I’m calling our story today a tale of two conversions.  We have Cornelius the centurion (and his household along with him) responding for the first time to the good news of Jesus.  We read that the Holy Spirit is poured out on Cornelius and his household.  We also have Peter, who has been converted and transformed in his understanding of who God is.  For the follower of Jesus, conversion is not just a one-time event, though some of us may be able to point to a first time.  Someone has said that conversion is the beginning of faith, and not its end.  No one ever begins so experienced, old, or good at following Jesus that we no longer have need of transformation.  On this side of the mirror in which we see dimly, none of us gets to the point where an ongoing turning/repenting/converting/transforming is no longer necessary. 

The good news is that conversion/transforming/turning toward God is possible for us because God, in God’s infinite grace, has turned toward us in the person of Christ Jesus.  And so the invitation before us all is to respond, “I am yours, Lord.”   We are interrupted by grace to be interruptors to the usual order of things or the way of the world, if you like.  There is a great line in Acts 17:6 where Paul and Silas are in Thessalonica.  A riot breaks out, and we read this.  “When they could not find them (Paul and Silas) they dragged Jason and some believers before the city authorities shouting, “These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has entertained them as guests. They are acting against the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus.” (17:6-7)

That’s right! That’s what we say!  In order for God to be turning things upside down through us, we need to be turned upside down (which again is really right side up).  We need to be turned right side up.  I need that.  I want that.  Help is at hand in the one who is Lord of all.  I want us to consider this question in light of the story that we’ve read and the stories that we are living.  What does it mean that Jesus is Lord of all?

I have said that the conversion of Saul in chapter 9 and Peter’s encounter with Cornelius and his household are big moments in the book of Acts.  After this, the good news of Christ is going to spread throughout the Gentile world.  This is what has been happening geographically.  We remember Jesus’ promise/command “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (1:8)

I know Torontonians like to think of our city as the centre of the universe.  Acts is going to end in the city that really was the centre of it all.  Rome.  The power of the empire was concentrated there.  In our story, we have a representative of the Roman army.  Cornelius.  A centurion.  Generally, these men had served anywhere from 12 to 20 years.  They were men of good standing, with authority and the power of Rome behind them.  Cornelius is a member of the Italian Cohort, living in the thoroughly Roman port city of Caesarea. A city named after the emperor.  The place where the governor of Judea stayed.  The Romans had built a harbour to facilitate trade.  This place was a big deal, and Cornelius was a big deal.  He was the man, as we say.  He was also a part of an occupying army.

Here’s the thing about Cornelius, though.  This man was devout.  He feared God with all his household.  He gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.  God’s hand is at work here. At our Wednesday Bible study, one of the Blythwood saints reminded us, “Our times are in God’s hand.”  No matter what is going on, good or bad, our times are in God’s hands.  God was at work in the heart of Cornelius long before Peter ever came on the scene.  While Cornelius hadn’t gone through the process of becoming Jewish, he was devout.  He feared God.  He gave alms.  He prayed.  Cornelius has a vision in which an angel of God tells him to send for Simon Peter, who is staying with Simon Tanner.  Cornelius sends two slaves along with a devout soldier to make the journey south.

While they are on their way, the scene switches to Peter.  It’s noon, and Peter is hungry.  He goes up on the rooftop to pray.  He falls into a trance and sees the heavens opened and a large sheet  coming down with all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air   A good vision for someone who is hungry, along with the voice that says “Get up Peter (which reminds us of the invitation Peter extended last week – Get up!), kill and eat.”  So far, so good, except for the fact that there are four-footed creatures, reptiles, and birds of the air that Peter isn’t supposed to eat.  “By no means,” says Peter, “for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.”

This is not just a matter of personal preference or even personal piety.  This was something that marked Jewish identity. These were commands given by God to mark the fact that the people of Israel were set apart by God for a purpose.  This was a matter of identity and communal survival.

Here’s the thing, though.  In Jesus, those belonging to the Way are given a new identity which is not based on food regulations or ethnicity or culture or socio-economic status or any of the identity markers by which we separate and rank ourselves.  A new situation has come about.  The foundational mark of our identity in Jesus is beloved children of God!  We are sisters and brothers in Jesus, the one in whom the grace and mercy of God meet us. This good news is for everyone. 

Peter hears the message - “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.”  The thing is, God is not just talking about what we eat here.  It’s not just about food, it’s about people!  Speaking of which, here come the messengers from Cornelius.  They’re calling out at the gate, asking if Simon Peter is there.  Peter is still thinking about the vision.  A voice tells him “Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”  Peter goes. “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?”  They tell him.  Peter invites them in.  

