Easter 6 Chosen!

John 15:16, 17

May 13, 2012

What does it mean to be chosen? Usually, it is meant to be an honor. You are being singled out and recognized for something special others see in you. Remember when you were a kid and sides were picked. It was an honor to be chosen first but an embarrassment to be the last one picked. The order of choosing indicated that you were either very important or not.

To be chosen sets you apart. Yet, with that choosing there are expectations and responsibilities. If you don't live up to these, you become a disappointment to the one who chose you. Why are politicians so despised? They have not lived up to the expectations of those who voted them into office.

Jesus reminds us that He has chosen us. This is intended to give us a deep sense of both honor and humility. With this choosing there are also expectations and responsibility.

John 15:16-17 (NASB) You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.

When the Lord chooses, we are often surprised. God's choices are not necessarily our choices.

In Acts 10 we see how this works. Peter is praying and sees a vision of foods that were non-kosher. He was instructed to "kill and eat." This grieves Peter's sensibilities. He's always been an observant Jew. He would never consider eating those things proscribed by the Law. But, this is now God's choice for him.

Why would God do this to faithful Peter? Because the Lord has greater plans for the Gospel, Peter needs to widen his menu selections. As Peter is having his revelation, another man is also having a revelation from God. Cornelius, a Gentile centurion in Caesarea, had a vision to contact a man named Peter who is staying Joppa. Peter has not at this point preached to a solely Gentile audience. In order for Peter to accept the hospitality of Cornelius in his home, Peter must be free to eat whatever is offered.

God's choices are not always our preferences. Peter would probably have been perfectly happy not having to eat non-kosher food or mixing with Gentiles. The Lord's choices forced Peter out of his comfort zone. With his being chosen by God, Peter is now faced with dealing with situations and circumstances he's never planned to in order to fulfill the expectations and responsibilities of being so honored by God. No one said this stretching was going to be easy.

Peter goes to Cornelius' home. If he was surprised by the invitation, he was more surprised by what he found on his arrival. Peter probably thought that Cornelius was simply seeking an individual audience like Nicodemus with Jesus. He seemed surprised to find a house filled with people waiting to hear him.

We are told that Peter begins to preach the Gospel to this group. In the back of his mind, Peter wonders if Gentiles can believe. Because of this questioning on his part, the Lord offers Peter a sign for his unbelief. After he finishes, the Holy Spirit comes to the group in the same way He had come to the disciples on Pentecost. The group began to speak in tongues. This was the affirmation that Peter needed. Yes, Gentiles could believe. Yes, the Gentiles should be baptized. No, these Gentiles did not need to convert to Judaism before they could become members of the church.

Much to his surprise Peter not only visits a Gentile home but stays with his host for several days eating his non-kosher food and enjoying this non-Jewish hospitality. This is a big thing for Peter who has been a faithful child of the Law. Because he was chosen by the Lord, he found that his life was going to be far different than it had been before he met Jesus.

Being chosen is a great honor but it is also very humbling. The Lord may have higher plans and expectations of you. He may want to expand your horizons and comfort zones. He may reveal to you talents and abilities you didn't think you had. He may call you to do things that you really had no intention of doing. Being stretched by the Lord outside of your comfort zone isn't necessarily going to be easy for you. In fact, you may not even find it pleasant. But, it's all part of God's plan.

When you are challenged by the Lord to go in a direction that you find out of your comfort zone, think of Peter. His life was broadened and enriched because the Lord led him to the home of Cornelius, the Gentile centurion. Peter may have wanted to forego the whole experience by claiming he was just a simple fisherman from Galilee. Hey, this is way out of my league. "Hey, Lord, find somebody else with better qualifications." The Lord said, "no, Peter, I have chosen you to do this."

The Lord has chosen you. You have been called by name in your baptism. You have been made a co-heir of heaven with Jesus. You have, like the disciples, been surprised by the unexpected grace of God revealed in His Son Jesus Christ. You have been chosen not to be a trophy piece but to bear much fruit.

Peter wasn't simply to rest on his honor as being one of the 12 select disciples. His honor was being chosen to bear much fruit. Your being chosen is also a calling to bear fruit for the Gospel. The Lord has a plan for each of you. He has bigger plans for some of you than you'd ever have imagined. Maybe, like Peter, you'll find yourself stretched way out of your comfort zone. The good news is that whatever the Lord calls you to do, he will also give you whatever is necessary to accomplish His plan.

We cannot accomplish the challenges the Lord gives us on our own. This is why we are told to pray. We pray the Lord to give us whatever is necessary to accomplish His plan for us. In doing so, we will show our love for another. The next time you are asked to help, don't automatically say no. Don't fall back on your usual excuses that you don't have the time or the talents or the abilities to do whatever is being asked of you. How do you know the Lord isn't calling you out of your comfort zone? Peter found that with the Lord he could do much more than he'd ever dreamed or expected of himself.

Being chosen is an honor. You have been chosen by God. What a blessing this is. By God's grace, you will be like Peter. He yielded to the will of God, allowed himself to be stretched beyond his comfort zones and was used by the Lord to witness the Gospel in ways he had not ever expected. As the concluding collect of evening prayer reminds us: You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that Your hand is leading us and Your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.