Reframing the Question

In the book of Acts, there is a story about Peter meeting with Cornelius, a Gentile outsider. Which in and of itself is strange enough. Peter, even though he was a follower of Jesus, culturally, he had been taught all his life that some parts of God’s creation were not good enough for him. He had been taught all his life that Gentiles – folks who were not of his ethnicity – that were not of his nationality – were unclean. They were seen as outsiders – outside the bounds even of God’s grace. On top of that Cornelius was a military commander in the army that was occupying and oppressing Israel.

And yet, here in this story, we find Peter in his living room!

You see Peter had just had a vision. And in that vision, God changed his heart. God said to Peter, don’t you dare call anything I’ve made, ‘unclean.’ What’s so interesting is that until that moment, Peter thought that the message of Christ was only for Israel. Until that moment, Peter thought he knew exactly who was to be in and who was to be out; who was to be welcome and who was not. All his life he had been taught to have nothing to do with these kinds of people. Until that moment, one of the key leaders of the early church thought the gospel was only for his kind of people.

“Now,” Peter says, “Now, I truly understand that God shows no partiality…” (Acts 10:34)

Even more interesting, when Peter speaks about it, he can’t help but reference Easter: In explaining, he says: God raised this Jesus on the third day… As if to say: Only something that powerful could change my heart and mind. Only something that powerful could break down the walls that divide us… Only something that powerful…

Sometimes we might get caught up in the intellectual question of Easter: How did God raise this Jesus from the dead? But perhaps this scripture from Acts invites us to reframe the questions. Perhaps we could ask:

Is it possible that something so extraordinary happened on that first Easter morning that there is hope for new beginnings and new life? Is it possible that old prejudices can be broken? Is it possible that old wounds can be healed? That scales can fall from eyes? that hearts can open, that minds can change? Is there hope for our greatly divided nation? Is there hope for me?

I don’t know where you are in your journey of faith. But perhaps the question for all of us is not so much an intellectual question: How do I get my mind around the empty tomb and the body coming back to life, but it is more of a faith question – How am I going to live my life in response?

Let us pray: We are grateful O God, that the Risen Christ is at work even now, to heal, to mend, to make whole, and even to bring life out of death. Raise again the dead places in our lives, in our hearts, and in our world. We trust in you, who have promised to make all things new. Amen.