Acts 10:1-8
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been seen and heard. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
We are running out of Sundays to look at this long story of the birth-pangs of the Christian faith, and I have decided to focus on a few stories in some depth—rather than just tossing out random names without being able to go into each story as deeply as it deserves.
However, the story I want to share today is--I believe—pivotal. It marks a key turning point in how Christians would forever see themselves and their calling. It also marks the way Christians would come to be seen by others.
The reading with which we began today, introduced us to Cornelius, the centurion, a “devout and God-fearing man” who, while not Jewish himself, was respected by all the Jewish people for his generosity and kindness. As we read, Cornelius had a vision of an angel telling him that God had seen his good works and he was to send men to the city of Joppa to find Simon, called Peter.
The next day, Peter, knowing nothing yet of Cornelius, was on the roof praying when he had a vision. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. And then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter and eat.” But Peter replied, ”Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean!” The voice spoke again, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times and then the vision disappeared.
At this same time, the three men sent by Cornelius had found Simon’s house and were asking for Peter. The Spirit spoke to Peter and told him to go with the men with no hesitation. The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along with them as well.
The following day they arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius and several close relatives and friends were waiting. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. Peter said to them all: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. So why have you sent for me?”
Cornelius told Peter about the visit from an angel, telling him to send for Peter – and now Peter had come and they were all waiting to hear what he had been sent to tell them.
Peter, realized that the vision God had sent him telling him to accept all kinds and call nothing and no one impure, was intended to teach him how to accept Gentiles, such as Cornelius. He began by sharing the story of Jesus—how he had come to teach all people and been rejected by his own. Peter continued stories of the presence of the Spirit with the disciples as they shared the word of Jesus, and the vast numbers of people who, having heard the leading of the Spirit, now followed Jesus as well. And the Spirit fell on all that were there that day and they became believers.
And the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles!
The turning point that I see here is that, until his vision of the blanket filled with “unclean” food and being told to eat any of it, even Peter hadn’t yet entirely comprehended all that following Jesus meant. He still clung to the old Law and missed the point that Jesus, with his unlimited in-clusion, now superseded dietary rules and other purity laws that shut people out rather than bringing them in. And now, the others with him were seeing the same thing. The blessing of the Spirit was so obvious that all those gathered there that day were baptized – even the Gentiles!
When the circumcised leaders in Jerusalem heard all this, they called Peter home to explain his actions, and so he told them of the work of the Spirit there, saying, “Who am I to deny where the Spirit has led?” and when they heard all that had happened there, they had no answer and they began to understand that following Jesus was even bigger than they originally believed.
This wasn’t the first, nor would it be the last time God’s “open door” policy would be challenged. Paul would be constantly attacked for including ‘outsiders.’ Many ‘Christians’ today still try their best to exclude those they deem unworthy continuing to justify their actions using the same ancient Jewish purity laws that Peter’s vision condemned long ago.
BUT – none of this is our decision to make. It is God’s open heart and God’s open door and God’s invitation. The faith and the love of Jesus doesn’t belong to any of us alone. It belongs to us all. That’s why I love this particular story of Peter and Cornelius and the gradual, surprising shift in understanding that takes place in all the people here.
We can grow, we can learn. We can become better at this following Jesus stuff. If Peter and the other apostles can grow and change – so can we.
Amen.
However, the story I want to share today is--I believe—pivotal. It marks a key turning point in how Christians would forever see themselves and their calling. It also marks the way Christians would come to be seen by others.
The reading with which we began today, introduced us to Cornelius, the centurion, a “devout and God-fearing man” who, while not Jewish himself, was respected by all the Jewish people for his generosity and kindness. As we read, Cornelius had a vision of an angel telling him that God had seen his good works and he was to send men to the city of Joppa to find Simon, called Peter.
The next day, Peter, knowing nothing yet of Cornelius, was on the roof praying when he had a vision. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. And then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter and eat.” But Peter replied, ”Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean!” The voice spoke again, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times and then the vision disappeared.
At this same time, the three men sent by Cornelius had found Simon’s house and were asking for Peter. The Spirit spoke to Peter and told him to go with the men with no hesitation. The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along with them as well.
The following day they arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius and several close relatives and friends were waiting. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. Peter said to them all: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. So why have you sent for me?”
Cornelius told Peter about the visit from an angel, telling him to send for Peter – and now Peter had come and they were all waiting to hear what he had been sent to tell them.
Peter, realized that the vision God had sent him telling him to accept all kinds and call nothing and no one impure, was intended to teach him how to accept Gentiles, such as Cornelius. He began by sharing the story of Jesus—how he had come to teach all people and been rejected by his own. Peter continued stories of the presence of the Spirit with the disciples as they shared the word of Jesus, and the vast numbers of people who, having heard the leading of the Spirit, now followed Jesus as well. And the Spirit fell on all that were there that day and they became believers.
And the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles!
The turning point that I see here is that, until his vision of the blanket filled with “unclean” food and being told to eat any of it, even Peter hadn’t yet entirely comprehended all that following Jesus meant. He still clung to the old Law and missed the point that Jesus, with his unlimited in-clusion, now superseded dietary rules and other purity laws that shut people out rather than bringing them in. And now, the others with him were seeing the same thing. The blessing of the Spirit was so obvious that all those gathered there that day were baptized – even the Gentiles!
When the circumcised leaders in Jerusalem heard all this, they called Peter home to explain his actions, and so he told them of the work of the Spirit there, saying, “Who am I to deny where the Spirit has led?” and when they heard all that had happened there, they had no answer and they began to understand that following Jesus was even bigger than they originally believed.
This wasn’t the first, nor would it be the last time God’s “open door” policy would be challenged. Paul would be constantly attacked for including ‘outsiders.’ Many ‘Christians’ today still try their best to exclude those they deem unworthy continuing to justify their actions using the same ancient Jewish purity laws that Peter’s vision condemned long ago.
BUT – none of this is our decision to make. It is God’s open heart and God’s open door and God’s invitation. The faith and the love of Jesus doesn’t belong to any of us alone. It belongs to us all. That’s why I love this particular story of Peter and Cornelius and the gradual, surprising shift in understanding that takes place in all the people here.
We can grow, we can learn. We can become better at this following Jesus stuff. If Peter and the other apostles can grow and change – so can we.
Amen.
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