Sunday, March 22, 2015
About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. Then he heard a voice saying, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.’ The voice said to him again, a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven. Acts 10:9-16
What a strange sacred conversation! Peter, a faithful Jew who had always followed the laws regarding what foods could be eaten, receives a vision from God–a picnic on the roof. On the picnic blanket are all sorts of animals the law forbade him from eating. A voice, presumably from God, tells him to eat. He protests. The voice persists. Peter is puzzled.
It turns out this sacred conversation is one of many in the tenth chapter of Acts. Cornelius, a Gentile and a Roman soldier, also receives a vision of an angel. A messenger comes to speak to Peter, and finally, Peter and Cornelius talk. The result of all these sacred conversations is a new understanding of sacred community. The new community formed around the risen Jesus is for all people–Gentile and Jew, rich and poor, male and female, powerful and powerless. It is a defining moment that shaped the development of Christianity.
Today we have our own multiple sacred conversations about food. We talk about allergies and preferences. We talk about what different foods mean to us–our cultural heritage, our diverse experience of what constitutes comfort food. We talk about the ethical implications of the food we eat. The conversations are sacred when we listen deeply to each other. The conversations are sacred when we listen for the voice of God urging us to find ways to come to the table together.
As we come to the table–the coffee hour table, the communion table, the Spring fling table, the dinner table–let us rejoice in the sacred conversations that bring us there, and let us pray for God’s grace and guidance along the way.
Teach us, O God, to listen carefully to one another. Amen.