Day 3-- Acts 10-- The Common English Bible- thoughts and reflections

Today I am using the Common English Bible.

Opening Prayer:

"Lord, open my eyes to what you have for me today.  Show me what you want me to see and guide my understanding.  Amen."

As I read this morning, two things stood out to me.

First, Peter was told to not ask any questions, but to just go with those who come.  What is the first thing Peter does?  He asks a question. 

Verses 20-21: "Go downstairs.  Don't ask questions; just go with them because I have sent them." So Peter went downstairs and told them, "I'm the one you are looking for.  Why have you come?"

It's normal, to ask questions, to wonder why.  Even when we are in a relationship with God whom we trust we still ask "why".   Does it mean Peter didn't trust the Spirit or the men who were sent or is the "why" such a natural question here that it flows out before he can stop it? 

It really isn't a big thing, that Peter asked a question after being told not to, but it caught my attention.  Sometimes people question the questions.  Questions are an important part of life and they are okay. They show an inquisitive frame of mind, a seeking of answers.  They don't necessarily show lack of trust or doubt.  But if there is doubt, that is okay too.  It's okay to have doubt and uncertainty.

A second thing that caught my attention this morning was when Peter was at Cornelius' home explaining why he came:

Verses 28-29: "He said to them, "You all realize that it is forbidden for a Jew to associate or visit with outsiders.  However, God has shown me that I should never call a person impure or unclean.  For this reason, when you sent for me, I came without objection.  I want to know, then, why you sent for me.""

Peter's vision of the clean and unclean food made a little more sense to him now in this context though he hadn't understood it initially when they came for him.  It was beginning to become clear, but he still had questions about why he was there.

How often are things not clear initially for us?  Whether God is calling us to a new path or whether we're trying to make sense of something that has happened or is happening in our life, there are often times of uncertainty of what it all means, where it is going, what is our place in all of it, etc.

I've learned to stand still until I see the next clear step.  (Well, for the most part.  I'm still learning!)  In Peter's case, his first step was the vision.  At first he didn't know what to do with it.  He held it in bewilderment.  Then, people arrived at the home inquiring for him and the Spirit told him to go with them.  When invited to the centurion's home, Peter then had some understanding of the meaning of the vision as he was being invited to go to someone's home where he wouldn't normally go.

As I reflect this morning, what would that have been like for Peter to accept the invitation to go to a centurion's home, the home of a Gentile, someone who was seen as unclean?  As Peter acknowledges later, Jews and Gentiles are not supposed to mix.  Yet, his vision had given him a new way of seeing and therefore a new way of being.

What does this mean for us today?  Who are the "unclean" in our communities, our world?  How is God calling us to respond as Cornelius and Peter to bridge any divides?

May God guide and direct us to be bridge builders.

Amen.