Divine Appointments

I’ve heard the term divine appointment several times over recent years and I love the idea of it. There are two meanings, but the one I’m thinking of here is when God shows up to meet with someone, rather than God choosing someone for an important task or role.

This Sunday I’m preaching about Peter and the opposition he faced for daring to go and eat with Gentiles and baptizing them and welcoming them fully into the early church. This came out of a divine appointment with God, a vision where Peter heard God say it was okay to now eat foods previously considered off limits to Jews. It was a reshaping of centuries old tradition and Peter was resistant. But God was persistent and not only sent Peter to Cornelius but first let Cornelius know in his own personal vision he should send some of his people to go and get him. The story is a series of divine appointments, meetings with God through visions and through people who believed and became part of the body of Christ.

Acts 11 is about Peter coming back from a joyful and Spirit-drenched experience of baptizing and celebrating to disgruntled early church leaders. They were protectionist, wanting control of the new model of the church, and holding fast to practices that had worked in the past but no longer reflected God’s vision to welcome all people and multiply believers.

I’m about to go on holidays for a month from preaching and blogging. I probably won’t venture far from home this year, but some day trips are in the cards. I know that I need the down time and renewal of rest. And yet, I don’t want to be on holiday from God. I’m guessing that there might be at least one divine appointment along the way somewhere - an image or idea that could only have come from God, an encounter with someone who speaks a message I need to hear, an answer to prayer or a nudge to do something specific to help someone or to take notice of something around me.

I believe that God does these things intentionally and it’s a way that my faith is affirmed and grows. When I start the day with a posture of being open and ready to notice God’s movement in what is happening within and around me, then my purpose is renewed and my ability to be in the present and available to God’s perspective is sharpened.

Peter was resistant to going and doing something that went against the Jewish faith he had been raised in. He knew the Torah and the required separation of Jews from everyone else. And yet, he was willing to entertain the idea that a shift needed to happen which would open up a grander vision.

We and the churches we serve should take a cue from Peter - to listen and be open, to question to ensure that we’re getting the message right, but then in obedience being willing to go and change our structures and approach in order to open our doors wide to whoever God wants to come in.

Peter was blessed by Cornelius and his family, welcomed with open arms and treated with respect as an apostle. He was able to make a large impact in a small amount of time because he allowed himself to be a vessel of God’s mission. In a culture of fear and suspicion, do we expect outsiders and those not like us to bless us? Not usually. Perhaps we too need to listen carefully, to let go of some tired opinions or stereotypes, and to experience the blessings of telling God’s story to people eager to hear it and to be welcomed into the family.

May you be attuned for God’s next divine appointment in your life and may you respond with joy, trusting that God’s vision is good and much greater than our own.