Peter invites them in.  A boundary is being broken here. Having Gentiles in your home was not standard practice.  I want to pause here for a moment and consider the importance of the invitations being offered and accepted in this story.  I like to ask the question, “How are we doing with offering invitations?  How are we doing with accepting invitations?”  Maybe they involve unexpected people or places.  How might the hand of God be at work in the invitations we extend and which are extended to us?

Peter invites these men to stay.  The next day, they got up and went, and some of the believers from Joppa went with them to Caesarea.  They come to Cornelius’ Roman villa.  Wonderfully, Cornelius has called together his relatives and close friends.  They’re all waiting.  Cornelius - this man of means and experience and authority, meets Peter, falls at Peter’s feet.  Cornelius is looking to worship.  He’s found that means and experience and imperial power have left him rather empty.  Cornelius falls at Peter’s feet and worships him!  Perhaps Cornelius thought Peter was another angel.  “Stand up,” says Peter, “I am only a mortal.”  I’m just a man!  As he talked to Cornelius, he went into the house and found that many had assembled.

Peter comes walking in, and in effect, he’s saying, “You know I’m not even supposed to be doing this?!”  “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection.  Now, may I ask why you sent for me?” 

At this point, Cornelius shares about his own vision.  Cornelius tells Peter that Peter has been kind to come.  The kindness of accepting an invitation.  “All of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.”  What an intro!  Then Peter begins to speak.

Here we have another momentous line in our story.  “I truly understand that God shows no partiality…”  This idea was not unknown.  Addressing the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy 10, God tells them to look after foreigners within Israel -  “¹⁷ For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. ¹⁸ He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. ¹⁹ And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.  This truth has been expanded now to include every nation and everyone.  “…but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”  This is not to proclaim some sort of “anything goes” mentality on God’s part, but to proclaim that belief in Christ and forgiveness of sin in the name of Christ is open to all.  “You know the message he sent to the people of Israel,” tells Peter, “Preaching peace by Jesus Christ.”  Right relationship with God, right relationship with humanity and all of creation in Christ.  Open to all in the one who is Lord of all.

I truly understand this now, says Peter.  A moment of conversion for Peter.  This man who had taken up Christ’s invitation to follow him.   This man who had confessed to the risen Christ “You know I love you.”  This man, who had proclaimed to the people of Jerusalem that Jesus is Lord of all.  This man has come to understand in a whole new way what it means that Jesus is Lord of all.  That a right relationship with God through Christ is not dependent on labels or any of the ways in which we differentiate and separate ourselves and others.  God has brought Peter to a new understanding of the wideness of God’s mercy.  If you’ve followed Christ for any significant length of time, you may identify with Peter’s moment of conversion here.  I’ve probably had 4 of them so far. 

Peter tells the story of Jesus in verses 34-43, and someone has summarized it like this: “Cornelius: the God whom you have worshipped from afar has done all this; as part of his global plan to set everything right at last; and, at every stage, Jesus is in the middle of it all!  God has thus fulfilled the purposes for which he called Israel in the first place; and you, Cornelius, and everyone everywhere who believes this message, will receive a welcome at once, without more ado, into the family whose home has, written in shining letters above the door, the wonderful word ‘forgiven’.”

This is why we call it the good news!

Jesus is Lord of all.  Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.  All.  Everyone.  What does this mean in terms of who we welcomed and who welcomed us?  What does this mean in terms of what defines our identity and what defines our commonality – particularly in a world which so often wants to divide us and separate us into polarized camps or tribes?

This is what it means for this group of people in Cornelius’ villa.  Peter doesn’t even get a chance to finish.  They don’t get a chance to make a profession of faith, even.  The Holy Spirit comes upon this group of Gentiles.  Peter and his fellow Jewish followers of Christ are astounded to hear them speaking in tongues and praising God.  “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” The Holy Spirit.  Our common bond.  This tie that binds our hearts in the love of Christ - one heart to another.  They are baptized in the name of Jesus, who is Lord of All.

Then they invited him to stay for several days and Peter stays with them for several days. Staying in a Gentile’s house!  Unheard of?  No longer!  They’re together for several days.  All as a result of God’s grace and the hand of God at work.  They spend several days together.  Conversion is not the end of faith but its beginning.  One of the things it begins with is life together.  They invited him to stay for several days because we’re not called to live the Christ-following life on our own, whether we’re at the beginning, middle, or end of it.

Throughout this story, invitations have been extended, and invitations have been accepted.  Thanks be to God who shows no partiality for inviting us into God’s family.  We are forgiven.  May the Holy Spirit give us thankful and responsive hearts in the light of God’s great gift of grace in the person of Christ Jesus.

Amen