Good News is Always Good!

 

And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (Acts 11:12-18 ESV).

 

Our reading today is often called the “Gentile Pentecost.” The term "Gentile Pentecost" refers to the event in Acts 10 where the Holy Spirit was poured out upon Gentiles (non-Jews), a significant turning point in the early church's mission to spread the gospel to all nations. This event is considered a second Pentecost, alongside the first Pentecost in Acts 2, marking a shift from a Jewish-centric understanding of Christianity to a more inclusive message for all people.

 

Is good news ever not good news? Look again at the reading today. Peter and six others had witnessed how the Holy Spirit was poured out on Gentiles in the home of Cornelius. But when they returned to Jerusalem, they faced a lot of questions, like “What did you do?” and “How could you have done that?” They were criticized and called out for eating and staying with “those” people. So, in a summary of what had happened, Peter explained step by step that God had shown him a vision and that God had wanted him to meet with Cornelius. Peter pointed out that when he began to speak at Cornelius’s house, the Holy Spirit came on the Gentiles who were there. To Peter, it felt like Pentecost all over again (cf. Acts 2).

 

Up to this point, Peter told the story frame by frame. But now he widened the focus and said he remembered that Jesus had promised they would baptize with the Holy Spirit. And that had come true in the home of Cornelius—a Gentile! As Peter finished describing this event, he turned to everyone gathered there and said, “Who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” And the people—including the ones who were critical— praised God. No further objections! It was very good news! Should we ever exclude those who are a bit different than we are from the gospel… of course not!