Tearing Down Walls of Partiality and Prejudice
January 17, 2010 – Douglas Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
Acts 10 describes a crucial juncture in the spread of early Christianity and hospitality plays a central role. The section of Acts detailing the conversion of Cornelius is the longest single narrative in the book of Acts, covering 66 verses from Acts 10:1-11:18. The repetition within the story of what happened to Cornelius and what happened with Peter and how the Spirit of God was directing it all is crucial. The issue at the time, which was hugely important, was whether or not Gentiles who wished to follow Jesus had to become Jews first. If they did, then they would have to follow all the laws of Moses in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible and this would clearly hinder the expansion of the church.
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Acts 10:1-48 (NRSV)
10 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. 2 He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. 3 One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.” 4 He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” He answered, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter; 6 he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him, 8 and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa.
9 About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.” 15 The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.
17 Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon’s house and were standing by the gate. 18 They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there. 19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three men are searching for you. 20 Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them.” 21 So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?” 22 They answered, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 So Peter invited them in and gave them lodging.
The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the believers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 On Peter’s arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshiped him. 26 But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled; 28 and he said to them, “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. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?”
30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter; he is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 33 Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.”
34 Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. 37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.”
Throughout history right to the present moment, there have always been issues with people being partial or prejudiced against other groups of people. In United States history one can see this especially in how Native Americans and African-Americans were treated for hundreds of years. In the New Testament, a significant partiality issue is how the early Jewish followers of Jesus regarded Gentiles or non-Jews. There had long been Gentiles who converted to the Jewish faith, but these individuals were different from God-fearers like Cornelius in Acts 10. God-fearers were not circumcised and therefore not included within the Jewish religion. As an uncircumcised Gentile, Cornelius was considered to be unclean. He was not the company an observant Jew, like Peter, would keep.
Cornelius is a centurion, a position comparable to a Captain in the US Army. He has a number of men under his command. He gives generously to those in need, he prays constantly, and is well-respected by the Jewish community. He is praying when he has a vision and sees an angel who calls him by name and tells him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter; 6 he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.”
Cornelius, like a good soldier, hears a command from a superior and he obeys immediately. He calls in two trustworthy servants and a devout soldier, explains their mission and sends them on their way. Cornelius is very much like another Centurion we meet in Matthew 8:5-13. That passage says, “5 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” 7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” 10 When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven….And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.”
What happens in Acts is foreshadowed in the Gospels. Jesus was willing to speak with and grant the prayer of a centurion, a Gentile soldier. Cornelius also has his prayers heard and Peter will need to decide if he will respond to the Spirit’s leading.
As Cornelius’s men are on their way to Joppa, Peter goes up on the roof to pray. Like many of us when we pray, he felt hungry and started thinking about what he was going to eat so he asked for lunch to be prepared. While it was being made, he had a vision of a kind of heavenly a picnic blanket filled with various animals, all of which were forbidden for Jews to eat. If you read Leviticus 11 you’ll notice all the animals, birds, and insects that are unclean and not be eaten. There are some animals God’s people were not supposed to eat that we have no problem saying, “I wouldn’t want to eat camel or rock badger anyway.” The prohibition against pork, ham, bacon, scallops, lobster, and crab probably doesn’t go over quite as well. It was because of these prohibitions that Peter objected three times when he was commanded by a voice to “kill and eat.” Peter claimed he had observed kosher food laws his whole life, even after Jesus stated in Mark 7:18b-23, “Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, 19 since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. 21 For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22 adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Jesus was pushing back against the idea in the scriptures that one could be unclean because of something one ate. Jesus emphasized it is what comes from within us that truly defiles a person, more so than enjoying a good lobster roll. However, our social, religious, and cultural conditioning has a tremendous impact on our thinking and behavior. Even though Peter heard Jesus say these words, he says in Acts 10 that he still had never eaten anything that the Jewish law said was unclean. But the winds of change were blowing. The tradition was being challenged. Both Cornelius and Peter were praying when God communicated with them. The Spirit was moving revealing that God is even more concerned about calling people unclean whom God has cleansed, rather than types of food.
After the revelation of the heavenly picnic blanket, Peter is still puzzled as to what it all means when he is commanded to arise and go with the men who were looking for him. The Spirit did not give him a roadmap. There was no itinerary. There was no committee consensus. There was only the calling of the Spirit to go. And think about what Peter was being asked to do: He was being told to go to Caesarea. Caesarea, of course, is named after the Caesar. It’s like saying “Caesar-ville.” Caesarea is the capital for the Roman government in that area. It represents everything that is not Jewish. So Peter and these other believers had to go into an area that represented everything they had stood against. Who mocked, beat, and crucified Jesus? Roman soldiers. And now Peter had to go to the home of a Roman centurion.
