9 The next day, as they were on their journey and coming near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 10 And he became hungry and desired something to eat; but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 11 and saw the heaven opened, and something descending, like a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “No, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has cleansed, you must not call common.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. 17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men that were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood before the gate 18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go down, and accompany them without hesitation; for I have sent them.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house, and to hear what you have to say.” 23 So he called them in to be his guests.
Peter and Cornelius Meet
The next day he rose and went off with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And on the following day they entered Caesare′a. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his kinsmen and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered; 28 and he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit any one of another nation; but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”
30 And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was keeping the ninth hour of prayer in my house; and behold, a man stood before me in bright apparel, 31 saying, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter; he is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the seaside.’ 33 So I sent to you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God, to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
It is striking here, and repeatedly in Acts and in the Scriptures generally, how disparate people are brought together through divine guidance. Such is the mysterious working of God’s providence. Peter and Cornelius were both independently at prayer when they each had some special vision or insight that they acted upon. We saw something similar in the way Saul and Ananias were unexpectedly thrown together in Damascus. The Scriptures are full of such examples. Indeed, such personal experiences are ultimately the basis of all our claims about God’s revelation, beginning with Abraham. “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you…” (Genesis 12:1.) Of course those experiences did not remain merely personal. They were eventually heard, accepted, confirmed and passed on by the community as true expressions of God’s revelation to His people. But they began with individuals—like Peter and Cornelius—hearing, seeing, feeling, and experiencing something they could only understand as divine. And then they acted practically on what they had heard and seen.
Peter’s experience led him—and eventually the Christian community—to question and then set aside one of the bedrock traditions of Judaism that shaped daily life: the kosher laws. But more than that, he interpreted his vision in a much broader sense. By the time he had reflected on his vision a bit more and reached Cornelius, he had come to understand that “God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.” Peter’s vision was not really about food, it was about how he as a follower of Jesus should treat non-Jews.
March for Life, Washington DC
March for Life Vigil at Catholic National Basilica, Washington DC (Photo credit: CNA, Addie Mena)
Today I’m in Washington, DC for the March for Life. About 500,000 people from across the country are expected, and last night some of our OCA delegation had a taste of this enormous crowd when we went to the Roman Catholic National Basilica as invited guests and attended the special Mass for the March for Life with several thousand participating, especially youths and college students from across the US and hundreds of clergy. The Orthodox guests were seated in a place of honor off to the side of the altar, and included Metropolitan Tikhon, Metropolitan Methodius of Boston (GOA), the OCA officers, Father Chad Hatfield, Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak, and priests from the Antiochian and Armenian Orthodox churches.
In his sermon last night Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston drew parallels with the civil rights movement and the recent film Selma. “One of the very moving aspects of the film is to see how people of faith came together to witness to the dignity of every human being made in the image and likeness of God. They were Protestant, Catholics, Jews, Greek Orthodox, standing together courageously. …In the history of our country, people of faith have worked together to overcome racism and injustice. Now we come together to be the defense attorney for the innocent unborn and the vulnerable elderly and all those whose right to life is threatened. We shall overcome.”
