No Favoritism
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"No Favoritism" by John Fitzgerald
No Favoritism
by John Fitzgerald
Acts 10:34-43
upon a time there lived six blind men in a village. One day the villagers told them, “Hey, there is an elephant in the village today.” They had no idea what an elephant is. They decided, “Even though we would not be able to see it, let us go and feel it anyway.” All of them went where the elephant was. Everyone touched the elephant.
The first man touched his leg, “The elephant is a pillar,” he said. “No, it is like a rope,” said the second man who touched his tail. “It is like a thick branch of a tree,” said the third man who touched the trunk. “It is like a big hand fan,” said the fourth man who touched the elephant’s ear. “It is like a huge wall,” said the fifth man who touched the elephant’s belly. “It is like a solid pipe,” said the sixth man who touched the elephant’s tusk.
The moral of this story is we all have a different perspective depending in large degree upon our experience. Sometimes in order to have a fuller vision of truth we must hear the stories of other people. The blind men needed to share their encounters with an elephant in order to be better informed.
All of us can be limited or even blind to some aspects of faith due to our refusal in looking at other aspects of spiritual truth. This is what St. Peter discovered in our scripture lesson from Acts Chapter 10.
At the beginning of Acts 10 we are introduced to a Roman centurion named Cornelius. Cornelius is described in the Bible as being “God-fearing, devout, and generous.” This is a man worthy of divine attention. God honored Cornelius by commanding him to send servants towards Peter and await further instruction.
Peter had a God given vision which for him appeared to be very strange. In the vision God commanded St. Peter three times to eat animals which by Jewish standards were considered unclean. Peter being a strict Jew protested the dictates of this vision. As the vision ended servants from Cornelius arrived at his place of stay. The visit ended with St. Peter agreeing to travel and meet Cornelius in person. Suddenly the meaning of Peter’s vision began to sink in. Peter must preach the Gospel to men like Cornelius who by his Jewish faith were considered unclean and not fit for being associated with. This is where our Bible lesson begins.
In verses 34-35 of our scripture passage, Peter makes a statement to Cornelius and his family which is a the heart: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”
Over and over we must reclaim the revealed truth which Peter spoke. God does not show favoritism. People from every culture and every nation have the chance to experience the Lord. We try and divide folks up into strict groups which adhere to our particular understanding of faith. But God accepts people of faith from backgrounds and spirituality which is far different than ours. We are like the six blind men touching an elephant. We want to confine God to our limited encounters.
In a world increasingly subject to wars started by religious zealots rooted in a strict understanding of faith, we have to learn again the lesson of Peter. The Lord is found in all places -- some which we might think to be unclean. As we begin this New Year let’s return to the words of a poem written by Edwin Markham:
He drew a circle that shut me out
Heretic, rebel -- a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in.
John Fitzgerald lives in Leesburg, Ohio, with his wife Carolyn and has served as pastor at the Leesburg Friends Meeting for the past 27 years. Cornfield Cathedral (Fairway Press, 2013) is the second book authored by Pastor Fitzgerald. John has earned a Master's of Ministry Degree from the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana.
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 8, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2016 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"No Favoritism" by John Fitzgerald
No Favoritism
by John Fitzgerald
Acts 10:34-43
upon a time there lived six blind men in a village. One day the villagers told them, “Hey, there is an elephant in the village today.” They had no idea what an elephant is. They decided, “Even though we would not be able to see it, let us go and feel it anyway.” All of them went where the elephant was. Everyone touched the elephant.
The first man touched his leg, “The elephant is a pillar,” he said. “No, it is like a rope,” said the second man who touched his tail. “It is like a thick branch of a tree,” said the third man who touched the trunk. “It is like a big hand fan,” said the fourth man who touched the elephant’s ear. “It is like a huge wall,” said the fifth man who touched the elephant’s belly. “It is like a solid pipe,” said the sixth man who touched the elephant’s tusk.
The moral of this story is we all have a different perspective depending in large degree upon our experience. Sometimes in order to have a fuller vision of truth we must hear the stories of other people. The blind men needed to share their encounters with an elephant in order to be better informed.
All of us can be limited or even blind to some aspects of faith due to our refusal in looking at other aspects of spiritual truth. This is what St. Peter discovered in our scripture lesson from Acts Chapter 10.
At the beginning of Acts 10 we are introduced to a Roman centurion named Cornelius. Cornelius is described in the Bible as being “God-fearing, devout, and generous.” This is a man worthy of divine attention. God honored Cornelius by commanding him to send servants towards Peter and await further instruction.
Peter had a God given vision which for him appeared to be very strange. In the vision God commanded St. Peter three times to eat animals which by Jewish standards were considered unclean. Peter being a strict Jew protested the dictates of this vision. As the vision ended servants from Cornelius arrived at his place of stay. The visit ended with St. Peter agreeing to travel and meet Cornelius in person. Suddenly the meaning of Peter’s vision began to sink in. Peter must preach the Gospel to men like Cornelius who by his Jewish faith were considered unclean and not fit for being associated with. This is where our Bible lesson begins.
In verses 34-35 of our scripture passage, Peter makes a statement to Cornelius and his family which is a the heart: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”
Over and over we must reclaim the revealed truth which Peter spoke. God does not show favoritism. People from every culture and every nation have the chance to experience the Lord. We try and divide folks up into strict groups which adhere to our particular understanding of faith. But God accepts people of faith from backgrounds and spirituality which is far different than ours. We are like the six blind men touching an elephant. We want to confine God to our limited encounters.
In a world increasingly subject to wars started by religious zealots rooted in a strict understanding of faith, we have to learn again the lesson of Peter. The Lord is found in all places -- some which we might think to be unclean. As we begin this New Year let’s return to the words of a poem written by Edwin Markham:
He drew a circle that shut me out
Heretic, rebel -- a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in.
John Fitzgerald lives in Leesburg, Ohio, with his wife Carolyn and has served as pastor at the Leesburg Friends Meeting for the past 27 years. Cornfield Cathedral (Fairway Press, 2013) is the second book authored by Pastor Fitzgerald. John has earned a Master's of Ministry Degree from the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana.
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 8, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2016 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
