About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while it was being prepared he fell into a trance. He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.” The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.
Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon’s house and were standing by the gate. They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three men are searching for you. Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?” They answered, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish people, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” So Peter invited them in and gave them lodging.
The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers and sisters from Joppa accompanied him. The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. On Peter’s arrival, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, worshiped him. But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.” And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled, and he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is improper for a Jew to associate with or to visit an outsider, but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean.
Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness is acceptable to him.
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
Acts 10:1-28, 34-35, 44-47 (NRSV)
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, and from our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Stigma.
I want to talk today about this word, stigma. It’s a word that has many meanings, but, generally, it’s a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something. Can you think of any stigmas that exist in our society today?
There are many stigmas in our world today. In the time of the early Church there were many stigmas, too. Of course, it depended on one’s perspective. If you were Jewish, for example, anyone who wasn’t Jewish would, in your perspective, have a mark against (or on) them. Gentiles, for example. Who were considered unclean.
That’s the situation with Cornelius in today’s story. From Peter’s perspective, any association with a Gentile or anyone or anything else identified as unclean would, under Levitical law, require a process of ritual purification. Cornelius, an officer in the Roman guard, was a Gentile. Thus, he was ritually unclean.
Except for one thing. The Holy Spirit. The story of Peter and Cornelius is a story - like that of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch - about catching up to where the Spirit is always moving. It might surprise us - that the Spirit is always nudging us outward. Always redrawing the lines. Always disrupting the things we always thought were true.
But, it shouldn’t surprise us, should it? Because isn’t this exactly what Jesus did, while here on earth? Always moving towards the edges of our world? To those who have been stigmatized, pushed away, deemed abnormal according to our standards?
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May is Mental Health Awareness month. It no surprise to you, I’m fairly sure, that this is an important subject for me. Both personally and as a pastor. The statistics are pretty stunning. Nearly 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. experiences mental illness in a give year. That’s 20% of our adult population. To quantify it, that would be every adult over the age of 65 in our country. It is a huge number. And, yet, too many are afraid to seek assistance because they fear being stigmatized. Being marked as having something wrong with them. So, they don’t get help.
The consequences of this are devastating. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. And it is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34. More than 90% of people who die by suicide show symptoms of a mental health condition. And half of all chronic mental illness begins by age 14, three-quarters by age 24. Yet, despite the availability of effective treatment, there are long delays - sometimes decades of delay - between the first appearance of symptoms and when people get help.
So, what can we do? Rather, what are we called to do as people of a Savior who was always moving toward the edges of our world to draw people in?
Here are five simple things we can do to make the world a better place for people with mental illnesses, and for their families.
- First, be a friend. Provide judgment-free companionship and compassion on the road to recovery. Listen without judgment. Pray for those you know with mental health conditions, and for their family members. And recognize that mental illness isn’t a sign of weak faith or lack of spiritual willpower, or anything that should humiliate anyone.
- Second, be an inspiration. If you are suffering from mental illness, share your story. Has mental illness impacted you or your family in some way? Your story may empower others to seek treatment or to have hope.
- Third, watch your language. Words matter. Pay attention to the words you use and avoid stigmatizing labels. Don’t refer to people as “crazy,” “psycho,” “lunatic,” or “mental.”
- Fourth, be a “Stigmabuster.” Challenge negative attitudes toward mental illness among your friends and acquaintances and in the media.
- Finally, learn the facts. Educate yourself about the various mental illnesses. Attend a lecture or class or use the internet.
And, if you are experiencing grief, anxiety, depression, or any other kind of mental health issue, seek help, if you haven’t already. Talk to me. Talk to your spouse or family. Talk to your doctor. And ask for help. There are a whole bunch of us out there ready and waiting to help, who want to love and support you through your journey.
Peter’s life was disrupted by the vision he received from God in a way he could never have expected. From this vision and then from his experience with Cornelius, he began to truly understand the expansiveness of God’s grace. That God’s grace is bigger, wider and greater than we can ever truly know. That God’s grace encompasses everyone. Stigmatizes no one. That it is a disruptive force - not destructive, but disruptive. A force that shows us how an encounter with someone who is so sure and certain of their boundaries, their rules, their doctrine, their beliefs or whatever - how a disruptive encounter with a gracious God can change everything. And mostly, change us.
Amen.
Preached Sunday, May 5, 2024, at Grace & Glory Lutheran, Goshen, KY and Third Lutheran/MOSAIC, Louisville, KY.
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