It was an extraordinary risk, at an extraordinary time, and an extraordinary message. What would we do if we were faced with such a challenge? Peter had a choice. Peter could have remained in Joppa, but he was open and willing to obey the Spirit even though it meant tearing down a wall of bias, partiality, and prejudice. This weekend we remember Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his life and ministry. He had a choice. We each have a choice. When the Spirit calls us into situations that challenge our understanding, our prejudice, our biases, even if they have come from our own tradition we have to make a decision. Are we going to help or to hinder the work of God?
Peter’s going to the house of Cornelius was a bold act. When they get to Cornelius’ house, he has called together his relatives and close friends. Cornelius actually falls on his feet and begins to worship Peter. He doesn’t know the right thing to do. It’s like somebody walking into our service not sure what we do here. When do we stand? When do we sit? And Peter says, Don’t worship me, I’m only a man. And then as Peter walks into the room, and sees all these Gentiles gathered, and smells food that he’s not supposed to eat, he says, You know I’m Jewish, and I’m not supposed to be here. I’m not supposed to associate with any of you. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean (Acts 10:28)
That is a radical statement. “God has shown me that we should not call anyone unclean or profane.” We have had a history of looking at various people groups, and saying, You are unclean. God cannot love you the way you are. Or, you need to change before we will accept you into the church.
It was unlawful for a Jew to come to the home of a Gentile. But Peter followed the Spirit and shares the story of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus with Cornelius and his relatives and his friends. “34 Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all…Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43). Verse 44 says, “While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.” This is what happened to Peter and the rest of the disciples in Acts chapter 2, right? The Holy Spirit came upon them like tongues of fire, like the sound of the wind. But they were Jewish. That was OK.
Now the Holy Spirit is coming on Gentiles! That’s why v. 45 continues, “The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God.” And Peter says, It’s clear God is working in these people. Can anyone give me a good reason why we shouldn’t baptize them? And so they were baptized.
The practice of hospitality functions as a prism through which Jewish Christians are able to see Gentile converts in a new way – no longer as “profane or unclean,” but rather as covenant partners in the community of Christians. Hospitality helps to bridge the gap between people of different regions and cultures. Jesus’ disciples are not to allow cultural differences such as food laws or even tradition to blind them to the present moving of God. As long as we are imprisoned by categories of clean and unclean people, we will not practice radical hospitality in our relationships that facilitate the spread of the gospel. God’s first step in reaching out to the Gentiles consists in overturning the prejudices of God’s messengers.
Ultimately, this passage teaches that Jesus’ disciples in all generations must allow God to move them past their prejudices. Sometimes we want to find reasons why God wouldn’t be working in certain people, and usually it’s people unlike us: liberals, conservatives, environmentalists, corporate types, rednecks, hippies, soldiers, peace activists, people of many colors and language groups, you name it.
Sometimes like Peter we have to listen to the spirit in Joppa, and do the work of God in Caesarea knowing full well that there will be fallout from the church in Jerusalem. Peter had to face criticism with Jewish Christians who were upset that he even went to the house of a Gentile much less shared the message of the good news about Jesus. Sometimes the greatest Jerusalem we contend with is the voices of Jerusalem within ourselves. Our own fears, biases, prejudice and partialities. Our own negative outlook. Our own idolatry of tradition when God is doing a new thing. Do not allow yourself to miss the blessing at Ceaseara because you are so frightened of Jerusalem. Be strong and remember the revelation you received in Joppa.
One of the cool things about this story of tearing down walls of partiality and prejudice is that when it begins, Peter is in Joppa. That is the same port city that the Old Testament prophet Jonah went to in order to flee from the presence of the Lord so that he wouldn’t have to speak God’s word to people he considered his enemies. Jonah didn’t want the Ninevites to have the opportunity to repent, be forgiven, and to experience the grace and mercy of God so he fled from his duty.
In a similar way, Peter, has to overcome his prejudice and partiality about Gentiles, he has misgivings of his own. But unlike Jonah, Peter goes to Caesarville, he speaks the word to Roman soldiers and other Gentiles and the Holy Spirit falls on all in the house and he learns that God’s mercy is wider than he thought.
It is such openness and willingness that makes it possible for a person to be extraordinary. Because you have to be open to change and willing to live a life of reformation and transformation. You have to know that when the Spirit calls you into a situation that challenges prejudice or partiality you have to make a decision — either to help or to hinder the work of God.
Within the Biblical tradition there is a tradition that God will do new things. In the Psalms we are told repeatedly to sing to the Lord a new song, because God is living and active and there new things to be thankful for and new ways to express our worship, praise, and adoration. Ecclesiastes 3 teaches us that there is a time for every purpose under heaven. There is a time be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted. There is a time for new things. Isaiah 42:8-10a, says,
“I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth!”
May we be open to the new things the Lord is doing in our time.
Blessing: May we be the kind of Christians who tear down walls of prejudice and partiality and let us use those stones and bricks to build bridges of relationship with others in Jesus’ name.
Some quotes from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968)