As
the chapter for today begins, Peter has returned to Judea where the apostles
and the remaining followers of Jesus are not happy (11:2). Peter describes his divine
vision as well as the descent of the Holy Spirit. His critics “were silenced,” and
the community praised God, saying “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the
repentance that leads to life” (11:18). It is admirable that they can accept the
new reality.
In
fact, however, Peter is not the agent of change, even humanly speaking. Philip
had already baptized an Ethiopian eunuch (8:38) and continued on a missionary
journey through what had been Philistine territory and up to Caesarea. Already
Gentiles (i.e. non-Jews) were joining the expanding community.
After
the description of Peter and Cornelius, Acts resumes the story of the people
who, like Philip (but not Peter), had been scattered by the persecution in
Jerusalem. Unnamed refugees arrived in Antioch, where they shared the gospel
with Gentiles and established the first truly mixed Christian community—Jews and
Gentiles following Jesus together (11:20-21). This new thing needed a new name
and, for the first time, they are called “Christians.” Barnabas fetches Paul,
who joins the community in Antioch for a formative year before they set off
together on the first of Paul’s missionary journeys (11:26).
We do not know the
names of people in the Christian community at Antioch. But they followed the
Holy Spirit into uncharted territory and established a way of being Christian
that Paul would spread across much of the ancient world. Meanwhile Peter and, even
more, the other apostles in Jerusalem are astounded that the Holy Spirit
descended on a single Gentile family. It is a humbling lesson for Christian “leaders”—the
leaders had a hard time just keeping up with the movement of the Spirit beyond
the boundaries of the Christian community. It is a lesson that we continue to
need!Fr. Harvey
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