Thursday, 9th Week of Ordinary Time

Acts 10:17-33

“And he said to them, ‘You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean’” (Acts 10:28).

To pick up from yesterday, Israel was called by God to be “holy” – set apart from the rest of the human race to be the sign of the one God who made all things, to stand against all those forces in the world that people supposed to be gods. Eating together was a powerful way of binding people together in community. Pork was one of the cheaper meats of the day. So for the Jews to refuse to eat pork, among other kinds of animals, clearly set them apart.

Salvation for the children of Israel was not an individual matter. It wasn’t individual Jews who were to be “saved.” It was the nation, a community, that would one day be redeemed by its Messiah. Cornelius openly worshiped the God of Israel. By his generous giving, he observed the Law of Israel’s demands for justice. He faithfully prayed every day to the God of Israel. But at the end of the day, he was a solitary worshiper of God. He could not pray together with those who had inherited their faith in Israel’s God. He could not be part of that community of God’s holy people.

Cornelius needed to know about Jesus, who had broken down the barrier between Jew and Gentile. But why couldn’t Jesus have appeared to him as he appeared to Saul on the way to Damascus? Because even knowing about Jesus Christ wasn’t enough. Cornelius needed to know about Jesus through the new community that he had formed, the community that is destined to bring all people into unity with God and each other.

Knowing one’s need for God’s grace is essential to salvation. A willingness to confess how we have fallen short is essential to salvation. Letting Jesus Christ in our hearts, and forming a “personal relationship” with Jesus Christ is essential to salvation. But none of that is enough for salvation. Salvation means restored a restored relationship with God, and with each other.

By the end of today’s reading, two men, a Roman soldier, and Galilean fishermen, have miraculously been brought together. The stage is set for Peter to unfold the story of how Jesus saves. Tune in for tomorrow’s episode.