July 5, 2024 – suggested reading: Acts  11:1 – 26

“Now the apostles and the believerswho were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believerscriticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us.” Acts 11:1-12

Peter has a vision, and it takes him some time to figure out what it means: he wants to know desperately what G-d is trying to say to him. Isn’t it nice to know that even for the disciples, those closest to Jesus, even they did not always understand what was happening? Isn’t it good to know that once in a while G-d was speaking to them, but it took them time to understand what it all meant? Of course, over time they had a chance to understand what G-d was saying to them. 

I find comfort in this understanding because every day I am trying to figure our what G-d is saying to our world. Every day I want to know how and where G-d is working: in our political scene, in our economic picture, in our world’s conflicts and wars. But I also know that discernment of G-d’s ways and G-d’s works often is one of time, trial, and tribulation. How else can we make sense of the trials of Moses and the Israelites?

Isn’t our understanding of G-d’s will in our lives the same journey? Isn’t the discernment process a series of revelations and periods of contemplation – and this process repeats itself over and over again during the vast majority of our lives? It is through the “Aha” experiences of our lives that G-d’s will becomes ever more clear and evident. They may not be as startling as Peter’s vision, but they can be just as life changing.

Pastor Dave