A pair of robins decided our porch railing is a great spot for a nest. Admittedly, it is covered and thus offers some protection from the elements. There is also a screen dividing us from the birds, so, even if Natasha tries to go after the nest, she can’t quite reach it. Of course, this is a bit of an inconvenience for us as we are now very aware of the birds and their need to protect and nurture the babies. We aren’t spending as much time on the porch as we might otherwise. We could have simply gotten rid of the nest. We could have stood firm on the grounds of ‘not in my backyard’. Instead, we have chosen to try our best to coexist with the robins.
There are a lot of ways in which society supports those who stand firm and proclaim not in my backyard. So many of the attitudes and priorities that have been normalised promote affiliation with people ‘like’ us, however we may understand this. The expectation is a sense of heterogeneity about where we live, work, and worship. There is a sense of comfort that comes with the expectation that those around us somehow conform to our understanding of the world and how people should exist within it.
Living within such ideals of comfort and conformity, however, requires boundaries, limits, and expectations about who should be excluded, who doesn’t belong in our backyards. As a result, there are those left on the margins by virtue of whatever standards have been set for inclusion – financial circumstances, ethnicity, indigeneity, religion, gender, sexuality, health and more have been used to determine who fits and who doesn’t belong. These standards justify how relationships are subsequently negotiated and framed.
Such attitudes and behaviours are not new. In fact, it could be argued that this is the reason Peter felt a need to ask: ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ He was speaking about Gentiles who did not belong among the Jews. They had not followed the law. They were not circumcised as a sign of their belonging to the people of God. They had not worshipped in the Temple and learned the scriptures. By many measures, they should have been outsiders, and excluded from the community of faith.
‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ The question serves as a reminder that God’s ways are not the same as human ways. Where humanity might feel a desire to exclude because of perceived differences, God sees more than we can ask or imagine and invites into relationship. The Gentiles had already received the Holy Spirit illustrating that God had accepted these individuals as part of the community. Baptism was a formality which illustrated the human members of the community also accepted these Gentiles as family. Baptism would thus serve as an outward and visible sign of the inward and invisible grace already given to these Gentiles. To engage in this act, the predominantly Jewish community had to expand their understanding of belonging to include those who might have otherwise been outside. They were leading with love as Jesus taught.
We have reached the fifth posture of our ‘six postures of prayer’: stand firm. This posture requires resolve and effort. It is a posture of control, power, self-assurance, confidence, courage, and strength. We have a choice about what to stand firm. We can choose to stand firm with the social expectations and priorities, or we can stand firm on love, that kind of love that Jesus modelled, one that meets people where they are at, values the gifts they have to offer, and invites into relationship.
To stand firm in love is to say to those on the margins: you belong here, there is space to share whatever gifts you choose to share, and we value your relationship with us. To stand firm in love is to move past the perspective of not in my backyard and choose to coexist with robins, and Gentiles, and those living in poverty, those struggling with addiction, those who are gender diverse, those from different ethnic backgrounds, those who are differently abled, and any others whom social expectations might otherwise exclude. To stand firm in love is to appreciate that God’s gifts are given to everyone and that we are blessed when we invite anyone and everyone to share those gifts.
Today the six postures of prayer invite us to stand firm. What position will we take? To what will we choose to give our power, self-assurance, confidence, courage, and strength? May we choose to stand firm on love, the kind of love Jesus taught. This we pray as we sing: 73 One Bread, One Body
