Tuesday, 9th Week of Ordinary Time

Acts 9:32-43

In today’s reading from Acts, Peter is doing what his and the other Eleven’s successors do today: visiting the smaller communities that make up the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Our apostolic successor, Bishop Henry Parsley, will visit us on Wednesday, January 20. But Peter, it is said, “came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.” At this point, Luke doesn’t refer to the community as a “church.” They are all “saints.” That is, they have been sanctified, made holy, literally “set apart” for the work of God. To be a saint doesn’t mean they are without fault and perfect in all things. It just means that they have been chosen by God. So have we at Christ Church also been set apart by God, which means that we too are Saints.

So, for what are the saints set apart? The surprising answer will be revealed later this week. But for now, there is a foreshadowing of that answer in today’s reading. When Peter says to the dead Tabitha, “arise,” note that he does not touch her. As I explained a few weeks ago; because she was dead, Tabitha’s body was “unclean” according to Jewish law. To avoid becoming “unclean” himself, Peter did not touch her. But Jesus, when he raised the daughter of Jairus, had no fear of being made unclean.

At this point, Peter is still a full adherent of the Law of Moses, and pointing to Jesus as its fulfillment. Starting tomorrow, his categories of clean and unclean, of right and wrong, will begin to crumble. Ironically, the saints who have been set apart by God will find that their mission is to no longer be set apart from the world, as though some people are holier than others, but to make the whole world holy. No longer will some parts of the world be considered unworthy of God’s presence. Join us for tomorrow’s episode.