Please read the passage before reading the comments.
Peter arrived home, fresh from his journey and fresh from baptizing the whole household of Cornelius. He could not wait to tell his story. Instead, he was greeted with, “So we hear that you have been hobnobbing with pagans, eating with them, staying their houses, and baptizing them.”
That put a damper or three on a well-deserved homecoming. How to respond to such negativity?
Peter replied that he had had a dream, had seen a vision, had come to the conclusion that God has no favorites. He said that while he was explaining the good news of Jesus, the Holy Spirit had come down upon them as the Spirit had done to Peter and the Apostles in the beginning. He saw that God was accepting them and welcoming them into God’s grace so that he had to admit them also.
To whom would God sent us today with the message of salvation? To what pagan, to what non-believer, to what neighbor, to what passer-by should we be bringing the news of God’s love today? Peter was not expecting a vision or a dream at lunchtime. Peter was surprised and challenged by the turn of events. We will probably be surprised when the time comes for us to preach by action or word the faith we have.
The Spirit is still active in our world. We just have to be aware of the Spirit’s presence. The Spirit does not hide from us, but we do have to open our eyes to experience the Spirit’s presence. When the Spirit catches us looking, we have to grab the occasion and do what the Spirit tells us to do.
Our passage today tells us about the past, about history, but it also tells us about the present time. Every message about the past is also a message for the present. The Spirit is always introducing us to Corneliuses and wants us to share the good news with them.