciples to strive to love one another as you have been loved. – we know that there are 10 commandments – many say that this is the 11th commandment from God – to love. Love is not a concept unique to Jesus – because there are many commandments to love – love the lord the god with all of your heart, mind body and soul. Love your neighbor as you love yourself, there is even a commandment for Esau and Jacob to love one another as brothers.
Jesus is just trying to get them to follow the law of love in a brand new way. Not to love because you are supposed to, but to love because you have been loved. Not to guess what love means, but to know what love means. To realize that love is not about what you do – it is about the relationship that you have. In order to love somebody, you have to identify with that person, get into their lives and know what it going on, and be willing to eat with them. For instance Peter could very well have refused to eat with the gentiles and kept his kosher habits. But somewhere along the way he realized that his relationship was more important than his beliefs. And that it was the relationship that changed him and transformed the situation. The gentiles became a part of the family, the outsiders became insiders. All because the holy spirit took something that made sense and used it to teach something that they otherwise would not have understood.
Finally – I while teaching a class on Methodist studies for the district a few months ago – and one of the things I came across is a list of the signs of a United Methodist – you might be a United Methodist if….
The ones that I found a few months ago are much more positive, but here are some that I found last night…

You might be United Methodist if you raise your hand and promise your pastor that you have read the 17th chapter of Mark as part of the introduction to a sermon on truth telling. (Note: Mark only has 16 chapters. You might be United Methodist if you did not know that
You might be United Methodist if you think "Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego" is the name of a rap group from Detroit.
You might be United Methodist if you are a Siamese twin - well connected.
You might be United Methodist if you think you have to have a potluck dish to get into heaven
You might be United Methodist if you clapped in church last Sunday and felt guilty about it all week.
You might be United Methodist if you think the epistles are probably the wives of the apostles.
You might be United Methodist if you think the Holy Land is Nashville.

These seemed to concentrate on the negative things about United Methodist – making fun of where we may be lacking in faith. I thought it interested the author of the website said these were all statements submitted by United Methodist clergy.
But the list go worse when I looked for signs of a Christian. The only place where I could find the marks of a Christian were written by an atheist. Here are some examples.
1. You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

2. You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.
3. You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history, but still call yourself a Christian.


But seriously, if you read and listen to the book of Acts this Easter season, you will learn the marks of a true Christian as one who follows Jesus, who trust in the teachings of Jesus, one who looks for the presence of the holy Spirit in their lives and is willing to follow it, and one who puts Christ as the center of their lives, allowing the spirit of Christ to dwell and live in them.
In an interview with John Travolta in 1995 he speaks about the love of Christ. He said “I love people and I have compassion and empathy for them, I am alive to the degree that I am able to do that. I have lost a lot of people that I love, but I guess that I have learned that when it comes to living people, you really don’t have a choice. Jesus knew the risk that he was taking in living the world.. he know it would come to disappointment. Love, the particular kind of love that God demonstrates in Jesus remains the most difficult thing we are called to do, but it’s the only thing that makes existence meaningful.
Love is the 11th commandment – love one another as I have loved you. Love can be painful – but it still makes a difference, it still transforms people – one relationship at a time. Love is a way of speaking, a way of doing, love is who you are in Christ. Love is the one mark of a true Christian. They know we are Christians by our love. Let us pray.