On Infinity
May 18, 2025
Traceymay Kalvaitis
John 13:33-35
Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Acts 11: 1-18
Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” (1-3)
Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners, and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’
But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were.
The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’
And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?”
When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
Today’s sermon is titled On Infinity. We’re going to start big today and work our way back in because the scale of love that our scriptures invite us into requires expansive thinking. The scale of love we are invited into is a love beyond borders, beyond boundaries, beyond the social hierarchies of our culture. The scale of love we are invited into is infinite.
We have a model for infinity. In fact, we are living in it. So let’s take a few moments this morning to remember what we learned at some point, probably when we were too young to really appreciate it. We live in an expanding universe and our universe is so vast, it can only be measured by the speed of light. Light travels approximately 186,000 miles per second. If we could travel at the speed of light, we could circle the earth 7 times in one second.* Think about this for a few moments…think about traveling at the speed of light, fast enough to circle the earth 7 times in one second. Now imagine how far we could go, traveling at the speed of light, if we travelled for an entire year. We would travel 5.8 trillion miles in one year.** 5.8 trillion miles in one year, traveling at the speed of light. If we traveled at the speed of light without stopping (how could you stop, really?) for 46 billion years, we would reach the farthest stars that we can now observe. 46 billion years! This means that our “observable universe” is more than 92 billion light years across*** and that is, by no means, the end of it; there is every reason to imagine that our expanding universe is infinite…boundless…and yet we live within it.
Friends, it is only natural that we do not go about our lives with a constant awareness of the vastness of our universe. Instead, we focus on our own observable universe…this incredible planet on which we live, the cultures we are familiar with, the places we have been, the people we know, the people we love and the beliefs we hold, based on our knowledge and life experience. And yet, there is a force at work in the universe, a force that draws us together, in community, in wholeness, and in love; we call that force God.
Our teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Christ, is the embodiment of that force we call God. In our scripture reading today, Jesus offers what he calls “a new commandment” to “love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus says this is new because in the First Testament scriptures of Leviticus (19:18) it is written “…love your neighbor as yourself.” To fully understand what Jesus might mean by offering this new commandment to “love one another as I have loved you,” we must consider the context in which it was offered. Not included in the lectionary were the events that preceded Jesus offering this new commandment.
John 13 reads: “Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, Jesus got up, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’”
We can see from the reaction of Peter that it would be unheard of for a teacher to wash the feet of their students. The washing of dusty feet was strictly reserved for servants only. Keep in mind there were no paved streets or walkways. Dust from the earth mixed with dust from animal droppings was stirred up with every step. It was imperative that feet be washed upon returning home and it was the servants who did the washing. A master or mistress would never be known to stoop so low as to wash the feet of their servants.
This is why theologian Matthew Myers Bolton describes Jesus’s actions as “subversive…with wide ranging social implications and consequences.” **** The message Jesus sends with his actions is this: I recognize your inherent worth. I acknowledge the God in you. I am at your service. Peter protests this reversal of cultural norms, but Jesus says, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Let’s not miss this point, Friends. Here, Jesus is lifting up the truth that the infinite love he invites us into can only be experienced in relationship…a relationship of mutual respect, and a willingness to serve one another.
“After he had washed their feet, put on his robe, and had reclined again, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.’”
Friends, it is relatively easy to serve the ones we care about, to see the dignity in those who are most like ourselves, and to respect those who hold the same beliefs and traditions. The teachings we find in our reading from Acts today widen the circle to include those we may regard as enemies…to include those we may regard as unworthy.
In our reading, we find Peter, returning from his travels, having to defend why he has been fraternizing with the gentiles. Gentiles include anyone who is not Jewish and the Jewish people, in an understandable effort to preserve and further their cultural and religious traditions, did not associate with Gentiles. Remember, the Jewish people were living under political occupation by an aggressive foreign power; their oppressors were Gentiles.
Peter is questioned and accused; his response comes, I imagine, as a real surprise to those questioning him. Peter reports of a vision he had that rendered all food clean in God’s sight. He reports that he witnessed the gift of the Holy Spirit passed to the Gentiles, as well. And then, Peter, the same Peter who at first refused to let Jesus wash his feet…Peter poses the stunning question, “Who was I that I could hinder God?”
Who was I that I could hinder God? Who am I to judge who is worthy and who is not? Who am I to think I am greater than another or another is less than myself? Who am I to say who belongs and who does not? Who am I to say that some are deserving of justice and others are not?
These are powerful questions for our times, Friends. We would be served to remember Jesus’s actions and his words. He rose from the table, put a towel around his waist, drew water and knelt at the feet of his disciples in a gesture of acknowledgement and service. Peter ventured into unknown lands among unknown people and there he witnessed that the grace of God is alive and at work. Peter returned to his community to testify “The Spirit told me…not to make a distinction between them and us.” The love that is God is available to all; there are no exceptions. The source of that love, it is infinite.
In closing, I remind us that we do not have to travel to the depths of space to experience infinity. We can experience infinity in our own hearts and minds when we align ourselves with God, the source of all love and light and truth. In alignment with God, it becomes our pleasure to serve, it becomes possible to see that of God in all people. So be it. Amen.
*https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/Numbers/Math/Mathematical_Thinking/how_fast_is_the_speed.htm
**https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/what-is-a-light-year/
***https://www.britannica.com/topic/observable-universe
****https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2019/5/14/new-commandment-salts-lectionary-commentary-for-easter-5
Pastoral Prayer
In these moments of stillness, Lord, we thank you for all of the events of our lives that have made us who we are, and who we are not. Help us to recognize the profound influence we have in the lives of others; remind us to be careful with one another and help us to speak our truth in a way that encourages others to speak their truth, as well. Remind us, God, that our words can carry within them your infinite goodness. Guide us to use words of encouragement, words of kindness, strong words that really say what we hope to offer to one another. And may we never underestimate the power of our sincere prayers, for through them we build bridges of light between ourselves and the very source of love we call God. This we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.
Benediction
I leave you with these words from Paul to the Colossians, chapter one, verse 10:
“May you walk worthy of God, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in knowledge.” Amen.