This morning’s passage from the Book of Acts carries us like a time machine to the early years of the fledging church. Paul had previously been converted from a persecutor of the church to an apostle. Peter had developed into the recognized leader of the original twelve disciples and was now their lead missionary. There was steady progress towards establishing and strengthening new Christian communities beyond ones of strictly Jewish background. Peter knew that the church was on the cusp of breaking out of its safe and original boundaries and was about to welcome a much larger circle of believers into its fellowship.
Peter was both tired and famished. He put something in the oven to bake, but before it was ready, he fell asleep. Fatigue and hunger combined to fashion a weird dream. A large cloth filled with all sorts of strange animals was lowered from heaven and God said, "Peter, eat!" "No!" replied Peter, shocked at the suggestion. "I only eat what is strictly kosher and stay away from all strange meats and other foreign food for fear that it is unclean." "Eat, Peter," God urged again. "My creation is not divided between kosher and non-kosher, or clean and unclean. The food for my feast includes the whole world, and it is good." Peter woke up in the nick of time before his dinner was burned. "Whew," said Peter, as he pondered the meaning of his arresting dream.
After his meal, there was a knock on the door. A delegation of gentiles had traveled to find him. They wanted Peter to come and help organize a Christian community in their town. Peter was about to say, "But you aren't even Jewish, why do you want to become a Christian? How did you ever hear about Jesus anyway?" Then Peter remembered the weird dream.
This little group of gentiles in the Roman town of Caesarea was wonderfully receptive to the Gospel, and was a delight to teach and organize. Cooperative and grateful for Peter's ministry, they raised his spirits and healed his fatigue. What a surprise, Peter thought, to find in a Roman town, such foreigners who had such enthusiasm for living the Good News. Peter would readily confess, "I have learned that God does not limit the gifts of the Spirit and the healing power of the Gospel to so-called favorites. God shares and offers gifts to all."
Many of us are still a little fatigued from Christmas. Moreover, the rapid change of scenes and large cast of characters in the Bible lessons for the Holy Days and Sundays immediately after Christmas, exhaust us even more. Advent proceeds with a steady measured pace. but the days after Christmas sweep by us like whirlwinds. I would like to suggest that all the comings and goings in the stories after Christmas contain a sign that there are many, many potential connections out there between people, especially people we would normally ignore as strangers or keep at arm’s length by means of our own assumed boundaries.
In today's Gospel, Jesus is all grown up and ready to be baptized. He goes with others, to find John the Baptist. It is a public baptism, done along with some friends from his own village, and various small groups of others who have come out to this remote spot. However when Jesus and John met it was obvious that Jesus was not what John expected, and perhaps Jesus didn’t know what to make of John either. Why should John baptize Jesus rather than the other way around? It is testimony to the integrity of the early church that this possible embarrassment was not covered up. There seemed to be a moment of hesitation between the two. Perhaps on reading about this encounter at an isolated place along the banks of the Jordan river some two thousand years ago and far removed from our culture, we can still glimpse the work of the Holy Spirit working and telling us that God is going to lead us to and expect us to deal with situations we may feel uncomfortable dealing with. Perhaps that is why Jesus’ baptism and Peter’s dream before he is asked to baptized those not of Jewish heritage known as gentiles are rightfully connected together as our Sunday lessons.
Epiphany is a season of epiphanies. The hymns we sing are full of the workings of God becoming more manifest in our lives. Discoveries and insights lead to eye-opening encounters like between Jesus and John the Baptist and produce dreams like Peter’s. God still calls, disclosures still happen. Some of us might even discover something amazing about ourselves today. Be hopeful, you can never tell. The star of wonder that led the magi to Bethlehem still shines guides. That’s good news.
