“I
Know
What
I
Like;
I
Like
What
I
Know”
Leviticus
11:
1-12,
Acts
10:
23-35,
44-48
Central
Presbyterian
Church
Rev.
Dr.
“Be
who
you
are
and
say
what
you
feel,
because
those
who
mind
don’t
matter
and
those
who
matter
don’t
mind.”
Those
words
of
wisdom
come
to
us
from
a
lay
theologian
by
the
name
of
Dr.
Theodore
Geisel,
known
more
widely
by
his
pen
name,
Dr.
Seuss.
We’ve
been
working
with
the
Ten
Commandments
this
summer,
and
we’ve
made
it
through
the
fifth
commandment
in
June.
It
may
seem
a
bit
jarring
to
you
to
wander
into
theology
from
Dr.
Seuss.
(I
want
to
assure
you
that
we
have
not,
like
Mel
Brooks’
Moses,
dropped
the
second
stone
tablet
of
the
commandments!)
We’ll
get
back
to
the
last
five
commandments
in
August,
when
we
have
five
Sundays
in
which
to
explore
them.
Our
focus
today
is
on
one
of
my
Seuss
favorites,
Green
Eggs
and
Ham,
probably
because
it’s
about
food!
As
you
saw
from
the
story,
the
main
character
was
challenged
by
Sam-I-Am
to
try
something
new:
eggs
of
a
different
color.
His
almost
unwavering
opposition
was
rooted
in
the
idea
that
eggs
should
be
of
a
certain
color.
He
knew
what
he
liked,
and
he
liked
what
he
knew!
But
in
the
end,
he
discovered
that
he
liked
green
eggs
and
ham,
much
to
his
surprise.
Just
to
give
us
a
feel
for
the
story,
Ruth
Goshorn
brought
us
some
green
eggs
from
her
niece’s
farm
in
Ladoga,
and
we
want
to
thank
Ruth
for
the
eggs
in
the
nest
on
our
communion
table
this
morning.
Now
all
this
reminds
me
of
our
passage
from
Acts
today.
Here
Peter
was
challenged
to
try
something
new—not
for
the
sake
of
expanding
the
range
of
his
appetite,
but
because
God
was
challenging
his
usual
ways
of
thinking.
This
passage
signals
a
definite
change
in
God’s
strategy—something
which
God
seems
ready,
willing
and
able
to
do
in
Scripture.
Here,
it’s
important
to
make
a
distinction
between
God’s
nature
and
God’s
strategies.
God’s
nature,
which
is
love,
does
not
change.
God
is
always
true
to
God’s
self.
But
God
often
switches
strategies
over
time,
in
order
to
achieve
his
steady
purposes.
For
instance,
God
chooses
Abraham,
by
whom
to
bless
the
families
of
the
earth.
This
is
the
idea
of
the
chosen
people.
But,
in
time,
God
sends
his
very
own
Son,
to
win
the
people
of
the
human
race
back
to
himself.
The
purpose
is
to
bring
ever-expanding
circles
of
people
into
the
range
of
his
loving
care.
Same
purpose;
different
strategies.
We
see
one
of
God’s
strategies
in
Leviticus
11,
where
we
heard
a
portion
of
the
kosher
laws
spelled
out
for
us.
Actually,
the
kosher
laws
go
on
quite
a
bit
longer,
governing
what
kinds
of
foods
But
I
don’t
keep
kosher.
Do
you?
I
don’t
personally
know
any
Christians
who
keep
kosher.
So
why
don’t
we
all
just
follow
the
literal
teachings
of
the
Bible?
The
answer
lies
in
our
passage
from
Acts,
which
gives
us
a
very
different
picture
of
God’s
desires
for
us.
It
signals
a
significant
change
in
God’s
strategy.
And
we
have
come
to
re-interpret
the
kosher
laws
through
it.
To
set
the
stage
for
this
scene,
it’s
important
to
realize
that
the
Cornelius
figure
mentioned
here
is
a
Roman
soldier,
a
commander
of
a
hundred
men
from
an
elite
group
called
the
Italian
Cohort.
He
found
himself
drawn
to
the
teachings
of
Judaism.
Even
though
he
had
not
converted
to
the
faith,
he
followed
its
precepts
and
worshipped
The
next
day,
Peter,
was
also
in
prayer,
up
on
the
roof
of
the
house
where
he
was
staying.
He
fell
into
a
dreamlike
state,
where
he
saw
a
vision
of
something
like
a
large
sheet
being
lowered
to
him,
in
which
were
all
sorts
of
animals,
many
of
which
were
considered
ritually
unclean.
He
was
given
the
command,
“Rise,
Peter,
kill
and
eat,”
but
Peter
refused.
Why
all
his
life
he’d
been
taught
not
to
eat
those
animals.
To
do
so
would
be
contrary
to
holy
scripture.
He
would
not
eat
them
on
a
boat
or
with
a
goat.
He
would
not
eat
them
on
a
plane
or
on
a
train.
He
would
not
eat
them,
Sam-I-am,
he
would
not
eat
green
eggs
and
ham!
But
for
some
reason,
Peter
came
to
listen
to
this
contrary-to-Scripture
message.
Now
I
often
have
dreams,
and
I
must
confess
that
I
often
don’t
pay
them
much
attention,
except
to
laugh
about
them
the
next
morning.
Last
Wednesday,
for
instance,
Debbie
and
I
helped
chaperone
the
Why
did
Peter
pay
attention
to
his
dream?
Well,
for
one
thing,
it
was
troubling
to
him;
it
ran
counter
to
what
he’d
been
taught.
For
another,
it
was
repeated
three
times.
