I was closeted in many ways. Besides from the obvious, or at least obvious now, I was a closeted animal lover. I don't know whether it was some kind of triage ( because I had bigger problems ) or that it never really came up in my life. As a young family we never had any pets. At the age of 50 I fell head over heals in love with a Maine Coon cat. More dog like in many respects, he would wait at the window for me and then meet me at the door, he (sometimes) comes when I call him and he seems to understand me even if he often times shows me an aloof disinterest. In other words, a cat. And I love him so. He is my third child much to the dismay of his human siblings. My brothers said they would believe I was gay, they found it more difficult to believe I am a cat lover.
A real love story right? Right up until he digs his claws into you because you merely touched him when he was obviously very busy simply laying there. If you can imagine the sound of a satanic beast bellowing, that would be my boy choking up a giant fur ball, usually between 2 am and 6 am on any given night. In the morning you have to hunt to find it and often times, sadly, it is right under foot. Lastly, there are those few times when my boy isn't quite 'regular' and decides to drag his ass, literally, along the beige carpets making for yet another type of mess to address and clean up. This is the unforeseen side of saying yes to love.
I could also say similar things about marriage. It's all honeymoon, sex and fun until your first kerfuffle. You find out that they too seem to wipe their ass on the carpet - wait, no, that's not right. They squeeze the toothpaste in the wrong spot, hang the toilet paper wrong, leave dirty clothes strewn about or support a different candidate than you! Yikes! This is stuff we soon learn simply by living and loving, by picking up our cross as followers of Jesus Christ.
We all have certain expectations and perhaps judgments about what something means. Often times we enter into a relationship or any decision really, not fully aware of some of the down sides of our decision. Maybe not even a down side, just something that come up as unanticipated, not always pristine or smile inducing.
In today's passage, the Jewish community that accepted Jesus as saviour and were followers of The Way were thinking that they were perhaps the chosen of the chosen. Now something unanticipated has happened, perhaps even unacceptable, the word is open to all - even gentiles? Willing to take up the cross but not so willing at times to accept the unforeseen. I have to love my brother ? - but even the immigrant? The sinner? You can all fill in the blanks. Love gets messy and filled with the unexpected. To love is to constantly stretch our thoughts, our ideas and our love. Not what you signed up for?
Love is not all furry kittens and snuggles. I myself recall the days a little Maine Coon kitten would curl up on my chest and sleep, all cuddly. Now there is even more of him to love even though it isn't quite simple at times. Try trimming his claws!
Following Jesus, being a part of The Way is not for the faint of heart. It is full of love and challenge. Most importantly, it is not simply about obeying rules, following rules and rubrics and submitting ourselves to a thoughtless unloving agenda. If you're a believer, you are challenged and agree to be better than that.
For poorly squeezed toothpaste tubes and loving every single beloved creation of God, we pray.
Acts 11:1-18
Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.” And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’ When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’
Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.” And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’ When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’
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