(To appreciate much of this sermon, it would help to understand who I am and where I preach~~I am a born and bred New Yorker preaching in a deep South/Bible Belt congregation, hence there is a bit of a culture and perspective shift)
--Illus: His name is Leroy ’Lee Lee’ Chauvin. He’s a man in his 70’s and he resides in Houma, LA. Leroy is famous, or infamous, for his oysters. Oysters. Either you love ’em or you hate ’em. They generally do not inspire indifference. I am told by oyster lovers that the hazzards of eating oysters is that a--they sometimes have sand and grit, and b--they can taste stale and unfresh (a fresh oyster is a salty tasting oyster). Leroy’s oysters are exceptional, though. They taste salty-fresh, and they are sand and grit free. Oyster lovers LOVE his oysters. Part of the reason they are so good is how he cleanses them. He takes them out to a barrier island in the Gulf and rinses them en masse for hours upon hours. The result? A salty-fresh sand/grit free oyster! This is what makes him and his oysters famous. But he is somewhat...infamous. You see, Leroy is an enterprizing business man always looking for ways to sell his product~~his pure product, pure because his oysters are sand and grit free. So to help market his oysters, he put a sign outside his stand~~ "Certified Kosher Oysters." Needless to say, oysters will NEVER be kosher for a Jewish person. Furthermore, there is quite a process in getting something certified as kosher. Only a Rabbi can do it, and there are professional organizations that perform this function~~hence the circle K on your food items. The reason we know about all this is that a Jewish woman living in Louisiana saw Leroy’s sign and took deep offense~~so much so that the press was alerted. Leroy’s mistake was one of simple ignorance. You see, back in the 50’s when he was an army cook, he had a friend who was Jewish. And Leroy, a Catholic, asked his Jewish friend what kosher meant. He said that it meant ’pure.’ That stuck with Leroy. And his oysters were pure~~no sand or grit, so he maid them....kosher. Well, a Catholic cajun can’t certify anything as kosher. So he took down his sign. But he’s still selling his oysters. Just not kosher oysters. Kosher Oysters. Interesting, huh?
--But all of this made me wonder~~Does God have a problem with oysters?
I--Part One
--Some think it arbitrary. Others just puzzling. Observant Jews think it still sacred and binding. What is that? The food list of Lev. 11. Food that is clean and unclean.
--And from our gentile perspective, it in interesting to look at the list and compare with our personal menus. We all love pork products, I assume. But they are on the ’forbidden list.’ So is camel, but I don’t plan on a camel sandwich anytime soon. All shellfish is on the list, not just oysters, but lobster, too. That includes it with lemon and butter! Catfish is unclean, and I know that it is required eating of all Southerners. Rabbit is on there, too. I know many who love rabbit; I am told that it tastes like...well, you know. Well, God’s instructions were quite clear to the people regarding these items. Read Lev. 11:43-47.
--But the question is inevitable. Why? Why were these foods unclean? Many theories. Most are really rather unsubstantive, but I’ll share with you what are likely the best ones.
--One idea is that these food items were unclean for reasons of health. For example, pork can have trichinosis; shellfish can have bacteria and viruses; rabbits can have tularema. The idea is that God made them unclean because they were dangerous. Many folks, especially some Rabbis, still assert that this is true.
--But was it an issue of health? You can disagree with me and still be saved (wink, wink) but the likely answer is....no. Probably not. Why is that?
--Well, for one health might account for some of the animals, but not all. Furthermore, many of these diseases are also found in clean animals. And clean animals have some diseases that the unclean animals don’t have. Also, nothing in the text addresses an issue or concern about health.
--Also, from our Christian perspective, didn’t Jesus effectually declare all foods clean? That is Mark’s observation in Mk. 7:19. Later NT writers such as Paul would also understand that. He claimed that the kingdom of God was not about food, and that you could eat whatever with a clear conscience. And rememeber, Jesus and Paul lived in the ancient world, too. Pork would have been just as dangerous in Jesus’ day as Moses.’
