a simple desire

“Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10: 34-36)

I was reading this morning the lectionary passage for this week, and one of the readings was the reporting of this very event where Peter is preaching to Cornelius and his household. In the lectionary passage Peter was explaining to the apostles and disciples in Jerusalem why and how he came to baptize into faith the Gentiles, the uncircumcised. And I was struck again by verse eighteen of chapter eleven in Acts: “ The God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

When I first encountered the passage from chapter eleven, I thought the disciples and apostles were incredulous about the news that Peter had. And perhaps they were at first. Obviously the leaders that Peter consulted believed that God intended to save all people. But in reading the actual account of Peter’s mission in Act 10, one needs to reframe the response of the leaders in Jerusalem. It is a matter of deciding whether the leaders in Jerusalem viewed Cornelius and his household’s conversion as an example of God’s benevolence to the unworthy or God’s gift extended to all peoples. It is here, in chapter ten of Acts that the key to understanding what the leaders in Jerusalem and what we must understand. God does not show favoritism, or more precisely everyone is God’s favorite. That must remain central when thinking about mission. We are not to judge or presume who is worthy or unworthy, but to speak to all people of God’s gift.