ALL ARE WELCOMEReading: Acts 11: 1-18
It’s a dangerous thing to pray. That’s what Peter found out on many occasions, probably one of the most traumatic being the time when he was staying in Joppa and went up to the quiet and peace of the flat roof to pray. While Peter was praying he began to feel hungry. He had the vision of a sheet being let down in front of him from heaven. In it were all sorts of animals, reptiles and birds, and a voice said to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat them.” Peter refused because it was against Jewish law. He was really being stretched and challenged here, the challenge going right to the heart of what he held so dear, the observance of his religion. But the voice persisted, “If God says something is acceptable, don’t say it isn’t.” God wanted to really drive the point home, for the vision was repeated three times, so Peter couldn’t dismiss it or call it a figment of his imagination, and, besides, ‘three’ seems to have been a significant number in his life! The meaning of the vision soon became clear with the arrival of messengers from a Roman army officer named Cornelius, stationed in Caesarea. He also had been praying, for he was a devout man, and he, too, had had a vision in which he was commended for his prayer life and for his charitable works and was instructed by an angel of God to send for Peter to come and visit him.
This is one of the most mind blowing and exciting encounters of the early Christian journey. Cornelius is an officer in the ranks of the hated occupying armies of Rome. He is a Gentile, anathema to any devout Jew. Peter, although being a follower of the Way, is a strict Jew who holds sacred all the religious observances and practices of his race. He also has no reason to love Rome. The Roman occupation of Judea had caused untold suffering for his fellow countrymen over generations and their most barbaric act, such a short time before, had been to crucify his Lord. Why in the name of all the prophets, saints and martyrs was he being asked – no, not asked - told to go and visit this Captain Cornelius? And what if his colleagues found out about it? There’d be hell to pay. However, Peter has learnt much from his journey to date. Although he cannot see the overall picture, God can and does, and by now, that’s good enough for Peter. He sets out with his companions for the house of the perceived foreigner, alien, even enemy, and finds there a man of deep faith and humility, so much so that he falls down before Peter. Peter, who must have been feeling that he was on a roller coaster, says to him, “Stand up! I’m a human being like you.” So they discover almost immediately the first step towards unity and peace, namely the recognition of a common humanity. Cornelius and Peter share their recent spiritual experiences, and then Peter makes this amazing declaration, amazing when you consider his background, his strong gut ancestral drumbeats and his human inclination to be anywhere but where he found himself at that present moment. “I see very clearly that God doesn’t show partiality. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.” After Jesus’ high priestly prayer on the night before he died, this is the first New Testament call to unity. Peter shares with Cornelius, his friends and extended family the Good News of Jesus. The visit was certainly an anointed one, I imagine carefully planned in heaven, for before Peter had even finished speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the message. Peter’s Jewish companions were awestruck when they realised that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles. This just had to be God, but how were they going to explain it to the others back home? Would their experiential truth break through the layers of resistance they knew they would find? How could they explain that God was creating a new community, a church that was inclusive whose hallmarks were forgiveness, acceptance and love? Anyway, Cornelius and his household were baptised in the Name of Jesus and welcomed into the family of God.
We dare not underestimate the importance of this ‘visit’, this encounter. It marked the earthly beginnings of a world-wide Church. It built bridges, broke down walls, established new and enriching relationships, reaffirmed faith in a God who created diversity and who calls us to unity in that diversity, not uniformity. Left to himself, Peter would have remained with the security and familiarity and practices of his Jewish culture, tradition and religion. And these were good, holy and totally acceptable and commendable, but Judaism was the cradle of Christianity. When Jesus comes, he disturbs things. From the cradle we emerge into childhood, then adolescence and then maturity. We are called to grow up in every way to Christ who is the head. Even after two thousand years we haven’t reached there yet, but one of the signs of maturity is to so trust our relationship with Jesus that we are free to ‘visit’ one another, with all that that implies of welcome, of restored hospitality, of acceptance, of bringing those who are different from us over the threshold of our particular tradition and saying, “You’re welcome.” To visit in this sense means that we welcome others beyond the front door of our lives, into the living room of our existence, that we are prepared to see the beauty that is there in the way they do things and in what they believe, and be vulnerable enough to share our own beauty. This is still not a popular calling.
When people feel fearful, insecure or threatened they hit back, they criticize. They can even attack the one who has been bold enough to cross ‘forbidden’ boundaries. Peter had caught the vision of the beloved community, of the Kingdom where there was room enough for all. He even welcomed it and embraced it. So it was natural when he returned to Jerusalem, his home base, that he encountered criticism from the other believers. They couldn’t understand; they hadn’t been there. It was all a bit too much. But, then, Jesus is always a bit too much, isn’t he? Peter is called in front of them to explain his actions. He simply tells the story of what happened. His words must have been anointed, because the Holy Spirit pierced through all their defences and dealt with their objections, so that they all ended up praising God for what had happened. That’s the sort of generosity of spirit that is so sorely needed in our world today and in our churches.
Towards the end of his life Peter wrote a letter to encourage and comfort believers who were being persecuted because they were trying to remain true to the vision and loyal to Jesus. He said, “The time has come for judgement and it must begin first among God’s own children. But if you are suffering according to God’s will, keep on doing what is right, and trust yourself to God who made you for he will never fail you. After you have suffered for a little while, he will restore, support and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.” Peter knew what he was talking about. Maybe we’re beginning to as well, and so can join with him when he says, “All power is God’s forever and ever. Amen.”