Continuing Conversion

Here are the Scripture readings for Sunday, May 17. The reading from Acts 10 is part of a larger story about Peter and Cornelius, a Roman centurion. While Peter was indeed a “Christian” in that he was a follower of Jesus, at this very early point in the life of the church there was no breach yet between followers of Jesus, who at this point were almost all Jews, and the Jewish community. As a Jew Peter would only associate with Gentiles (that is, everyone who was not of Jewish ethnicity) on a very limited basis. While some Gentiles, such as Cornelius, worshipped with Jews at the synagogue and practiced many parts of the Law of Moses, even they were reckoned as outsiders and were not welcomed fully into fellowship with the Jewish community.

But then one day God did something shocking. God poured out the Holy Spirit on Cornelius, and in a dream told Peter to see Cornelius so Peter could see what God had done. What was shocking about this was the Jewish belief that God’s promises associated with the victory of God over the nations (literally, over the Gentiles), of which the giving of the Holy Spirit was one, were believed to be for the Jews only. But with Cornelius it was becoming apparent that all peoples were able to share in God’s promises and in God’s kingdom.

To put it bluntly, none of us would be part of Christ’s body if it wasn’t for what God showed Peter by pouring out the Holy Spirit on Cornelius. This story isn’t as much about the conversion of Cornelius to Christianity as much as it’s about God converting Peter to embrace the vast scope of God’s mission.

This story helps us see that while God’s presence is embodied throughout the spectrum of ethnic groups, from Anglo Saxons to Zulus, God is not identified with any one of these groups. If this is true can we really speak of a “Christian West” versus an “Islamic East” when Christians still abide in lands throughout the Middle East and Central Asia? How does this challenge how we perceive ourselves in relation to the other nations?

What parts of God’s mission do we find shocking? How does the vastness of God’s mission challenge some of our core assumptions?

Thursday 5/14
Isaiah 49:5-6
Acts 10:1-34

Friday 5/15
Isaiah 42:5-9
Acts 10:34-43

Saturday 5/16
Deuteronomy 32:44-47
Mark 10:42-45

Read Psalm 98 each of these three days.