Monday of the 4th Week of Easter
Acts 11:1-18 | Psalm 41:2-3; 42:3-4 | John 10:1-10
Yesterday, I repeated the early journey to church that I made on Easter Sunday, this time to help the Daughters of St. Paul with their book sales and fundraising drive. It might even have been the same driver as before, given the similarly rapid drive I experienced, but what struck me this time was his unfailing politeness, greeting every boarding passenger with a hearty “Good morning!”…even the migrant workers boarding outside a small industrial estate along the way.
It’s hard not to draw parallels with today’s reading, wherein Peter recounts his encounter with Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, and the vision that led up to it. (Do read the whole of Acts 10, otherwise you’d only know less than half the story.) As my bus driver cared not about citizenship, or skin color, or other personal characteristics, so too did Peter come to understand that God cared not about prior religious affiliation, or nationality, or the state of one’s genitals. As I speculated yesterday, and subsequently confirmed by Peter:
God has no favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. (Acts 10:34-35)
Because of his Christ-like attitude toward others, I made it a point to alight from the front door and wish that he would “have a nice day.” The smile on his face: priceless.
Lord, you have never played favorites among Your peoples. Remind us always to do the same, that we may unite all who love You with those who do not know You, so as to bring Your Kingdom to fruition here on earth. Amen.