|
Today's reading from the Acts
of the Apostles marks a turning point for the infant church. Peter has
been summoned to the house of Cornelius, a Roman officer. Cornelius
wanted to learn more about the Christian faith. Even as Peter addressed
the crowd in Cornelius' house, the Holy Spirit came upon them. The
Spirit made his presence known through signs like speaking in tongues,
prophecy, and visions. It soon became clear to Peter and the other
circumcised believers that the Holy Spirit was truly present in these
Gentiles. Peter asks: if they have received the Spirit, what can stop
them from being baptized? So Peter welcomes this new family of believers
into the church.
This must have been a shock to the circumcised community of believers.
Until this point, faith in Jesus was an extension of the Jewish faith.
Yet in this instance it would seem that God Himself had extended the
faith beyond Judaism to the community of the Gentiles.
This was one of the first struggles of the infant church. It had to
wrestle with its own preconceived notions of how God would bring the
salvation of Jesus into the world. In this episode there is a shift from
belonging to the people of God through birth to belonging through faith
and love. Throughout the rest of the Acts of the Apostles we hear of the
church struggling with this new reality.
In today's readings from I John and John's gospel we are reminded that
the most essential element of our relationship with God is love. In
order to know God we must know his love and his love must become central
in our lives. We are called by Christ to bear fruit that will endure.
Love bears fruit that endures and each of us is called to bear that
fruit in our lives.
Some members of the early church had great difficulty accepting Gentiles
into the community of faith. Eventually it became clear that this was
God's plan for the church. Today we must remember the same truth.
God does not follow our rules and regulations, our customs and mores.
Instead his love breaks through in many different ways. If it doesn’t
matter to God that we are black, brown, or white, speak English,
Italian, Polish, or Spanish, then why does it matter so much to us?
As we anticipate the great
Feast of Pentecost, let us pray to be open to the Spirit of God in our
lives. Let us pray to love in the ways the Spirit calls us to love,
especially where his love is most needed. |
