From the Chaplain 

Greetings

I hope you are staying warm with this cool change.

The reading for this Sunday (Acts 11:1-18) gives Peter’s explanation for having an inclusive faith.

The early Jewish followers of Jesus encountered many challenges as they worked out their new faith. One issue which took a lot of consideration was whether people who were not Jews, and hence did not practice Jewish rituals, could also be people of the new ‘way’ – later known as Christians.

This passage tells of a vision that Peter had. In that vision God tells Peter not to call unclean what God has called clean. Peter - and others - interpret this to mean that the rules have changed. Instead of needing to hold tightly to previous purity and holiness laws, God now called all people clean – even those who were not Jews.

We can learn two things from this text. 

Firstly, we often judge ourselves most harshly especially when we experience guilt and shame. God is gracious, and forgives you for not always being perfect in the way we uphold conventions or when we cause harm to ourselves and others. Don’t keep calling yourself ‘unclean’.

Secondly, we need to recognise that faith and belief always encounter culture. Culture is part of belief and we need to be aware of how culture impacts faith, and vice versa. This is difficult when we try to set faith as a standard operating separately from culture.

Enjoy the falling leaves as the seasons change.

Bless you and your families,

Rosalie

Illustration from Treasures of the Bible by Henry Davenport Northrop, 1894.