10 In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. 2 He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. 3 One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.
4 Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.
And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! 5 Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”
7 As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. 8 He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.
Acts 10:1-8
Dear God, I want more of Cornelius’s backstory. What was his “testimony?” How did he become a combination a captain of the Italian Regiment of the Roman army and a devout, God-fearing man. What motivated him to give generously to the poor and pray to you regularly? How did that happen? Which Jewish people did he know who not only explained who you were to him, but also made it make sense and attractive? What was his life experience like such that it made him willing to accept you, worship you, and then start living out the fruits of the Spirit that come with discipleship? I need to remember to look him up on the other side of death so I can hear his full story.
Next, his “prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!” There is some deep theology here on this. I don’t want to get into spoilers and Peter’s thoughts on this later. I want to just sit in this statement for a while. There was some reality that allowed you to look at Cornelius and see who he was in you. You were able to hear his prayers. You were able to see his gifts to the poor and receive them as an offering.
Next, he sent to household servants, but also a “devout soldier.” I suppose he sent the soldier for the servants’ protection as they went on their journey. I’m sure no one would dare bother the servants with a solider traveling along with them, but this would certainly add some fear to whomever answer the door at the place Peter was staying. I don’t remember this part of the story for later, and I don’t want to read ahead again, but I wonder if there’s any indication that the soldier’s presence scared the person who answered the door.
This reminds me of The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis in the Chronicles of Narnia series. When the main characters get to the “New Narnia,” they find a Calormen soldier who errantly worshipped Tash instead of Aslan. When questioned as to how the soldier ended up in the New Narnia, Aslan explains that his good heart and works were credited to him righteousness. He basically said that Tash is all evil so there is no way someone can do good in Tash’s name. Aslan is all good, and there is no way someone can do evil in Aslan’s name. So when the soldier did all of the good he did, he was actually doing it as unto Aslan.
This isn’t an exact parallel because Cornelius at least knew he was worshipping the Jewish God. He just didn’t know about Jesus. But it feels like there is something to this idea that Jesus’s blood, sacrifice, and resurrection all combined to give us access to you.
Father, this is a reminder that the basics are simple: Love you with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves. That’s basically what Cornelius was doing–even in ignorance of Jesus–and it was credited to him as righteousness. Cornelius wasn’t perfect. Cornelius was sinful. I guarantee it. But you loved Cornelius and appreciated his love for you and others. Help me to really love you well today and to love others as well.
I offer this prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen
Emails to God 