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Acts 15: 7-21
After much debate had taken place,
Peter got up and said to the Apostles and the presbyters,
“My brothers, you are well aware that from early days
God made his choice among you that through my mouth
the Gentiles would hear the word of the Gospel and believe.
And God, who knows the heart,
bore witness by granting them the Holy Spirit
just as he did us.
He made no distinction between us and them,
for by faith he purified their hearts.
Why, then, are you now putting God to the test
by placing on the shoulders of the disciples
a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?
On the contrary, we believe that we are saved
through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they.”
The whole assembly fell silent,
and they listened
while Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders
God had worked among the Gentiles through them.
After they had fallen silent, James responded,
“My brothers, listen to me.
Symeon has described how God first concerned himself
with acquiring from among the Gentiles a people for his name.
The words of the prophets agree with this, as is written:
After this I shall return
and rebuild the fallen hut of David;
from its ruins I shall rebuild it
and raise it up again,
so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord,
even all the Gentiles on whom my name is invoked.
Thus says the Lord who accomplishes these things,
known from of old.
It is my judgment, therefore,
that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God,
but tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols,
unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood.
For Moses, for generations now,
has had those who proclaim him in every town,
as he has been read in the synagogues every sabbath.”
The Word of the Lord.
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Reading through the Acts of the Apostles reveals the inspiring journey of the early Church. These Christians lived with immense courage and conviction as they faced poverty, persecution, and in some cases, death for their beliefs.
To edify each other, they lived in community, they pooled their resources together, they prayed, and fasted often.
However, life within the early Church was not without conflict. Although there was an abundance of grace at work in their hearts and communities, they were still human. Like us, they wrestled with uncertainty and sin.
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One of the earliest problems the Church faced was that of growth. While the first Christians were Jewish converts, a steady stream of Gentiles started flooding the Church.
On the surface, that was great news! The Church was growing! But beneath that growth arose the issue of identity. The Jews saw themselves as God’s chosen people. Even Jewish converts carried this conviction in their hearts.
The Gentiles were seen as different, or worse, impure. As a result, some Gentiles complained about being treated like second class citizens. Some of the religious leaders tried resolving the issue by requiring everyone to follow Old Testament rituals.
But Peter insisted that faith in Christ is enough.
“Why are you placing a yoke on their shoulders that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?” he says. “On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.”
Although this issue was formally resolved – all were to be treated equally – there remained work to be done in terms of removing a judgmental eye or prejudice from some people’s hearts.
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It remains a challenge for the Church to create a culture of openness, mercy, and welcome as some still debate who is or isn’t “worthy” of welcome, of the Sacraments, or how many hoops one must jump through before being embraced.
May Peter’s words remind us that in spite of our differences – whatever they may be – we are all equal, beggars before God.
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Image credits: (1) Was Blind But Now I See, Michael Valliant (2) New Covenant Church (3) Williamsburg Presbyterian Church