Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator
If you pay attention to the citation at the beginning of the lectionary readings, you realize that often times a reading is heavily excerpted for proclamation at the Eucharist. That is certainly the case with today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. I would encourage you to read the entire story of chapter ten at your leisure.
It cannot be stated strongly enough: the notion of a Jew entering the home of a Gentile represents a paradigm shift in the world of the Christian community. When Peter entered the home of Cornelius, he violated every standing protocol of how Jews were supposed to relate to "those who were far off," as the Bible usually refers to them. Both he and Cornelius have had visions in an altered state of consciousness. Peter was shown a sheet containing the creatures of the world, both those considered clean and unclean. A voice told him that God's creatures could not be so categorized. Cornelius on the other hand saw and heard a bright figure urging him to call Simon Peter. Altered states of consciousness are common experiences in the Scriptures and usually signal a message from God.
Both Cornelius and Simon listened to the message that they were given. As a result the Christian community reached out to the Gentiles. While St. Paul was to become the apostle to the Gentiles, it was Peter who opened up that possibility. His speech on this occasion is one of the most powerful of the entire book of Acts. Then Peter proceeded to speak and said,"In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. (Acts 10:34-35)
The human community has spent most of its existence finding differences between the races, between the sexes, and between our ethnicities. These two short verses make it very clear how silly that preoccupation is.