One In Christ

ONE IN CHRIST

a prayer to open

Holy Spirit, come. Center my heart.

Fill my mind. Guide my steps.

In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. One afternoon . . . he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.

Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.

And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter.” . . .

As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.

The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”

“No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”

But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.

Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius [arrived]. . . .

As Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you. Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”

So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”

They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.” So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.

They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being just like you!” So they talked together and went inside, where many others were assembled.

Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.”

Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house. . . . Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me. He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God! Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. . . .’ So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.”

In Galatians 3:28, the apostle Paul wrote, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NIV). We see this theology worked out in practical, real-life terms in this passage about Peter and Cornelius. It is such an important moment in the church that it’s the longest story in Acts, and Luke repeated it multiple times. Indeed, prior to Peter and Cornelius’s encounter, the barrier between Jews and Gentiles was impenetrable. But here, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that barrier fell. Barriers between and among Christians persist to this day. Though Paul tells us that we are all one in Christ Jesus, we can’t quite seem to embrace this reality. We want to label and categorize based on any number of reasons. Only as we are surrendered to the Spirit can we live into the truth that our first and fundamental identity is in Christ.

• Read this passage again. What word or phrase stands out to you? Sit quietly, reminding yourself that you are in God’s loving presence, and ask him to show you how that word or phrase connects to your life.
• What are the most prominent barriers you see between Christians? Which of those barriers do you contribute to? Which do you seek to tear down by practicing love, forgiveness, and openness to the Holy Spirit’s leadership and direction?
• What practices tend to open your heart to people who are different from you? What tends to make you less open and more judgmental?

Father, thank you for the Holy Spirit and how you guide and direct your followers in such personal and powerful ways. I pray that you would continue to break down barriers in this day to increase the unity in your church. Lead me, by your Spirit, to see the ways I erect or maintain walls, and help me instead to be a bridge builder, reconciler, and peacemaker. Amen.