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What Peter Saw
It is a very interesting story and a weird story. Many of you may not even understand what the issue is here. What’s with these animals and eating them? Why was Peter so reluctant to eat them? There are a lot of questions to be answered. It is hard to make sense of this story unless you understand the culture of that time, 2000 years ago. But I won’t go there.
Peter was praying and he had this weird experience.
I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. (Acts 11:5-6)
I don’t know exactly how Peter saw this. Was it a dream? Did he fall asleep while praying? Or did he have some kind of supernatural vision? We don’t know. But that was what he saw. Not only he saw this wonderful vision but he also heard a voice and the voice said to Peter,
Get up, Peter; kill and eat. (Acts 11:7)
Peter protested,
By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth. (Acts 11:8)
Peter was very reluctant. Because all his life he believed that these foods were unclean and so he didn’t eat them.
But the voice told him to eat. This voice was supposed to be the voice of God. That was hard to take for Peter.
The voice not only told Peter to eat it but it also said,
What God has made clean, you must not call profane. (Acts 11:9)
This happened three times. So it was quite clear to Peter. It wasn’t what Peter misheard. It was a clear message.
Peter’s Prayer
One thing I learn about what prayer does from this story. Prayer does not affirm what you are thinking. Prayer changes what you are thinking.
Many people use prayer to give themselves absolute affirmation for what they already want and what they already know. To them, prayer is affirmation of who they are, what they believe, and what they firmly hold unto. Through prayer, they don’t change. They become more of their old self.
But Peter’s prayer was not like that. In prayer, Peter’s old belief was challenged. What he believed about what was clean and what was not clean was challenged. His attitude, his perspective, and his belief were all changed because of his prayer. Because he met God who was greater than himself. That is what true prayer is like.
If prayer is simply to affirm what you already know and what you already believe, then it can be dangerous. What was just your personal opinions before prayer becomes divinely ordained absolute truth after prayer. Your personal opinions become God’s will through prayer. That’s dangerous.
Peter’s prayer was very different from that kind of prayer. Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane was the same. What Jesus wanted was not affirmed. What he wanted was not granted. Jesus knew clearly the difference between his personal desire and God’s desire for him. That’s spiritual maturity.
St. Paul’s prayer was like that too. Once St. Paul prayed because he had thorn in his flesh. We don’t know exactly what that thorn was. But it tormented him. It hindered not only his ministry but also his life. He prayed to God three times. Again three times. He prayed that God might remove these thorns. But God didn’t. What he wanted, he didn’t get through prayer. He knew clearly what he wanted and what God wanted. That is spiritual maturity.
Affirmation and Spirituality
God did not remove the thorns but instead, God gave him this great insight.
My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
I know we have this tremendous desire to be affirmed. That desire is our idol. We have to be right. We have to be correct. We have to be righteous. We have to be considered as good and perfect.
People will do anything to prove this. Of course, people’s context will be very different and so in a different context, people will use different ways to affirm that they are great. In the job, going up the ladder will affirm who you are. In a religious circle, being kind and being good will affirm who you are. In an academic field, being smart will affirm who you are.
Being spiritual does not necessarily affirm who you are in that way. When you are spiritual, instead of being affirmed, often you will encounter your own prejudice and narrow mindedness. You encounter your own limitedness.
You are exposed to your raw self when you are spiritual. God exposes you in this way not to let you down, not to criticize you and make you feel worthless. God does that to expand your life. To expand your vision. To let you see greater truth. God does that to make you grow. God does that because he has a vision bigger than you.
In this sense, being spiritual is difficult. It makes you go where you never went before. It challenges you to change who you have been. It forces you to see who you really are but also challenges you to go beyond yourself. Not only you become real to yourself but you can also take the challenge to become somebody you had never been. You always had that self within you but you were too scared to become that person. The Spirit gives you the courage to be that person.
God’s Grace
You become naked but you are not alone. God’s grace envelops you.
Like Paul, even though he didn’t get what he asked for, God’s grace was all around him. That was enough for him. God’s grace was enough for him. He could embrace his weaknesses because God’s power was made perfect in his weakness.
God had to change Peter. God wanted to begin a new movement. God wanted to reach out to Gentiles. With Peter’s prejudice, God could not use him to carry on his vision. As long as he considered that Gentiles were unclean, he could not reach out to them. So before Peter reached out to Cornelius, a Gentile, God had to change Peter first. He had to challenge his prejudice first.
What God has made clean, you must not call profane. (Acts 11:9)
This was a huge change. Two weeks ago, we reflected how Jesus restored Peter’s calling by asking him three times, “Do you love me?” This time, God had to change Peter’s thinking.
Today’s story was not just about food. This was about his attitude towards other people, especially people who were different from him.
At that time, Jewish people did not associate with Gentiles, non-Jews. They considered going into Gentile’s house as becoming unclean.
During Jesus’ time, a Roman solider came to Jesus and asked him to heal his servant but knowing that Jews would not come into Gentile’s house, he said,
Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. (Matthew 8:8)
God had to help Peter and the early Christians to overcome this prejudice.
The Power of Prayer
That’s why God appeared to Peter in his prayer. Peter courageously accepted what was very uncomfortable for him. He was able to distinguish what he was familiar with from what God wanted. He was able to open the door to the mission to Gentiles. Once this prejudice was lifted, the Spirit was able to use freely these early Christians to reach out to Gentiles without any restriction.
St. Paul also understood God’s desire to want to include Gentiles. So he had to confront a lot of problems. His own people hated Paul because of this kind of attitude of Paul toward Gentiles. He went much further than Peter. No circumcision, no dietary rule, and no distinction between Jews and Gentiles.
No circumcision? That’s huge.
St. Paul said,
There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
These visionaries did not become visionaries on their own. They became these visionaries because they met God. They received the message that was beyond their own prejudice and narrow-mindedness.
That is the power of prayer. Prayer does not just affirm your small world. Prayer opens up a new world that you could never imagine. Be people of prayer. You will see what others don’t see.
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