Observation: This chapter in the Book of Acts contains one of the most stunning transformations in Christian history. Because Jesus and all his original disciples were Jewish, the first Christians assume this will remain a Jewish movement. Even the miracle of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, though it happens to people from many nations, happens to all Jews.
Then Peter gets this vision from God. While he's praying, a cloth is lowered from heaven, containing animals of all kinds, both lawful and unlawful for Jews to eat. When God commands Peter to eat, Peter refuses. God responds, "What God has made clean, you must not call profane." As Peter is reflecting on what this vision means, he gets an invitation to come to the house of a Gentile: Cornelius. Normally this would not be acceptable for a Jewish man at that time. Yet Peter remembers God's vision, and realizes it's time to stop calling any person unclean. This is a game-changer for early Christians, and opens the door for the Church to be a movement of both Jews and Gentiles worshiping together.
Application: We've seen a lot of change in our lives, but it's nothing compared to what Peter and other Jewish Christ-believers experienced in their time. Their great-grandparents had fought against invading Greek forces, and laid down their very lives in order to keep their Jewish identity and religious practices. And now, in the blink of an eye, Peter is being asked to consort with Gentiles, who he has been raised to believe are unclean.
I see a parallel in today's church in the way we talk about people in the LGBTQIA+ community. I'll be 41 next week, and just in my lifetime, there has been a seismic shift in the way we discuss issues of gender and sexual orientation. It is my belief that the Church is being called to shift its thinking on these issues as well, so that all are welcome and affirmed, and no one is called profane or unclean for who they are. Not only that, but I believe this change can happen because of what we read in the Bible, not in spite of it. Peter's vision changes the way he sees his neighbors, so that he's welcomed by a community he never would have associated with before. I believe God can give us the same kind of vision if we are ready for it.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, give us vision. Help us to see no one as profane or unclean. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment