4TH WEEK OF EASTER

What God has made clean, you are not to call profane. 

In today’s first reading, Peter explains a vision that at first confused him—God seemed to be telling him to eat unclean foods. But Peter tells James and the other leaders of the Church that he now understands that his vision was about much more than food.

God knew the challenges that lay ahead as Gentiles became believers. So he gave Peter a vision that was meant to soften his heart toward the Roman soldier Cornelius and open his eyes to the work of the Spirit among the Gentiles. It was Cornelius and his family that God wanted Peter to see as no longer “profane.” He wanted him to call them brothers and sisters who also had a place in the kingdom (Acts 10:15, 22-49). And because Peter obeyed, the whole Church was transformed: Jews and Gentiles came together to live as the redeemed family of God.

God used Peter’s vision to help believers recognize their imperfect mindsets and bring them into alignment with his way of thinking. This vision also gave them a new way of relating to the world and a new way to speak about each other.

Just as he did with Peter, God wants to help us recognize where our mindsets and our words are inconsistent with his intentions. He has “made clean” everyone who belongs to Jesus. Even if we don’t get along well with some believers, we should remember that they, like us, have been made new. They, too, are heirs of salvation and our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Lord longs to see our thoughts and our speech reflect the expansive love in his heart. Our words have power! “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). We have a tremendous responsibility: with our words we can either build up or tear down.

Every day offers us opportunities to respond to this choice. How will you think and speak about God’s children today? Can you use your words to encourage, to build up, to declare what God thinks about them? Ask the Spirit to help you think as he does about your fellow believers. As your mind is renewed, you will find it easier to speak words of love, speech that creates spaces of love, unity, and healing.

“Lord, purify my heart and help my words to build up your people!”

Acts 11:1-18
Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4
John 10:1-10