Acts 11:1-18

Have you ever started something that turned out to be much bigger than you imagined? It happened to me this week. On my day off, I thought to myself, “I’ll plant these three annuals I picked up. Then I’ll mow.” But as I got planting, I noticed the ivy at the edge of that garden bed. I decided, “I’ll just clean that out.” Well, it took longer than expected – that ivy has a lot of roots! and it’s on the fence, so I took it off there, too. While I was at the fence, I decided to cut back the neighbor’s honeysuckle – that tree grows like a weed. Pretty soon half the day was gone, and I hadn’t even started mowing the lawn!

It seems par for the course: in yard work, there is no such thing as a small project.

A similar understanding was growing among the early Christians in today’s first lesson. It turns out that God’s salvation project in Jesus was a lot bigger than anyone imagined. But to understand this we have to back up a bit.

The first Christians were Jews, like Jesus and the disciples. The Spirit came to these Jewish disciples at Pentecost and turned them from guilty cowards hiding out in their houses to powerful preachers, divine healers, and miracle workers who even raised a girl from the dead! The prophets had said that the Messiah would bring salvation to Israel, and here it was: God was coming to God’s people at last!

But then Peter had an unusual experience. Right at lunch time, he went up on the roof of the house to pray. While he was up there, he fell into a trance and had a strange dream. In the dream, all the animals forbidden for Jews to eat came down out of heaven in front of Peter. A voice said, “Get up, kill and eat.” Of course, Peter, being a faithful Jew, followed the dietary laws and refused. But the voice said, “What God has made clean you must not call profane.” This happened three times, and then Peter woke up with a start.

But what was even more strange, was that another man had a vision – this time a non-Jew, a Roman soldier no less. His name was Cornelius. An angel appeared to him to say that he should invite a man he’d never met before to his house and listen to his message. That man was, of course, Peter. Cornelius sent three of his servants to go look for Peter. The servants found Peter, just at the moment he woke up from his dream. They told him Cornelius’ story and asked him to come with them to their Master’s house.

When Peter arrived and told Cornelius about Jesus, the most surprising thing happened: Cornelius and his companions were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in many languages, just like the disciples did at Pentecost!

Peter was astounded: the Jews had always been God’s chosen people. Jesus was a Jew, and all his followers were Jews. They all thought that meant that people had to become Jews! But here was a Gentile, a member of the occupying army, clearly exhibiting God’s favor and power! “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit ust as we have?” Peter cried out. Peter saw for the first time that God’s salvation in Jesus was not just for his own people; it was for all people – even the ones you least expect.

When we finally get to our passage for today, Peter is explaining to his fellow Jews back in Jerusalem why he baptized these unclean pagans. They had heard through the grapevine what had happened and were appalled that Peter ate and stayed with this Gentile Cornelius: that was clearly against God’s law! But Peter explained what happened to him and how the Spirit told him to make no distinctions of “us” and “them.” He told how that same Spirit came to Cornelius, filling them with belief in Jesus. The apostles were amazed and exclaimed: “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life!” God’s mission in Jesus encompassed more than they thought, and even a bunch of people they never dreamed would be worthy. It was like gardening: the more you do, the bigger the project becomes.

In the book of Acts, the mission of Jesus indeed began with the Jews, but it kept moving out in wider and wider circles. As Jesus said: “you will be my witnesses in Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” The impulse to spread beyond the boundaries of their familiar community was built into the Gospel itself. And so, the apostles began to see their mission a little differently; the Gospel was always going to push them a little farther than they had ever gone before.

The same is true for us today. God’s mission in Jesus is always going to push us beyond what is familiar to us. Just as the Spirit blew open the apostle’s preconceived notions and sent them out long ago, the Spirit has been working among us, opening our hearts and minds to what it means to grow in faith, build thriving community, and transform lives through Christ’ love. If you stick around for the community conversation at noon today, you will hear about the Spirit’s work among us. You’ll hear practical ways we are building safer environments for members and community. You’ll hear about the growing connections that Erin Haligowski is making with people in schools, health care, and churches to focus resources on youth mental health. You’ll learn about a new opportunity to help run a kids’ summer program for a week in July at the Chevy Chase apartments.

What’s at stake is the same as in Peter’s day, whether we are going to be a part of God’s ever-expanding salvation project or not. We live in a time where half of adults in America are not affiliated with a faith community, And yet, people still crave meaningful connections and community. Churches and other houses of worship offer a place to belong, where people find it natural to care for each other  and share a common purpose.

In our worship and in our serving, on our campuses and out in the community, we need to be ready to welcome people and to serve them without judgment. We need to be prepared to set aside our preconceived notions about what people are supposed to look like or behave. Cornelius and his household did NOT match the description of the believers. They didn’t look the same or act the same or share the same culture. But that’s where the Spirit led Peter. So, Peter and his crowd therefore needed to heed the Spirit and be open to change – even change that was once foundational to the way they thought and lived.

If you boil the mission of Jesus down, it’s that we are here not for ourselves, but for other people: God’s people, no matter who they are, where they come from, or what they look like. Our work together needs to be consistent with the grand plan of God’s master project: salvation for the world through Jesus. Let us pray and serve and be ready to follow wherever the Spirit leads.