Radical Inclusion (Week 42, Jun 11)
Readings
Genesis 12:1–3
Isaiah 42:1–9
Acts 10:9–38, 44–48
Silent Reflection
Remarks
This “radical” return to the roots of our faith’s expression is not simply an extreme commitment to taking care of others’ physical needs. Though this practice may have been the way for others to see the truth of the community’s faith most immediately and practically, by itself it was not what gave this community its power.
The power came from the Holy Spirit, living and moving in and through God’s people. The Spirit bore fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This fruit was expressed in many ways: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, visiting the prisoner—these were all practical expressions of the fruit of the Spirit that we reflected on (and experienced) last week. But this fruit was manifested in many other ways, as well.
One of those ways was this early community’s commitment to radical inclusion. They offered a place of belonging to anyone needing it. This belonging, love, and acceptance came free of charge and with no strings attached. People did not have to say a prayer, go through a ritual, pass a test, or demonstrate a certain level of morality to receive the embrace of this Spirit-empowered community. As new “initiates” found their way into public commitments to this community, we do find some systems that were set up to aid their commitment to a new Kingdom—we can read about some of their early understandings in places like the Didache.
But the family, the acceptance, the belonging, the embrace itself was available to anyone, and it was offered to those who found themselves on the outside looking in. This community was growing and stretching its arms far beyond what they had imagined God desired. But they let God lead them to new understandings, they tested these leadings against the teachings of Christ and the ministry he modeled, and then they pursued the same.
This New Testament Jewish community understood God’s mission was to be a light to the Gentiles, to spread blessing to all nations, and to partner with God in the repair of the world.
But they also knew they had commitments, tradition, and structure. They had things that held their experience of worship together, things that made sure they didn’t compromise their vision of God. This devotion to tradition and the truth of God wasn’t inherently bad, but it became twisted, so God showed up and informed them that they had allowed these commitments and structures and traditions to get in the way of the most central parts of His mission. They had let some well-reasoned assumptions disrupt the desires God had for their walk.
As an example, God wanted them to have a commitment to clean food so they could understand their own “set apartness” for the mission. But God never desired for this missional identification of food to spill over into categories of cleanliness for people. People were always the mission from Day One. People, not some abstract code of morality, were the very reason this structure existed in the first place. The mission was always about people. It seems we still have a tendency to forget this.
So it might surprise us to read that, when God reminded His new, Spirit-filled leaders about this and corrected them, they listened. They changed. They grew. This movement wasn’t just for the set apart. It wasn’t just for the Jew, it was for the Gentile too. It wasn’t just for the free, but also for the slave. It wasn’t just intended for men, but also for women. This new Kingdom was good news for everybody.
What might not surprise us to find out is that this was not easy. It didn’t happen overnight, and it involved a lot of stress, frustrated conversations, and disagreement. Nevertheless, the people remained committed to the mission. They would not be shaken.
There was a new King.
There was a new Kingdom.
This pronouncement was called a gospel—a good news.
And, as I once heard one of my teachers say, if this gospel isn’t good news for everybody, then it isn’t good news for anybody.
Silent Reflection
Response
Practically speaking, is there anybody who this gospel is not for in your community?
Could you honestly say that any person would be welcome in this community? (This assumes their acceptance of mutual love and respect.)
What do you do about the answers for the previous two questions? Celebrate? Make adjustments? Confess/repent?
What group feels most neglected from this gospel experience? What group lacks accessibility to this Eucharist Table?
What are some ways in which you can increase that accessibility and include those who are excluded?
If the Kingdom were here in its fullness today, would it look like our group?