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Maggy Barankitse grew up in Burundi, which shares a border with Rwanda. There, 600,000 people were massacred during ethnic violence between Hutus and Tutsis. After Maggy witnessed the murder of 72 friends and coworkers in 1993, God gave her the vision for Maison Shalom (House of Peace) where Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa people would build a new community together, reconciled to one another through God’s love. Maison Shalom embodies God’s deep healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation between enemies.
Yesterday we learned about God’s initiative to reconcile humanity to Himself. Today we encounter His desire for reconciliation between people who are alienated from one another. At the beginning of Acts 10, we meet Cornelius, a God-fearing Gentile who received a vision from God and obeys immediately (vv. 1-8). Little does Cornelius know that Peter also experienced a vision from God. While praying, Peter saw a sheet containing all kinds of unclean animals and birds. A voice commanded him three times to kill and eat and proclaims, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (vv. 11-16). Nothing could shock Peter more! How can religious distinctions between clean and unclean be abolished? Before Peter discerned the meaning of the vision, Cornelius’ men arrived at his house (vv. 17-19).
The Spirit instructed Peter to greet the Gentile visitors and accompany them without hesitation (v. 20). In the original language of the New Testament, the word translated as hesitate means to evaluate, discriminate, or mistrust. Jews were prohibited from mingling with “unclean” Gentiles. Here, however, the Spirit commanded a righteous Jew not to discriminate with respect to Gentiles.
Like Cornelius, Peter obeyed immediately. He even invited the “unclean” visitors to be his guests (v. 23). The message of Peter’s vision becomes clear; He removed the distinction between clean and unclean foods, and even destroys the barriers between Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:11-22).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Have you experienced a ruptured relationship? Have you determined that “things will never change” with a person or group? Maybe you have heard God’s call to pursue reconciliation, but your first response was like Peter’s: “Surely not, Lord!” (v. 14). Forgiveness and peacemaking is work. The journey to reconciliation for God first took Jesus to the cross before He ascended into glory. As you pursue God’s reconciliation in your relationships, ask God for strength for the difficult road ahead and to relinquish your discriminations.
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