One of the many ways to study the Book of Acts includes a close look at the speeches to determine the the trajectory of the message. Peter and Paul have major soliloquies, but one should not overlook the speech of of James, the brother of Jesus, who is pastor of the new church in Jerusalem, and Stephen’s speech before the Sanhedrin – prior to his stoning.
Each of these speeches establishes the message of the Acts of the Apostles: the importance of bold faith, being led by the Holy Spirit, a missionary spirit, and the importance of diversity. Because of these values, the church became a multi-national ministry in the midst of the Roman Empire, which provided freedom in Christ to adherents when the Pax Romana (Peace of Rome) only offered subjugation!
You will remember that Caesar is considered god in the Empire. In virtually every town square, across the empire, there was a statue to the “unknown” god and it is these Christ following missionaries that pick up on that and identify the “unknown” god as Jesus Christ. In their telling of His story they promote how he is connected to the God of Hebrew scripture as God’s Son, bringing freedom and peace.
This helpful background brings us to the passage for this week’s consideration. Peter is the speaker. It is one of his great speeches in the text. He is speaking in front of a delegation of people who have come from Joppa and the Roman soldier, Cornelius. He proclaims that “God shows no impartiality” and continues by talking about the inclusive nature of Jesus and His church for both Jew and Gentiles. Peter, through experiences with the Resurrected One, overcame all the notions he learned as a young person regarding circumcision, dietary laws, and practices and of what is clean and unclean.
Peter is making a clear break with some of his past, but Peter, but not completely – is adding to his theology. Peter is growing. Peter feels empowered by the Holy Spirit and so do all those in attendance to make these changes and include others that they have disregarded in the past. But changing people’s attitudes and values about others and how God works in the world and in people’s lives are challenges. But we can rejoice that they did embrace them, changed their minds and included others. And in the midst of all of this, they grew and helped others to do the same by the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so they said and witnessed to us. What they discovered is just how connected they are to each other and how they are connected to God.
In our strategic plan, one of our values is Connected. It is the way that we can talk about how we feel about each other and practice our faith in generosity of welcome and integrity in our authentic practice, that celebrates diversity across generations and cultures. We have this desire in common with our forebears in the Book of Acts. We look forward with expectation to see where the Holy Spirit will lead us!