By the Rev’d Jim Lam

Season: The Fifth Sunday of Eastertide

Readings: Acts 11:1-18 | Revelation 21:1-6 | John 13:31-35

During a service at an old synagogue in Eastern Europe, when a particular prayer was said, half the congregants stood up and half remained sitting.

The half that was seated started yelling at those standing to sit down, and the ones standing yelled at the ones sitting to stand up.

The new rabbi, although well-versed in the Law and Jewish religious practices, didn’t know what to do. His congregation suggested that he consult a housebound 98-year-old man who was one of the original founders of their community. Hoping
that the elderly man would be able to tell him what the actual tradition was, the rabbi went to the nursing home with a representative of each faction of the congregation.

The one whose followers stood during the prayer asked the old man, “Is the tradition to stand during this prayer?”

The old man answered, “No, that is not the tradition.”

The one whose followers sat remarked, “Then the tradition is to sit!”

The old man answered, “No, that is not the tradition.”

Then the rabbi said to the old man, “But the congregants fight all the time, yelling at each other about whether they should sit or stand.”

The old man interrupted, exclaiming, “That is the tradition!”

And this little story brings us to the day the apostle Peter overcame the traditional boundaries of his time. It all started when he went to a Gentile household in Caesarea and brought the Good News to them.

Caesarea was a major port in Roman Palestine and a city characterized by significant racial and cultural tensions between the Roman presence and the Jewish population. There lived a centurion called Cornelius. Although a Gentile, he was devout and God-fearing. One day, while he was praying, an angel of God appeared to him, and asked him to send someone to Joppa for the apostle Peter.

Meanwhile, at Joppa, God prepared Peter for his meeting with Cornelius. In Acts 10, Peter received a vision from God in which he saw a sheet coming down out of heaven that contained “all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air” (Acts 10:12). In other words, a mixture of animals, some of which were considered unclean by Jewish dietary laws. A voice instructed him to “kill and eat” these animals. Peter initially refused, stating he had never eaten anything impure. The voice repeated the command three times, emphasizing that God had made clean what Peter considered profane, before the sheet was taken back to heaven. When Cornelius’ men arrived, Peter was still thinking about the vision, but the Spirit urged him to go with them without hesitation. So, they set out for Caesarea with six believers from Joppa accompanying him.

Cornelius, who was expecting Peter, had gathered relatives and friends to greet him. Peter told them that although it was unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile, he had come in obedience to God’s will. And so, Peter started to
talk about the Gospel of Peace by Jesus Christ. While he was still preaching, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. This was the first time that the Holy Spirit was given to Gentiles, marking a pivotal point in the early church’s understanding that the Gospel was intended for all people, not just Jews. Peter then ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, thus upsetting the Jewish tradition that separates Jews from the Gentiles. In other words, he accepted uncircumcised Gentiles into their midst.

Indeed, when believers in Judea heard about Peter’s work in Caesarea, they criticized him for visiting uncircumcised men and eating with them. In response, Peter related the whole event to them. From the vision he saw in his trance, to how the Gentiles were filled with the Holy Spirit the way the apostles did when they heard the Gospel. And that’s why he had them baptised.

From Cornelius’ conversion and Peter’s interaction with his fellow believers in Judea, we can see that God would use various ways to bring salvation to Gentiles, or shall we say, non-believers, sometimes, even employing means that would overturn the thinking pattern and changing the mindset of believers.

The Jewish Christians were so hardwired to traditions that including someone outside their race in their faith community might prove a bitter pill hard to swallow. For them, the price of following Jesus was already sky high. But now, they have a
herculean task to give up their traditional thinking and break through the cultural barriers to share their faith with the “unclean”, “profane” Gentiles!

With the emergence of the first Gentile faith community in Caesarea, it’s time for Jewish believers to really take into practice the commandments to love God and to love their neighbours. And this included non-Jews. As the Gospel writer wrote: “but to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)

Indeed, the spreading of the Good News might be beyond the traditions and understandings of the Jewish people, but the nature of salvation remains unchanged no matter the where, when or who the receivers are. The things is, do we dare to follow in Peter’s footstep and go beyond our comfort zone to bring this Good News of Jesus’ love and salvation to others?

Let us ask ourselves: Who are the people we struggle to accept? Who are the people we avoid? Where are our boundary lines of tolerance? In what ways might God be calling us to extend hospitality to people we would not choose to relate to?

If Peter had refused to go to Caesarea, I believe God would have sent someone else to Cornelius and built the first Gentile faith community. But Peter trusted in God and submitted to His will. And so, he experienced the wonderful work of the Holy
Spirit and gained a fuller understanding of what Jesus meant when he said “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15)

When we try to bring the Good News to others, the way ahead might not always be straight and smooth. We might meet with situations that challenge our traditions, cultures and things that we have taken for granted. When that happens, are we willing to learn from Peter, to listen and submit to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in prayers and in meditations. But that does not mean that we don’t need to do anything, and justsit around praying and waiting for God’s instructions. Actually, we still need to plan, make assessments, AND pray. But while doing so, we try to keep in step with the Holy Spirit and discern God’s will. It takes time to learn to live closer to God. Sometimes, this could mean a life time’s efforts.

And so, what is your choice? Are you willing to respond to the Lord’s calling, and like Peter, share the Good News with others, even though it might mean setting aside differences of race, social class, culture and traditions, and stepping out of your comfort zone? Let us take a lesson from Peter for his obedience to the Spirit’s guidance, and from Cornelius for his devoutness and spiritual discipline. Amen.