 |
| Is this little outsider how Peter saw Cornelius and the other Gentiles? |
Notice that his fellow apostles aren't immediately enthused about the success Peter has had in spreading the faith. Rather, they criticized him for interacting and eating with Gentiles.
The fact that Luke retells the story that he just shared in the previous chapter should give us a clue as to how controversial this remained in Luke's church.
Leviticus 11 gives a long outline on which animals are considered clean and unclean. It summarizes the discourse by ending with this idea in verses 46-47:
This is the law pertaining to land animal and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.In other words, basic to their cultural identity was to be discriminating. In fact, you had stories such as Daniel who lived in the royal palace in Babylon but refused to eat anything but vegetables so that he wouldn't defile himself.
Is it any wonder that Peter would receive some hostile feedback on his missionary journey?
After Peter relates everything that happened, I like how Luke records that "they were silenced." Then they praised God but I wonder if "praised" fully encompassed all that they felt in that moment.
Experience reminds us that it is one thing to be transformed by the people we encounter but it is distancing to hear about it from someone else. Doubts are more likely to creep in, especially when something fundamental to our identity is being dismissed.
Within my lifetime, one cultural change that seems minor today (in comparison to what Peter was trying to do) is eating and drinking in the sanctuary. It was considered at one time the height of disrespect to even bring any drinking cup or glass into the sanctuary. This still bothers some Christians and there seems a direct correlation between the age of the person to the amount of irritation it causes. When I was appointed at Piedmont, we built the sanctuary to also double as a fellowship hall. Chairs could be rearranged and tables brought in to provide meals for the congregation and community. Many older members were disturbed by this multipurpose use of the sanctuary.
While no one came to blows over this, it wasn't near as ingrained as the dietary laws were in Peter's time. His story today reminds us to reassess our own resistance to change. Where is the next generation of Christians moving us that seems uncomfortable? What do we hear that silences us?
Prayer for the Day:
Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.
Photo by charamelody via Flickr.com. Used under the Creative Commons license.
All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment