"On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: 10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, 11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12 Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
Acts 10:9-14
Let’s continue from the last blogging where the Apostle Paul confronted Peter to the face concerning his duplicitous behavior among the Jews and Gentiles. Now as we looked at that story it was not a case of Peter not associating with the Gentiles because he actually did eat and socialized with them (Galatians 2:12). What was troubling was that he didn’t want his Jewish friends to know that he did.
In that culture it was a well established practice that the Jews had no dealings with the Gentiles, Samaritans or non-Jews (John 4:9).
The disciples including Peter returned from their shopping and were surprised to find Jesus speaking with this Samaritan woman. I am sure this was a very stressful day for them because the woman didn’t only go her way and that being the end of it, she returned with a village of Samaritans whom Jesus did not turn away but preached to them and they believed in him (John 4:39-43). Jesus so broke tradition that he not only preached to them, he agreed to stay longer at their request for all to see.
You would have thought that this was a teaching moment for Peter. You would have thought that Peter would connect the dots to what Jesus had said previously in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life;” and that these Samaritans who were actually a mixture of Jews and Gentiles, fell in the category of ‘whosever will.’
When we talk of enemies of change, we often look out but so very often it will do us good to look within first. Check with me first to see if I am prejudice…
Am I a respecter of persons? Jesus wasn’t (Acts 10:34; Rom 2:11) ….
Am I prejudice? …….
Do I hide my association with friends of one culture from those of my culture like Peter did?.....
These are the questions we need to be asking ourselves before we start pointing our fingers at the outside world and that which is in it.
And very often, WHAM! Our search is over (lol).
STORY TIME- Confession Time
I’ll tell you a story I do not think I have ever told before.
In my country Guyana, a nation of six races but predominantly Black and East Indian, I grew up with constant racial tension that plagued us from time to time. As a young girl of about thirteen to fifteen I attended a predominantly black school with only two East Indian girls in my class that for some reason I marked them for bullying. I can’t recall how it all started but every Friday after school I would head in the opposite direction of my home and whip these girls for no apparent reason. As I reflect on it, they were very quiet girls.
However, I whipped them on Friday evening, and on Monday mornings for sure, who is waiting for me at the top of the stairs of the school? Their mother and the head master of the school with a rod, that we called ‘wild cane’ made of bamboo. I had to stretch my hands out and take six hot lashes, that left my palm pink.
This went on for a while until one day I told them if they don’t stop reporting me, I won’t stop whipping them. It was unconscionable, really. And they did. The Monday morning I wasn’t beaten by my headmaster, that Friday I headed straight home.
I received Jesus as my savior a few years later in high school at sixteen. I did not see any of the young ladies until one day, my church had a conference at this other church where we were invited and I was a singer then and was on the program to sing a special song.
I am on the platform at the podium singing my heart out about the love and grace of God when my eyes fell on this young lady looking at me from the pews smiling as if she was simply happy to see me there. As I recognized her, I had to quickly hold my composure and continue singing. I could not believe that she was there.
When the program was finished and while speaking to someone, I felt a tap on my shoulder and as I looked around to see who it was, there was Tarmattie standing there smiling from ear to ear waiting to hug me as if nothing, absolutely nothing ever happened.
We greeted each other and realizing that we were both saved and attending sister churches, we had a great reunion and I took the opportunity to apologize, weeping over my cruelty to such a beautiful soul and her friend. Up to that point I never recalled my behavior of racial injustice to my fellow school mates, but I believe that that was a part of me that God wanted cleaned up and what better way than to meet her in person and apologize. She opened her heart and arms to me and hugged me as if she was silently saying ‘thank you Jesus for saving this one, she needed it,’ and I sure did (lol).
I shared this today because many of us might have been in similar situations and have kept it hidden, but it is time to identify the need for a change of heart deep down in the recesses of our hearts and make that change so that our world would be a better plac
