Summary: Much has happened leading up to our reading for the day. Catching up with the story is important for hearing today's scripture. A quick update: Cornelius--a spiritual, but not religious Gentile living in Caesarea of some importance in the Roman legion and a member of the Italian Cohort--Cornelius had a vision. It was a clear vision...to send for an apostle of Jesus named Peter. Peter--a devout and faithful Jew and an ardent follower of Jesus the Christ--Peter had a vision, too. His was not so clear. In fact, it was downright bizarre. Peter was in Joppa, praying on the roof of his friend's house, and he was hungry. While the food was being prepared, he fell into a trance and saw a sheet being lowered down from the heavens, filled with all of the foods that good Jews were not allowed to touch, much less eat. There was a voice, "Get up Peter, kill and eat." There was Peter's response, "By no means Lord! You know I can't eat what is profane and unclean!" There was a counter-response, "What God has made, you must not call profane." It happened twice more; and then, before Peter could make heads or tails out of the vision, the sheet was snatched up into heaven and Cornelius' men were knocking at the door to take Peter on a trek from Joppa to Caesarea. The Holy Spirit said "Go!" so Peter went. Arriving at the Gentile house, he realized that Cornelius was having a genuine experience of God, so he started in, preaching, to explain some things about this God who was giving Cornelius visions. Before Peter could finish his sermon, the Holy Spirit short-circuited the usual order of things and poured through the room and all of a sudden the footprint of the church got a lot bigger....