--There is a better suggestion than health, one that is even supported by Jewish and Rabbinical sources, too. God forbade animals that...were...odd. Animals that did not fit according to pattern.
--The best Eng. transl. of ’kosher’ is not ’pure.’ It is ’fit.’ What is behind this idea of ’fit?’
--Well, from a biblical perspective, there are 3 classsifications/catagorizations of animals (see Gen. 1:28ff): fish of sea, birds of air, and those that move along the ground.
--But as you look at the list in Lev. 11, notice how many of the animals ’don’t fit plan or pattern.’ What do you mean, you ask? Well, Fish have scales and fins, right? Not catfish or eels; they have fins, but no scales. They have skin. BOOM, they are unclean! Shellfish have neither, BOOM, they are on the list! Animals that move along the ground use their legs to do so, but not snakes, BOOM, they are on the list! Animals with a cloven hoof chew cud, but not pigs, BOOM, they are on the list. Camels chew cud, but they have toes, BOOM, they are on the list. We can go on an on like this. Many of the birds on the list are birds of prey. They often feed on carrion, which itself would make them unclean.
--There is all thru the OT this idea that ’normalcy, wholeness’ and ’not anomaly’ are what matters. Case in point?
--The OT condemns planting different crops in the same field; it also condemns wearing clothing of mixed material (see Lev. 19:19 and Dt. 22:9,11). So all you wearing a cotton and poly blend need to repent publically....
--We also read in Lev, 21:17ff that someone born with a disability could not be a priest. Ouch! That doesn’t play well in our culture today, does it? The infirmed were barred. Furthermore, certain people with diseases were unclean...people of certain nationalities...women at certain periods, etc.
--So, when you are talking about what was unclean, it wasn’t just food. It was crops. It was clothing. It was....people. And that’s a bit thorny, huh? The idea of people being unclean. People who are a bit....odd. Who do not ’fit according to pattern.’
--Yankee preachers in S. GA? Do we ’fit according to pattern?’ Or are we....odd? Please don’t answer that!
--Do you know any stories of odd folks in churches? In your church? In a former church? Folks who are a bit different? Folks who do not ’fit any pattern?’ I’m sure that we all know some instances, some quite funny.
--Illus: I read about one guy at a church who was a bit odd. He used to give everyone a huge hug and kiss them around the neck and greet them with a big ’I love ya, brother!’ He had 3 cars, I’m told. A green 1976 VW beetle, a green 1976 VW beetle, and a green 1976 VW beetle. I don’t know what you think, but that is...odd.
--Sometimes these oddities are a bit funny. Sometimes they are not! How do we treat those whose race does not ’fit according to pattern?’ What about those with pasts? Those with different cultures or backgrounds? Those who have odd ones? What about those with moral oddities. How many alcoholics say about church, ’Why would I go there? I don’t fit with those folks. I’m not as good as they are! I don’t belong with them! Why would they welcome a boozer like me?’
--Interesting, huh? I bet you never thought that food and people were connected?
II--Part Two
--They were connected for Peter. An angel has visited Cornelius, a God fearing gentile and a Roman centurion. The angel has told him to send for Peter who is in Joppa, and the messengers go.
--At roughly the same time, Peter has a vision. He is praying on the rooftop, and he is hungry. He falls into a trance, and a sheet from heaven comes down, laden with ham, catfish, and hasenpfefer amongst other things. A voice tells him, ’Arise, Peter, kill and eat!’ Peter’s reply? ’I’m a good Jewish boy, Lord! I’ve never even touched anything impure or unclean.’ Then the voice says, ’Do not call unclean what I have cleansed!’ Then the vision departs. He mulls this over for a while, and while he is thinking, the messengers from Cornelius come.
--Understand Peter’s reaction. Food was sacred to the Jewish people, and the food list was a big aspect of their distinctiveness. It was part of ’be ye holy because I am holy.’ This list was sacred to Peter.
