What God Hath Cleansed

The Story

In the city of Caesarea lived a Roman centurion named Cornelius. He wasn’t Jewish, but he feared God, gave generously to the poor, and prayed constantly. One afternoon, an angel told him to send for a man named Peter, who was staying in the town of Joppa.

The next day, about noon, Peter went up on the rooftop to pray. He was hungry, and while lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

He saw heaven open and something like a great sheet being let down to the earth by its four corners. In it were all kinds of animals, including those that Jewish law said were unclean to eat.

A voice said, “Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.”

Peter refused. “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.”

The voice spoke a second time. “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.”

This happened three times, and then the sheet was taken back up into heaven.

While Peter was still puzzling over it, Cornelius’s messengers arrived at the gate. And the Spirit told Peter to go with them, doubting nothing.

So Peter went to the home of a Gentile, something he had never done before. And as he preached about Jesus, the Holy Spirit fell on everyone listening.

Reflection