Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Carmel MTC, Boston
15 The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God
has made clean, you must not call profane.”
When I was an undergraduate in India
I had a good friend whose father was an officer in the Indian Army. My friend
once invited a few of us to the Army quarters for dinner. The only catch was
this was going to be a formal dinner, to be eaten strictly, with knives and
forks. One of our friends had never used silverware in his life and was
understandably nervous. Nonetheless, he resolved to have this fancy dinner at
the Army quarters. We could hear the uncomfortable clanks of his silver on his
dinner plates as he unskilfully worked at his dinner. He did make it out of the
event unscathed and was thankful for the unique, if slightly uncomfortable
encounter.
That word – encounter – is one that
Pope Francis often uses in his writings and speeches while exhorting Christians
to engage meaningfully with the world. He notes that ‘Whenever we encounter
another person in love, we learn something new about God’. Encounter carries
with it the connotation of the unexpected and the potential for conflict and
confrontation. The Jewish philosopher Levinas based his ethics on these kinds
of encounters; he referred to the ‘moral challenge posed by the face of
another’.
In today’s passage Peter is prepared
for a unique encounter with Cornelius, the Gentile Centurion. God’s vision
shows him a meal of all kinds of animals that were considered unclean according
to Jewish custom. Upon his refusal to eat, God reminded him to ‘not call
anything unclean that God has made clean.’ Peter rightly understood this vision
as a commission from God to preach the Gospel to the ‘unclean’ Gentiles. Peter
warmly received Cornelius’ messengers and in turn, visited Cornelius at his
home. After baptizing all who were there, he was invited to stay with Cornelius
for a few days. Peter and Cornelius truly had a flesh and blood encounter,
partaking in each other’s fellowship, including ‘Gentile’ food. Peter’s dinners
at the Roman Army ‘quarters’ would have been truly educational!
How often do we encounter the people
outside our own fold? Truly giving of ourselves in love and receiving in
return? Opening ourselves to the experiences and possibly conflicts and
confrontation of God’s world? Today’s passage is an invitation for all of us to
do so! Let us challenge ourselves with the ‘face of another’ and ‘learn
something new about God’.
PRAYER
Lord, help us step out of our
preconceived notions of what is clean and unclean. Give us the hunger to share
Your good news with others, unconditionally. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
God invites us to truly encounter the world, sharing the gospel with those we would ordinarily consider to be outsiders.
God invites us to truly encounter the world, sharing the gospel with those we would ordinarily consider to be outsiders.