From the time of their founding father Abraham, men who were going to be part of the congregation just had to be circumcised. Circumcision was a minimum requirement. Yet, now, some groups were letting in Gentiles--letting in people who did not fit the profile, people who weren't the kind that religious people were used to letting be part of the congregation.
When the church authorities in Jerusalem heard that Peter, Peter!, had been associated with these people who had made different life choices, they were critical of him.
Peter defended his actions by explaining that he was doing what God had told him to do.
Congregations today are still wrestling with the question of what constitutes a deal-breaker for membership.
Carl Holladay in Preaching through the Christian Year C offers this list for us to consider:
Who should be included within the circle of the people of God?
Are the traditional boundary markers still to be observed?
If traditions prevents Jews and Gentiles from associating with each other, what happens when the old social distinctions no longer exist?
How are they to relate to each other within a newly configured people of God?
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