Acts 11:1-16: a reflection

1Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2When Peter had come up to Jerusalem, those who were of the circumcision contended with him, 3saying, “You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!” 4But Peter began, and explained to them in order, saying, 5“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision: a certain container descending, like it was a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners. It came as far as me. 6When I had looked intently at it, I considered, and saw the four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky. 7I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter, kill and eat!’ 8But I said, ‘Not so, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered into my mouth.’ 9But a voice answered me the second time out of heaven, ‘What God has cleansed, don’t you call unclean.’ 10This was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven. 11Behold, immediately three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent from Caesarea to me. 12The Spirit told me to go with them without discriminating. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house. 13He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying to him, ‘Send to Joppa and get Simon, who is called Peter, 14who will speak to you words by which you will be saved, you and all your house.’ 15As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning. 16I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John indeed baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.’

When Peter is challenged for having gone into a Gentile's house and eaten with him, he recounts the vision God gave him and the words that overturned his assumptions: what God has cleansed, do not call unclean. I had said, Peter recalls, nothing unholy has ever entered my mouth; but a voice answered, what God has cleansed, don't you call unclean. And when he obeyed and went to the Gentiles, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on the believers at the beginning. God was showing Peter, and the church, that the barriers they had assumed, dividing clean from unclean, Jew from Gentile, were not to stand; God had cleansed and welcomed those Peter would have kept at a distance. God breaks down the barriers we assume, welcoming those we would exclude. What God has cleansed we must not call unclean. God welcomed those Peter would have kept out. The gospel crosses the barriers we assume between people.

Notice how God overturns Peter's assumptions. Peter had assumed, as his whole background taught him, a firm barrier between clean and unclean, between his own people and the Gentiles; he would not have entered a Gentile's house or eaten with him. But God gave him a vision and a word, three times over: what God has cleansed, do not call unclean. And when Peter obeyed and went to Cornelius the Gentile, the Holy Spirit fell on these Gentiles just as on the first believers, showing that God had welcomed them fully. God was breaking down the barrier Peter had assumed, showing that the gospel was for the Gentiles too, that those Peter would have kept at a distance had been cleansed and welcomed by God. This confronts us, for we too can assume barriers between people, dividing those we count acceptable from those we would keep at a distance. But God does not honor the barriers we assume; he cleanses and welcomes those we might exclude, and calls us not to call unclean what he has cleansed. We are not to keep at a distance those God has welcomed. God's welcome crosses the barriers we build between people. Do not call unclean, or keep at a distance, those God has welcomed. God breaks down our assumed barriers; his welcome is wider than ours.

That is worth taking to heart, for God breaks down the barriers we assume between people, cleansing and welcoming those we might exclude, and we are not to call unclean what he has cleansed. We can assume firm barriers between those we count acceptable and those we would keep at a distance; but God showed Peter, what I have cleansed, do not call unclean, and poured out his Spirit on the Gentiles Peter would have excluded. God's welcome is wider than ours. Do not keep at a distance, or count unclean, those God has welcomed; let his welcome, wider than yours, break down the barriers you assume. Let God's welcome break down the barriers you assume between people, not calling unclean or keeping at a distance those he has cleansed and welcomed, as God overturned Peter's assumption of a barrier between clean and unclean, Jew and Gentile, telling him three times, what God has cleansed, don't you call unclean, and pouring out his Holy Spirit on the Gentiles just as on the first believers; for we too can assume firm barriers between people, dividing those we count acceptable from those we would exclude, but God does not honor the barriers we assume, cleansing and welcoming those we would keep at a distance, so that we are not to call unclean what he has cleansed nor keep at a distance those he has welcomed, but to let his welcome, wider than ours, break down the barriers we build between people.

Lord, when Peter is challenged for having gone into a Gentile's house and eaten with him, he recounts the vision you gave him and the words that overturned his assumptions: what God has cleansed, do not call unclean. I had said, Peter recalls, nothing unholy has ever entered my mouth; but a voice answered, what God has cleansed, don't you call unclean. And when he obeyed and went to the Gentiles, your Holy Spirit fell on them just as on the believers at the beginning. You were showing Peter, and the church, that the barriers they had assumed, dividing clean from unclean, Jew from Gentile, were not to stand; you had cleansed and welcomed those Peter would have kept at a distance. Show me how you overturn Peter's assumptions. Peter had assumed a firm barrier between clean and unclean, between his own people and the Gentiles. But you gave him a vision and a word, three times over: what God has cleansed, do not call unclean. And when Peter obeyed and went to Cornelius, your Spirit fell on these Gentiles just as on the first believers. You were breaking down the barrier Peter had assumed, showing that the gospel was for the Gentiles too. This confronts me, for I too can assume barriers between people, dividing those I count acceptable from those I would keep at a distance. But you do not honor the barriers I assume; you cleanse and welcome those I might exclude, and call me not to call unclean what you have cleansed. Take that to my heart, for you break down the barriers I assume between people, and I am not to call unclean what you have cleansed. Keep me from keeping at a distance, or counting unclean, those you have welcomed; let your welcome, wider than mine, break down the barriers I assume, Lord, so that I do not exclude those you have cleansed and welcomed, but receive them as you have.