In first century Palestine, the chasm between Jew and Gentile . . .

In first century Palestine, the chasm between Jew and Gentile was deep and wide.  A Jew could not eat with a Gentile, and certainly would never stay at the house of one.  A Jewish physician was not permitted to care for a Gentile patient, even if the situation was life-threatening.  In short, Jews had nothing to do with Gentiles—unless, of course, that Jew was Jesus!  Jesus broke all the rules when it came to Gentiles; and he broke the rules, because he was trying to break down the walls that separate us.

However, even during the early church, a remnant of that wall still existed.  A perfect example is the story of Peter in the 10^th chapter of Acts.  Peter is on a rooftop, praying and meditating, when he sees the vision of a sheet descending from the heavens, filled with food, and a voice commanding him, “Get up and eat.”  At first, Peter refuses, because the sheet contained enough non-kosher food to uncurl the payos of a Hasidic Rabbi.  “By no means, Lord!” Peter cries out.  “For I have never eaten anything profane or unclean.”

But the Almighty isn’t kidding about this.  God three-peats the command, leaving poor Peter in a bit of a quandary.  Does the Lord really want him to start eating ham?  Apparently so—because the voice is very clear on the matter.  “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.”

Now, one way to read this story is to view it simply as a modification of the ancient dietary laws—almost as if God is saying, “In days of old, you were taught to eat certain things and avoid others, but I have decided to expand the menu.”

However, if you ask me, this story actually goes deeper than just giving Peter permission to try pigs-in-the-blanket.  At the heart of this story is a question, which, frankly, I think we are still wrestling with today.  Namely, is it ever appropriate to label people?  Clean vs. unclean, liberal vs. conservative, management vs. labor, us vs. them.

Let’s face it; too often the practice of pigeonholing people is really being used as a clever exit strategy.  In other words, if I can categorize you, then I am relieved of the responsibility of actually getting to know you.  I can make a snap judgment—based on how you look, or what you do for a living, or where you’re from, or whom you voted for in the last election—and armed with all of these assumptions, I can safely turn and walk away.

Jesus took an entirely different approach.  He was all about helping people feel included, not excluded.  Indeed, Jesus seems to want us to view others the same way we view ourselves.  Blemished, perhaps.  Incomplete, certainly.  But still redeemed and restored through the grace of God.

Throughout our lives, we will come across countless people, and we will always have a choice.  Label them or love them.  We know what Jesus’ choice was—just look at what he did with us!

Scott Peck, author of the bestselling book The Road Less Traveled . . .

Scott Peck, author of the bestselling book The Road Less Traveled, was once asked by his spiritual advisor, “Do you have specific times during the day when you pray?”  “Not really,” Peck replied, and then went on to explain, “To set aside particular times seems kind of rigid, formal, and lacking spontaneity.”

“Maybe so,” the spiritual advisor countered, “but what I hear you saying is that you communicate with God only when you feel like it and are in the mood to pray.  That seems to suggest that it is a very one-way relationship.  If you love God as much as you claim—and I believe you do—don’t you owe it to God to make yourself available at certain times, whether you feel like praying or not?”

That insightful comment proved a real eye-opener for Scott Peck—and to be honest, when I first read it, it was something of an epiphany for me as well.  Like Peck, I pray every day, but it was never at a set time—7:00 am, 11:00 pm, or whatever.  Basically, I prayed whenever I felt the need to, or whenever a situation arose for which I desired God’s input.

But the more I thought about it, the more I began to wonder:  What does this actually say about my relationship with God?  Is prayer an activity that I enter into only when it is convenient, or necessary, or when I am properly motivated?  Am I willing to set aside intentional times to be with God, or am I presuming that the Almighty will always be at my beck and call?

So, I started to carve out specific times each day for prayer.  Not sermon preparation, or Bible study—just prayer.  Admittedly, it took some effort and discipline, and it felt a little unnatural at first.  But as best I could, I tried to find “a sacred time” each day.

What I discovered is that my prayer life became much less driven by personal agenda.  In other words, I wasn’t going to God only when I needed something or wanted something.  I was going to God simply to spend time with the One who knows me better than I know myself, and who can certainly make me better than I could ever become all on my own!