While Saul lingers in Joppa, God is at work in Caesarea:
“At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, ‘Cornelius.’ And he stared at him in terror and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ And he said to him, ‘Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God’” (Ac 10:1-4).
Now, officials of the Roman conquerors need protection from those they rule. Cornelius is the commander of a military contingent protecting the Roman procurator in Caesarea. Cornelius is a Gentile convert to the Jewish faith, along with his entire household. He appears to be a model man of the Jewish faith. He has a family to support and a job to do, so to some extent we can identify with someone unexpected whom God wants to use, a “working stiff,” we might say.
Suddenly an angel of God appears and addresses him by name. Note that even a powerful Roman commander is stunned and terrified by the power of God’s angel. Somehow, Cornelius finds his voice and asks what the angel wants. The angel replies that Cornelius' prayers and alms have risen before God – quite an affirmation of the faith of the devout – as a memorial before God!
What could be more about perfect unity with God than prayer? When you pray, do you leave just a drop of pea gravel before God? That is better than not praying at all, for sure. But imagine piling up giant rocks into an immovable memorial fortress directly in front of God. Now that is perfect unity, and as we see with Cornelius, it may have eternal implications!
And what could be more about perfect unity with your brothers and sisters than giving alms? A second pillar appears before God in your name.
The angel continues:
“’And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.’ When the angel who had spoken to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa’ (Ac 10:5-8).
God can command anyone he wishes, whether it be a plumber or a commander!
In this case, the military escort makes sense, since Peter has had his troubles with the Jewish authorities and could be in danger while traveling. Do you picture God protecting you from evil as you travel?
I do, and he has over my decades of travel!
But the bigger questions here are: how will God use Peter; and how will God use Cornelius?
A fisherman and a soldier; a butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker?
Yes.
All of us.
The story that changes the world continues next time. Hurry back!