--And this idea is just as true today as it was in Peter’s day. What is that. Food is more than just food! Many times it is culture. Identity. You ask, what do you mean?
--Illus: Consider this. Are Southerners proud....of grits? You bet you are! I’ve had folks tell me, ’I’m proud of grits ’cause grits are the SOUTH!’ See what I mean? Culture and identity! Furthermore, I am told that there is an unofficial orthodoxy concerning grits. I am told that only yankees and sinners (some say this is only one catagorization) eat their grits with sugar! I remember a luncheon I had with some friends. One in our group was someone I met for the first time; he said that I have an accent (me? a New Yorker in S. GA has an accent?). When he asked where I was from, I told him. I also told him how I love it down here and how I do love southern ways. He then promptly looked to my friend to ask him a question that, I guess, would determine whether or not I belonged. He asked him about me, ’Does he like grits?’ Upon that question hinged my cultural acceptance. Food is not just food. It is often culture and identity.
--For Peter, food was more than just food. And it wasn’t a far stretch to connect it to people was it? You know the story...there with Cornelius...the Holy Spirit...he now sees what? That people are now kosher, too! It does connect to people!
--And here is an interesting side note. Where did Peter have his vision and receive the visitors? In Joppa. Is there someone else who got a summons in Joppa to go to some unkosher folks? Yep. His name was....Jonah! And Jonah decided to go the other way.
--And that is the challenge to us. Will we pull a Jonah when God calls us to go to those who don’t fit, or will be pull a Peter? Will we go and make God’s church a church for everybody? Regardless of race, of background, of culture, of baggage, of past, or even of present!
--Because Jesus doesn’t just change menus, folks. He changes guest lists, too. He changes membership roles. He changes ’who can come. Who is fit. Who is kosher.’
--Because you know what? There are a lot of people out there who don’t fit, and they know they don’t fit. And you know what? We all too often help them to feel that they don’t fit. What will we do for them?
--Illus: Dr. Ben Craddock tells about a visit he had when he and his wife were visiting Gatlinburg, TN. They were eating a private lunch when an old man came over to chat with them. Craddock said that he tried to be polite, but brief and even curt to get rid of the old guy. So when the guy asked Craddock what he did, Craddock tried intimidation~~"I am a professor of homeletics." "Oh, you’re a preacher. Well I got a preacher story for you." And before you know it, the old man pulled up a chair and sat down at their table uninvited. "When I was a boy, I was born illegitimate. And in that day, that was a bad scandal. People blamed me for it. I’d be made fun of by other kids because I didn’t know who my father was. People would often wonder and ask behind my back. The result is that I kept to myself and had nothing to do with anyone. One day, a new preacher came to town, and I heard that he was real good. So I decided to go and hear him. I went pretty regular, but I went late and left early so I didn’t have to interact with the folks there. But one Sunday, I got lost in his message. It just hooked me. And before I knew it, the closing benediction was offered and the aisles were full. I couldn’t get out. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, and it was that preacher. He looked at me and asked me, ’What’s your name, son? Whose boy are you?’ When he asked me that, my heart sank and I grew ashamed. But what he said next to me, I’ll never forget. He said, ’I know whose son you are. You bear his likeness. You’re God’s son, aren’t you.’ That was the first time anyone conveyed to me any sense of worth or dignity! Those words changed my life!" And with that the old man left. When he left, the waitress came over to the table and asked Craddock if he knew who that was who was just visiting with them. ’No,’ Craddock replied. ’That was Ben Hooper,’ the waitress informed. "Two tern Gov. of Tennessee.’ A man changed by being given a sense of worth and value. Even though he was...odd. And didn’t fit.
--What type of church would Jesus have us be. Whom should we welcome? Understand what I am about to say. Maybe in Jesus Christ....oysters are kosher. So are Catfish. So are ham sandwiches. So are sinners. Jesus has no folks that are too odd. All are...’fit.’ We just need to accept him and let him make us clean. Think about it.
