…Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. And he became hungry and desired something to eat; but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance… Acts 10:9-10
How fitting that his somewhat displaced mind should be receptive to the vision of a “tablecloth” descending from heaven, loaded with food. Unfortunately, the unappetizing meat was still on the hoof and deliberately mixed in with equally “unclean” live fowl and crawling creatures. Three times the flying menu made a pass over his hungry stomach and horrified eyes. Each time a cheerful voice rang out, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” Three times the staunchly Jewish disciple, his stomach turning, pleaded kosher restraint. Equally persistent, the voice countered, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” When the agony of Peter’s ekstasis had ended, three Gentile visitors stood waiting at the door and spoke urgently of their master’s hunger for the living Lord.
The next time we suffer pangs of indecision or a hollow feeling in the gut in the wake of our perhaps gutless Christian walk, we should try a prayer vigil near the barbecue where steaks are being grilled to perfection. We must shoo away our inner pesky Pavlov’s dog and focus on the vision of a tablecloth spread out before our inner eyes. Have we by any chance piled it high with “kosher” protestations of No and Never, Lord? Who, we might ask, will not be at table in the kingdom of heaven because of our refusal to become broken bread and poured-out wine for the Christ-hungry inquirer waiting at our door? Part 2 of 2
Comment: I used to set a classy table with a white damask cloth that featured a delicate floral pattern. Living in our Hollywood bungalow, I had the front door open one day while ironing such an heirloom, aka pain in the neck. I was also Mozart-crazy enough to sing out loud a motet from his Requiem while doing it. Just then the mailman showed up on the porch, took one look, and hightailed out of there from sheer culture shock, I presume. At the time of this writing I’m glimpsing crisp white table linen around the clock, but often recoiling from the foods my Swiss cousin and his Cuban wife are crazy enough to eat. Since octopus apparently tastes like chicken or pork, Italian porchetta would be my much juicier choice Their love of snails – French fast food? – is equally alarming. I’m clearly the stuffy Swiss cousin, but amusing them as such while they’re having a ball crossing the Indian Ocean from Cape Town to Singapore.
Epistles were a sort of social media in the early New Testament days and if we set time aside to read Romans 14 extra attentively, the Apostle Paul will have us all straitened out enough to avoid being judged by God. “One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables” (verse 2). “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike” (verse 5). It’s all about passing judgment on our fellow Christians because of our often ingrained prejudices. Meat sacrificed to idols? “Over my dead body,” she who abhors escargots, might have said then and felt virtuous about it… Acts 10
I have often been proud of announcing my likes and dislikes of some choices people choose to eat. My criteria for what I will eat or not eat is simple: nothing with more than 4 feet; nothing that slides on snot on the ground; nothing with tentacles; no Mary's little lamb; no Bambi; no Bugs Bunny; no Donald Duck!
I have not been quite as picky about choosing those I associate with. Lest I become cocky, I must remind myself to continue to love my neighbor, and be a living example of Jesus Christ to my non-Christian friends and neighbors. I pray I never ignore or disdain others as I have often my undesired list of foods!
Love you Vreni!…