The
repeating
of
anything
in
the
Bible
three
times
was
often
seen
to
be
significant.
In
response
to
his
steadfast
refusal
to
eat
anything
ritually
unclean,
Peter
was
told,
“What
God
has
made
clean,
you
must
not
call
profane.”
(Acts
10:
15)
And
the
clincher
was
that,
at
the
end
of
his
dream,
Peter
was
told
that
men
from
a
fellow
named
Cornelius
were
coming
for
him.
Even
though
Cornelius
was
a
Gentile,
and
not
likely
to
keep
kosher,
Peter
was
to
go
with
him,
for
it
was
the
will
of
God
that
he
do
so.
Sure
enough,
when
Peter
woke
up,
it
was
exactly
as
the
dream
had
predicted.
Peter
welcomed
his
visitors,
and
the
next
day,
set
out
to
see
Cornelius,
even
though
it
went
against
all
his
training.
You
have
to
understand
that
Jews
were
not
allowed
to
enter
the
home
of
a
Gentile.
It
was
considered
a
sin.
But,
when
he
got
there,
Peter
found
the
house
full
of
Cornelius’
friends
and
family
members
who
had
come
to
hear
him
preach.
On
the
way
to
When,
in
response,
Cornelius
relates
his
own
vision
and
the
command
to
summon
Peter,
Peter
has
a
breakthrough:
--how
the
Holy
Spirit
anointed
him
with
power
--how
he
went
about
doing
good
--how
God
was
with
him
--how
he
was
put
to
death
--but
how
God
raised
him
on
the
third
day
--and
how
he
had
appeared
to
Peter
himself,
and
to
the
other
disciples
--and
how
he
ate
and
drank
with
them
--and
how
he
appointed
them
to
go
out
and
bear
witness
to
him
as
the
Son
of
God
--and
how
those
who
believe
in
him
are
forgiven
through
him
And
while
he
was
speaking,
the
Holy
Spirit
came
upon
those
assembled
in
that
household,
and
Peter
and
his
followers
were
astounded
that
the
Spirit
had
descended
even
upon
them.
And
then
Peter
said,
“Can
anyone
withhold
the
water
for
baptizing
these
people
who
have
received
the
Holy
Spirit
just
as
we
have?”
(10:
47)
And
so
he
had
them
baptized,
right
on
the
spot.
It
was
only
on
the
way
home,
that
the
enormous
consequences
of
what
he
had
done
began
to
settle
upon
Peter.
Why
there
wasn’t
any
provision
in
the
current
Book
of
Order
for
such
baptisms!
Peter
was
going
to
be
subject
to
an
administrative
review.
What
was
he
thinking—baptizing
Gentiles,
of
all
things!
But
aren’t
we,
Gentiles
every
one
of
us,
glad
that
he
was
so
moved?
In
so
doing,
God
made
provision
for
our
ancestors
and
for
us
in
the
covenant
of
grace!
It took awhile for the early church to come around on this one. There was a lot of controversy about it. But eventually the church realized that God was up to something new in their midst. He had just made his tent a whole lot bigger!
But
such
is
the
nature
of
God’s
ever-expanding
love.
Sometimes
God
does
the
same
thing
to
us
today;
God
startles
us
by
doing
a
new
thing.
God
ever
invites
new
people
into
Christian
fellowship.
And
we,
who’ve
been
on
the
inside
for
awhile
now,
find
that
we
don’t
always
like
it,
any
more
than
some
of
those
Jewish
followers
of
Jesus
were
happy
about
the
Gentiles!
But
God
continues
to
welcome
those
formerly
condemned
into
his
embrace,
because
God
loves
the
creatures
that
he
made.
When
he
got
back
to
And
sometimes,
so
do
we.
We
don’t
get
confronted
with
green
eggs
and
ham—at
least
not
very
often!
But
no
less
than
the
main
character
in
Dr.
Seuss’s
whimsical
book,
we
know
what
we
like,
and
we
like
what
we
know.
Which
is
one
of
the
exasperating
things
about
following
Jesus—he
keeps
inviting
more
people
into
the
family!
After
his
resurrection,
Jesus
and
Peter
had
a
long
walk
along
the
seashore
and
a
challenging
conversation,
where
three
times
Peter
was
asked
to
feed
Jesus’
sheep.
At
one
point,
Peter
asked
Jesus
about
another
disciple,
if
he
would
die
before
Jesus
returned.
To
which
Jesus
responded,
“If
it
is
my
will
that
he
remain
until
I
come,
what
is
that
to
you?
Follow
me!”
(John
21:
21-22)
It
seems
to
me
that
we
spend
an
awful
lot
of
time
and
energy
these
days
arguing
about
who’s
on
the
inside
of
Jesus’
love.
To
us,
as
to
Peter,
Jesus
says,
“If
I
want
to
include
them,
what’s
it
to
you?
But,
as
for
you,
‘Follow
me!”
It
was
a
lesson
that
Peter
never
forgot.
That
doesn’t
mean
he
didn’t
have
to
struggle
any
longer
to
discern
God’s
will.
Our
lesson
from
Acts
today
is
evidence
that
he
continued
to
struggle
to
realize
the
staggering
extent
of
God’s
desire
to
enlarge
his
tents.
But
the
Holy
Spirit
keeps
falling
on
folks
we
formerly
condemned.
And
if
the
Spirit
is
willing
to
include
folks
we
had
rather
not,
then
who
are
we
to
try
to
prevent
them
from
coming
into
the
tents
of
grace
under
which
God
has
so
generously
sheltered
us?
We
know
what
we
like,
and
we
tend
to
like
what
we
know.
But
thank
God,
God
always
knows
more
than
us!
Amen.