Good morning, Friends!
Our reading this morning is about an incredible choice which was faced by the early church. Up till this point, the people who were a part of the Christian movement pretty much all belonged to the Jewish tradition.
Christians came from many different parts of Jewish society. They were country people and they were city dwellers. They were fishermen and they were tax collectors. They were revolutionaries and they were rabbis. But they all belonged to the same basic religious family.
There were Jews who spoke Greek, and there were Jews like Jesus who spoke Aramaic. They were people from all over the Jewish world, which covers a lot of ground. But – if you wanted to be a Christian, you HAD to be a Jew.
Jesus had stretched those limits now and then. Jesus spoke to Samaritans. But Samaritans were still basically from a Jewish background. They were like cousins who broke off from the family hundreds of years ago. Jesus had also spoken a few times Romans. But they were exceptions. They weren’t the norm.
Today’s story is where we start to see the church facing up to the idea that it’s a whole new world all of a sudden. And it’s the Holy Spirit that’s responsible. Today’s story is where Holy Spirit really opens up a whole new dimension.
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 come up as a memorial offering before God. 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.About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.
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. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”
The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.
The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them: “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. May I ask why you sent for me?”
Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.
He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached – how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day.
He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Acts 10:1-48
Let’s take a look at the background to this story.
The Roman officer was a nice guy. He sat in the back row at the synagogue every week. He gave to the poor. He prayed every day. But – he’s still not one of the family.
There is a definite red line at this point. God’s people are on one side, and everybody else is on the other. That’s the way it is.
Meanwhile, about thirty miles away, just down the coast, is Peter. Peter’s come a long way since Easter weekend, when he promised to be Jesus’ friend, and then denied that he ever knew Jesus. Peter has really turned around.
Peter has witnessed for his faith. He’s preached to the crowds. He has converted thousands of people by his preaching. Peter is a leader of the new Christian movement. He has been arrested, and released. He’s seen miracles. He has done healings. Peter has grown more in the Spirit, in the last few months, than most of us grow in our whole lifetime.
But he still has a little more spiritual growing up yet to do.
Peter’s praying up on the flat roof of the house about noon, and he has a vision. He sees the sky opening up, and something like a great big sheet descending. And the sheet opens up, and here are all kinds of animals in it. And he hears a dinner gong, and a voice yells, “Come and get it!”
And Peter is really shocked. Because he’s a devout, observant Jew. There are things here which he mustn’t eat. It would be against the commandments. So he refuses. And then voice of the Holy Spirit says to him, “What God has made clean, you must not call unclean.”
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Cornelius, the Roman officer, has his own vision. An angel comes to him and says, “Cornelius, send for Peter. Have him brought here.” So, a soldier and a couple of servants walk thirty miles – from here to Asheboro. From here to Lexington, to go and get him.
Peter comes to Cornelius’ house, and Peter says, “What’s the deal?”
And Cornelius says, “I had a vision. An angel said, `Bring Peter here.’ I was sort of expecting that you’d tell me what’s going on.”
So Peter tells about his vision. And he tells them about Jesus. And suddenly, before you know it, it’s Pentecost all over again! You’ve got the Holy Spirit, people speaking in tongues, the whole nine yards.
These people are acting like Christians. But – wait a minute! – they aren’t Jews. They most definitely are not from the people of Israel. But – they have the Holy Spirit. And everybody’s joyful. What’s going on here?
This story is a turning point for the church. Sometimes being faithful means suddenly realizing that the world is different. The way we thought things were, the way we were always taught, has just been turned upside-down. The world can never be the same.
All of a sudden, the pool of potential Christians multiplied at least a hundred-fold. We’ve got to really stretch now, to include people who are very different from us. Our attitudes, our prejudices, our historic relationships as enemies, all these things have to be set aside. The Holy Spirit has suddenly thrown the doors wide open.
The great line in this story is not, “Well, sure, OK, we’ll let you in. . .”
The great line is, “Can anyone forbid this from happening? How can we keep out people who have received the Holy Spirit, just as we have?”
While Peter and the rest of them were still sitting around, scratching their heads and figuring out what it all meant, the Holy Spirit was way ahead of them. God got there first. We’re just catching up!
The real question is, “Can anyone get in the way, when God has already been reaching out? Can anyone deny what the Holy Spirit has already done?”
We cannot deny people whom God has called. We aren’t the gatekeepers. God is the one who sends out the invitations. Once we get that right, a whole lot of other things fall into place.
When we meet someone new, who already has experienced the Holy Spirit, we can’t keep them out. Because the Holy Spirit doesn’t know a stranger.
In this morning’s story, Peter didn’t stop being a Jewish Christian. And Cornelius didn’t give up being a Roman officer.
What they discovered, was that there was something a lot more important, than being Roman, or Jewish. They discovered the Spirit of Christ, alive in each other. And no matter what else, in spite of all their differences, they found that they couldn’t deny each other.
I believe that this is a principle, which really defines how we live together as Christians. Even if we don’t fully understand each other, we cannot deny one other, because we find the same Spirit to be present.
God always has a way of leapfrogging over all of our lines. God laughs at the lines we draw. Maybe God weeps over them.
But any way it happens, God keeps tearing down the walls. God invites us, to step over the lines that we’re so worried about, by showing us that the Holy Spirit is already on the other side of the line.