Peter had been wiped out since this guy Jesus had turned up at his work and told him to quit his job and follow him a couple of years ago. He had seen some amazing things including healings, resurrections and even a new sport called 'water walking' during his time with this man. Then he went on an emotional rollarcoaster as he denied his friend in his hour of need and then received forgiveness from him when they met again. When Jesus ascended to heaven he told them to wait for a gift, which they did, for 10 days in one room. Unsure of what to expect, Peter and his friends were propelled out to the streets when the Holy Spirit came to them and after Peter gave a rousing speech to the crowd, 3,000 people said they would like to be a part of what was happening. This started a whole logistical nightmare, not to mention persecution and beatings, but Peter wouldn't have changed it for the world.
Jesus was alive and he wanted the world to know it! He also wanted a break, which was why he was now catching some rays on the roof of his friend Simon (a tanner!) in Joppa.
So, as Peter lay on the roof of the house, enjoying the sun and a cool breeze, what looked like a large blanket appeared in front of him. Slightly startled, Peter sat up and as he did, noticed that all sorts of animals, reptiles and birds started to cover the sheet. They all had one thing in common; they were unclean. Then he heard a voice saying "Get up, kill and eat." Peter was quick to protest, "I can't, they are unclean and impure under the Jewish laws." Then the voice replied "Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean." The vision was then repeated 3 times.
In a slight daze, Peter wandered what all this meant. Is it because I am hungry that I am seeing things? As he was mulling this over, he felt the Holy Spirit say there were 3 men coming to the door and that he should go with them as He had sent them. So that's what he did.
As he entered the home of Cornelius, Peter knew he was going to be in big trouble when the others found out what he was doing. Peter, a Jew, was not permitted to go into the house of a Gentile (non-Jew) as they were seen as unclean, but that vision on the rooftop had given Peter a new perspective. As he stood there speaking to this man's family about Jesus, the Holy Spirit fell in the room and Peter was reminded of that day on Pentecost. "Wow!" he thought, "this is much bigger than I thought."
Peter again was sat alone, this time in his home in Jerusalem. He had returned there to give an account of why he had visited a Gentile house and made himself unclean. After sharing his story of the vision and the dramatic experience at Cornelius' house, the rest of the Apostles were amazed and also overjoyed. A new chapter had started in the early church.
Suddenly, no one was outside of the mercy and grace of the Father through Jesus!
When I read this story in Acts 10 and 11, I am blown away by both the magnitude of it's implication for the early church, but also for us today. Up until this point, Jesus (in the early churches understanding) had come for the Jews and had given a new covenant to them. Now, with the Gentiles also believing and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' command to preach the Gospel to all Nations now had a new weight and significance to it. I can't imagine the emotions the believers must have been feeling as well as the questions they must have had (of which we get a glimpse of in Acts 15).
So what for us today? Who do we see us unclean? Who have we, intentionally or not, disqualified from the Gospel? Maybe there is a limit to what we are willing to forgive? Maybe there is a person or community we have given up on? Maybe there is a people group we think won't understand? Maybe there are people of another religion who have made their choice and follow a different belief system?
Whatever the case may be, God made it clear to Peter that we as the church, have no right to call unclean what God has made clean. We have no right to put limits on the Gospel.
My prayer for us is that God would open our eyes to the world around us, and allow us to see people the way that he sees them. Throughout history, those that have made the greatest strides in the Kingdom of God are those who have shrugged off social norms and prejudices, and chosen to see the world that God created through His eyes and to see people made in His image.
Like Peter, let's be open and available to God's leading, with no limits put in place as to who or where we are willing to go.
Amen.
