“I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right.” (Acts 10:34-35)
These words were spoken by the Apostle, Peter, at the home of a Roman centurion, Cornelius. You may find them interesting. You may find them confusing. You may well be wondering what they are doing here in Easter week. Shouldn’t we be focusing on the resurrection of Jesus this week?
I wondered that myself when I first noticed this reading from the Acts of the Apostles scheduled for Easter Day. Inclusivity is lovely, but why talk about that now? Then it occurred to me that inclusivity is, in a sense, what the resurrection is all about!
The Christian Bible is divided into two volumes that we normally refer to as the ‘Old Testament’ and the ‘New Testament’. The church has always labelled them this way, even though the word ‘testament’ doesn’t show up in most modern translations of the Bible. The Hebrew and Greek words for ‘testament’ – ‘berith’ and ‘diathēkē’, respectively, are normally translated as ‘covenant’, ‘agreement’, or ‘promise’.
Our Bible then is focused on two agreements between God and humanity. The ‘old covenant’ is the agreement God made and Israel. The ‘new covenant’ is the promise God makes to everybody!
To be precise, there are five covenants in the Hebrew Bible, but the one that gives the Old Testament its name is the covenant God makes with Abram, recounted in Genesis 12. God promises to build a great people out of Abram’s descendants, to give them a land and to make his people a blessing to all humanity (Genesis 12:1-3).
These promises begin a new chapter in the history of God’s work to restore the world. Sadly, they also mark the genesis of a religious tribalism where the ‘chosen people’ regularly forget the task that they were chosen for and see themselves as the only people God is interested in.
We are familiar with this sort of tribalism. It is not restricted to any one religion. Indeed, it seems to be thriving in Syria right now, as indicted by a statement I read this week, purporting to outline the philosophy of the new government there.
“As Muslims, we do not recognize borders or nation-states … We, as Muslims, believe in the Islamic nation… What is this idea of “Syria for Syrians”? No, dear brother, Syria is not exclusively for Syrians. It is land for all Muslims. Syria and every other land where Islam is present belongs to the Muslim community as a whole.”
The statement urges its hearers to replace nationalistic tribalism with religious tribalism. The language is inclusive, but the flip side of uniting all Muslims is the exclusion of all non-Muslims. Moreover, the new regime is not likely to recognise all those who call themselves Muslim as ‘real Muslims’. The ongoing murder of so many Alawites along the Syrian coast reflects the way that religious tribalism always drifts into ever-greater exclusivity. This is true of religious tribalism in all its forms – Muslim, Christian, Jewish, etc.
“This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood.” (Luke 22:20).
The New Testament proclaims that, through Jesus, there is a renewal of the relationship between God and humanity – a new covenant in His blood. Moreover, Jesus’ blood is “poured out for many” (Matthew 26:28) and not for any one tribe or nation. This brings us back to the truth that dawned on the Apostle, Peter: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism.”
Inclusivity is what distinguishes the New Testament from the old, and hence it is at the heart of Christ’s death and resurrection. Of course, history tells us that the church quickly slid into religious tribalism just as our Jewish forebears had done. Even so, as with the Apostle, it’s never too late to recognise the truth that we are all loved and valued by God, regardless of race or nation or religious tribe.
If not at Easter, then when?
Our Sunday Eucharist
A big thank you to Father Mark and Rob Gilland who hosted our Sunday Eucharist last weekend. I was in Japan, in a coffee shop in Hiroshima when the broadcast started. I had trouble connecting but eventually tuned in through my Facebook account. Frustratingly though, my comments couldn’t be seen by Rob and Mark. It seems that you can only comment effectively from the Facebook Page or YouTube.
It was a sobering experience – struggling to connect last Sunday – and it helped me appreciate the difficulties others have had. I’m working with my ever-capable web assistant, Muhammad Abdullah, to iron out all the glitches and ensure that The Sunday Eucharist’s main website – TheSundayEucharist.com – is a reliable and accessible point of connection for the broadcast.
As ever, I’ve added a couple of shorts from last Sunday below. You can see all our shorts on the Sunday Eucharist Instagram page, and watch the replay of last Sunday’s broadcast via our YouTube channel.
This Sunday – Easter Sunday – I’m looking forward to having Karyn Hemming and Andrew Madry back with me on the panel. I’m in the bush, and hope to have the Binacrombi team with me as well. It should be great, so please join us from midday @ TheSundayEucharist.com or Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Faithia or Streamyard. I look forward to sharing this Eucharist with you. 😊
Let me work your corner
If you’d like to see my work continue, please click here to make a one-off donation. If you can afford a monthly contribution, sign up at Patreon.comand choose either:
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What’s On?
- Friday to Monday, April 18 to 21 – @Binacrombi. Please join me
- Sunday, April 20th – Our Eucharist from midday via thesundayeucharist.com or Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Faithia or Streamyard.
- Tuesday, April 22nd – Boxing at the The Mundine Gym in Redfern from 7 pm.
- Thursday, April 24th – Boxing at the The Mundine Gym in Redfern from 7 pm
- Saturday, April 26– Boxing @Legends Gym in Kensington from 3.00 pm
I’m back in the country, but I return with a treasure-trove of wonderful memories – some of which are captured in the images posted above of ‘Bunny Island’.
I did a Facebook Live broadcast last Thursday from Ōkunoshima – the small island off the coast of Hiroshima, inhabited almost entirely by rabbits. I’ll try to have a short ready for next week’s newsletter. It was a beautiful place and it’s a beautiful experience for anyone who loves bunnies as much as my daughters and I do.
I’ll leave it there for today. I’m writing from the heart of the bush – from Binacrombi. It’s late, and I’ve got a big weekend ahead.
Keep me in your prayers, as I do you. ❤️
Your brother in the Good Fight,
www.christianswithdepression.com
P.S. And a big thank you to James Hannagan for the Fighting Father Action Figure. I want to order a small army of them but I’m not sure how to do it.
About Father Dave Smith
Preacher, Pugilist, Activist, Father of four
