Lovely read from Yinka Shittu
I laugh when I read Acts 10 from the ninth to the fourteenth verse. Its a funny story really.
In that passage, God had the Oh-so-Jewish Peter in a trance and showing him animals Jewish culture deemed unclean, God said:
“Go on Pete, take one of the dirty meat in the blanket before you, barbeque and eat.”
Peter replied;
“Lord? Me? Eat pork? That’s like asking me to eat my own crap! Ahn ahn! No way!”
God said again:
“Peter! Do it for the (vine) kingdom!”
Peter answered:
“Nah! I ain’t gon’ do it.”
God, ruler of heaven and sustainer of earth looked at Peter, the son of a lowly fisher man again.
“Pete, I’m hungry, you’re hungry. This doesn’t require you going back to the history books to search for a precedence. Just kill one of the damn things and make us lunch.”
Peter looked in the eyes of the one he loved and instead of obeying Love, he obeyed the Law.
“No Lord, I aint gon’ do it.”
You don’t get the joke yet? Gimme time.
In Judaism and Islam, meat from animals like pigs and horses are not to be eaten under any condition (though Islam makes a few exceptions in cases of extreme hunger). The reason for the law is that the living habits of the said animals involve wallowing in dirt (in the case of snakes) and thriving on filth (in the case of pigs) which the mentioned cultures deemed to be detestable.
Peter evidently was Jewish and he knew this. Unlike in Islam where the prohibition is based on the teaching of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the prohibition in Judaism was God-spoken and delivered by the Prophet Moses (who even Muslims revere) making it even more potent to Peter.
In the trance, Peter refused to obey God because the Law was clear.
Don’t eat the animals in the blanket, they’re unclean. God said so.
You see the joke now?
God, the very God who made Peter and the even Law he was obeying asked Peter to do something and good old Pete refused. Thrice. Because of what he knew and believed was true he missed the will of God. Because of a Law he was used to, Peter disobeyed God.
The joke isn’t that God dared Peter. The joke is that Peter dared to say no to God.
Isn’t it admirable, the boldness Peter had?
Actually, isn’t it stupid that as usual Peter didn’t know when to shut up and just obey? But then, who are you to agree? Are you any better? Are you not just a 21st century Peter?
On Patheos, I came across several articles condemningand in some cases supporting a certain Pastor Steven Anderson who says he’s praying for Caitlyn Jenner’s death and my response is this: No one has the right to judge him for hating Caitlyn because we are all committing that sin right along with him.
Whether you belong to the ‘support-Caitlyn’ side or the ‘Pastor-Steven-preached-a-good-word’ side, the truth remains that we are on the same side here. We’re on the side that casts stones and builds walls instead of building people and putting casts on fractured bones. We are on the side that calls people names instead of calling on the greatest Name.
Don’t you see? We are all Peters in need of grace. We are all Caitlyns trying to live better. We are all broken and missed up and dirty and we are foolishly calling each other unclean!
Really? YES!
Are you any better than Peter? Don’t you go back on commitments and sink in despair sometimes? Don’t you cut corners and deny God and his advice too?
Are you any better than Caitlyn? Haven’t you ever felt that you could have more only to find that more doesn’t satisfy? Haven’t you had identity crisis and faith crisishttp:// http://inkaseth.tumblr.com/post/108118656025/a-night-observed-i-long-for-night-and-darkness/embed?
Are you not subconsciously judging my motives to know if I’m in support of same-sex marriage?
Are we not all Peters? Have we not adopted the ‘roll-with-only-the-fresh-and-classy’ rule of association as the determinant for who we call our friends? Have we not left the table of communion which brings life to worship at the altar of the law that brings death?
Has the church not become Peter? The way she keeps some people from clergy because they’re female and the way she prevents divorcees from having front row seats in her holy sanctuaries, isn’t that classic Peter behaviour?
What then is the solution?
The solution is the cross.
Understanding the cross of Jesus is key to successfully resolving conflict and this is my prescription for the application of the remedy.
When the perceived sins of men and their filthy pasts come at you like a wrongly played flat note in an otherwise flawless piece of music, listen with intent to understand, not reply. When celebrity pastors miss a step or utter politically and even theologically incorrect statements, don’t write an open letter reminding him/her of the rules. Instead, forget the rules.
Forget the laws about who should be kicked out and who should be allowed in because when it comes to obeying laws, we all go wrong. Instead, apply the only law that never fails. Apply love.
Extend friendship and offer dinner. Stand the risk of being judged by you friends and even the church. Care hard and love strong even if you go wrong. And remember, you cannot go wrong as long as you act in love. You cannot err as long as you stand on the side of grace.
When I read the story in Acts, its not only Peter I question. I question God too.
Why did God mess with Peter’s head? Why did he challenge Peter to go against everything he knew and act against his natural instincts? Why was God trying to make Peter look stupid?
I have found that God did all that to prepare Peter to be a better leader of the church. Peter couldn’t lead the church if he had prejudices. In the same way, we cannot bring the world to Jesus if we already condemn some people as being less. We cannot comprehend the capability of grace to make all men equal if we perceive some sins to be greater.
God deliberately asked Peter to do the legally impossible because its the impossible he was anointed for. The same goes for us. We are called to do the impossible. We are called to love the outliers and outsiders and backsliders and the whoseoevers. Its too sad that the world already has a headstart on us.
Let’s stop saying no to God. Let’s stop leaving God to follow religion.
https://adeyinkashittu.wordpress.com/2015/06/17/no-lord/
No comments:
Post a Comment