Claire…ification – NO ONE is Profane or Unclean! If you don’t believe me, ask Peter!

In Acts 10:1-48 we read of Peter and how he was led by God to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, baptizing them in the name of Jesus Christ. There are so many things for us to consider as we read this passage of scripture!

First of all, Peter was not exactly an exemplary disciple. You might recall that he denied Jesus not once, not twice but three times! Jesus also had to ask Peter three different times, three different ways if he loved him (and we all know that he used different words that we’ve translated into “love” and each word held it’s own nuance.) When Peter’s response was “yes”, Jesus made it clear to him that if that was so, then he had some work to do. Feed his sheep! At one point Jesus even said, “Get behind me, Satan” to Peter, because he didn’t get it and was actually getting in the way of God’s plan.

In spite of Peter’s flaws, Jesus declared that he was the rock in which he would build his church. By the time of Peter’s death, Peter was a mature follower of Christ, living fully into God’s call on his life.

Peter offers us an excellent example of one who submits to the process of spiritual formation. Let’s explore:

Peter spent time alone with God to pray which created space for him to fall into a trance as he received a vision from God.
Peter tied his vision from God into his interaction with people he encountered, realizing how these were to be related.
Peter’s initial understanding was that Jesus had only come to save the Jews, but after better understanding the vision God gave to him, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, he realized that “God shows no partiality.” [v. 34]
Peter shared with the other disciples that after prayer and discernment, he realized he was wrong and needed to become more inclusive.

We, like Peter, are all called to be disciples of Jesus and are called to a lifetime of formation and learning. We must spend time, alone and in community, in prayer, creating space to receive direction from God. We need to keep in mind that we may have certain notions about things like who’s in and who’s out, and we might be wrong. We all need to remain open to hear further revelation from God, which may come through a vision or our interaction with other people who God uses as agents to communicate with us.

We are to learn from Peter, that NO ONE is profane or unclean, and we are all called to become more inclusive. Peter, the rock on which Christ built his church, tells us so through his words and deeds.

Shalom y’all,