When my wife and I were dating, her parents had a family
reunion. My father-in-law’s mother was one of eight. So, in gather the clan
together, there were ninety-nine people that showed up to this shindig. I had
heard stories about how they would all gather together at this one house
Halethorpe. Crabs were the main dish along with the Maryland Crab Soup. So, I
am at this party and it is time for everyone to grab a bunch of crab. I learned
a lot of things that day. Probably the most important was that you crack a
lobster (from my New England days) but you pick crabs.
I must be honest with you. I felt more like an outsider
that day than I ever have before. Here is this woman that I am dating and she
is walking all over the place and catching up with relatives she hasn’t seen in
ages! I am sitting at this table not knowing anyone, not knowing how this
family does things, who’s the black sheep of the family, which ones do I stay
away from, and it goes on. The only saving grace was that I had a friend who
was in the same boat as I was. It was my now daughter-in-law, Sandra. She and I
sat at the table watching people and talking about something we both new
about…New York. I have a sister that lives there and have been to the City a
lot so we shared stories.
Today’s second reading has Paul closing the Gap on
outsiders. Throughout Paul’s journeys in the world, it seemed like he was
always met with someone or a group of people trying to undo what he spent so
much time doing. What was he doing? He was teaching people and building
relationships with people. He talked about God and taught them who Jesus was;
that Jesus was the Son of God and went throughout Israel trying to teach the
people who he was and that the Kingdom of God was at hand. That was his intro
to telling people to stop turning away from God and turn their hearts toward
God. Paul would tell the people about how Jesus would heal the sick, the
blind…the afflicted and they believed that Jesus WAS the Son of God. He taught
them about how Jesus went to the grave to forgive their sins and to show the
people how much God was willing to sacrifice for them.
After all that, these people would come in behind Paul to
undo everything that he did. They would enter the places that Paul had left and
they would tell the people, that unless they followed the LAW, they were not
God’s children. They would tell them that if they didn’t follow the rituals
that they were on the outside… you’re not a real person of faith of God is not
for you because you don’t “do this or that” ritual. Imagine being told “all you
gotta do is believe, HON, in this Jesus who did all these things and you will
experience the promises of God. Only to be told later, “that isn’t enough!”
Well, here we are at Paul’s letter today. Paul is writing
about how Abraham became such a central figure in the story of creation. We
know that story where God tells Abraham “I will make you the father of many
nations. As many as there are stars in the night sky.” Paul asks, “how did
Abraham get so lucky?” Did Abraham win a contest? NO! Did Abraham keep ritual?
He did do something but it was a personal thing (and I will get to that in a second)
but there were no rituals that Abraham did.
Paul points out that it wasn’t the keeping of the law,
but what Abraham did do was to have faith in God. He made sure that he kept his
faith. He put God first in what he did. When it came to blessings, he made sure
that he gave some of those blessings back to God, First (in the form of
sacrifice). Abraham was faithful in all that he did. When tough times came to
Abraham, he prayed and asked for God’s guidance. God came to him and rewarded
him by making this covenant (being the father of many nations) with Abraham.
God chose Abraham and not the other way around. And Abraham was not an
outsider!
Paul is getting real specific here. He is saying that
Abraham was not made righteous because Abraham followed the law or followed
rules about circumcision. Abraham was righteous because he kept the faith. His
faith, which was strong, endeared him to God and God took notice.
Paul is also telling the people and us who is in and who
is out. In Paul’s time, those people I spoke of would follow him and tell the
people that unless they followed all the rules about eating, worshipping,
clothing, personal hygiene, and so many other laws that they were not in the
club…the club of God’s love and promises. Paul is saying that is not a
requirement for the Gentiles. He is telling them and us that it is our faith
that brings us to the promises of God. It is our faith in God that brings us
into the state of God’s grace and mercy. It is our belief that God created all
of this for us, created all the animals, and created you and me, so that we
could enjoy all that God made and the company of one another. Paul says that it
is because of our faith that God takes notice; AND that we, who are not the
chosen people, are invited into God’s fold and can live freely under God’s
protection.
We are no longer outsiders when it comes to the promises
and the love of God. While I sat there at the table, Robin did come back to
spend a lot of time with me and to teach me how to pick crab (so that I would
be able to enjoy all that good food). I did not feel like an outsider after
that. Throughout the afternoon, she introduced me to many family members and
they were nice as could be. I no longer felt like an outsider. I felt like one
of the family. I know that we have all at some point had experiences like that
in our lives. This is what Paul is talking about. We are part of this great big
God family; not because we are all following the same practices and rituals. In
fact, we have many different practices in different denominations and different
rituals. Yet, we all gather to worship the same God! Amen!
So, this week, think about what it feels like to be an
outsider. How do we feel when we are treated like an outsider? What does it
feel like to know the love, the mercy, and the grace of God? Think of someone
you may know who feels like an outsider and invite them to come and meet God
through Word, the gift of forgiveness through communion, and the promise of
eternal life: AMEN!
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