“Who am I that I could hinder God?”

Acts 11:1-18

Pastor Tom Johnson, April 28, 2013

It is well documented in the Scriptures that Peter had issues with Gentiles—that is, the non-Israelites in the world. Peter was uncomfortable around Greeks, Romans, Africans, Asians, and those Barbaric, Germanic peoples. Peter knew that Jesus commissioned his church to begin in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth. He was there when 3,000 temple worshipers from all over the world who were baptized. But what God did in Jerusalem at Pentecost is just a foretaste. It is not enough that just one ethic group hear about Jesus and how he transforms lives. God wants his word and his message of good news to go out to the whole world.

But Peter could not get on board with God’s plan. He was content with Old Testament believers becoming New Testament believers. He did not see why God would want to branch out to the heathen, the pagans, and the Gentiles. And so God put Peter in a trance and gave him a vision. He spread a table cloth before him with food to eat—not steak and lamb’s meat but meat from all sorts of animals—wild animals—reptiles and birds. And God says, “Rise, eat!—Bon Appetite!” The animals in front of him are all ritually unclean by Mosaic law. They are the animals that are forbidden to eat in the Old Testament. Peter won’t eat. He is a good and devout Israelite. He says, “I will not eat anything unclean or forbidden.” But God tells Peter to eat. God is expanding the menu. He is asking Peter lay aside all his old assumptions and traditions. And this is not just about God expanding the menu. He wants to expand Peter’s vision of humanity and what God is doing in the lives of people from every ethnicity, tribe, language, and culture.

God overcomes Peter’s limited view of what God is doing in the world. God expands Peter’s view of the Kingdom. And through Peter’s telling of his story, he wants to expand the view of Kingdom for the rest of the church. Peter and the church of the day had a limited view of the Kingdom and who is welcome. And so we too can succumb to the same, small mindedness and powerless spirituality. Our attitudes, prejudices, incorrect assumptions, and false thinking can stand in the way of our appreciation—our wonder—our worship—our celebration of how pervasive the activity of God is in the lives of people around us.

Just a few weeks ago, Lori Wilbert shared stories and the writings of convicted felons in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Her time with us expanded the vision of what God is doing in the lives of all people. I have an enlarged view of God’s family—who brothers and sisters in Christ. And I share their struggle to find their way forward with true forgiveness and redemption from the stigma and burden of a criminal record.

And our fieldworker Kayla shared her mission trip to Thailand—a country that is mostly Buddhist. Her presentation led to a vibrant discussion about what God is already doing in such a vastly different culture and religious heritage. And, again, I have an enlarged view of what God is doing in places I’ve never been to or even places that have scarcely entered into my mind. God is there. He acts. He works. He navigates circumstances that are often confusing to us. He transcends our political, ethnic, and cultural differences. Who today are those people we think of as outside the plan of God? Are they those people we see on the evening news—nameless people whose language, culture, and worldview is so foreign to our own? Or, are they the people who sit anonymously on the train right next to us? Are they the people who we pass by who are living their lives with little chance of their paths intersecting with ours? Are they our friends or loved ones…and we have concluded that they will never change or experience the transformative power of God? 

I love what Peter says, “Who am I that I could hinder God?” “Who am I to think that I could slow down the advance of the Kingdom of God?” Peter asks. “Who am I to say that God is only interested in a particular people and not all of his creation?” “Who am I to limit God’s power in the world?” “Who am I to think that little ol’ me can impede the work of almighty God?” “O, you silly little man,” Peter says to himself for all to hear, “How small minded you are! How limited your vision!” Who are we to think so little of God? Who are we to think so highly of ourselves?The Kingdom of God is always more pervasive that we can ask or imagine. God’s love for the world and all her inhabitants is always greater than our limited vision. “Who am I that I could hinder God?” Peter rhetorically asks.

The people respond by praising God and saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life!” Thank God you and I are no hindrance! Praise God that he cares about every soul! God’s plan is bigger than what has entered into our minds! His love for people far surpasses the people that you and I know or are familiar with!

“Who am I?” “Who are you?” “Who are ‘those people’ whoever ‘they’ are?” We are God’s children. God has spread his table cloth. We are all invited to rise in the power of the resurrection and eat at the Table. One day the veil will be lifted. And we will all be united under one banner and feast at the banquet supper of the Lamb in his Kingdom which will have no end. “O for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer’s praise, the glories of my God and King, the triumph of his grace!"