Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men that were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood before the gate and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down, and accompany them without hesitation; for I have sent them." And Peter went down to the men and said, "I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?" And they said, "Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house, and to hear what you have to say." So he called them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went off with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his kinsmen and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, "Stand up; I too am a man." And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered; and he said to them, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit any one of another nation; but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Acts 10:17–28 (RSV)
What does it mean to be the Church, the Body of Christ? From the very beginning, the Church has sought to answer that question. It has responded well at times, other times, not so much. Thankfully the Church is not only made up of humans; it is led by our Lord, who is its head. Through the work to the Holy Spirt among us, the Church is guided to faithfulness.
I have been apart of several intense discussions about how the part of the Church called the ELCA should serve our Lord. We discussed and debated the Historic Episcopate in the early '90s and Full Communion partnerships with other denominations. In the late '90s to 2009, we argued back and forth on the nature of human sexuality-related to the faithful Christian life. The outcome of that debate has not been a blessing. It has left the ELCA divided and depleted. Many congregations and members departed as they could not in good conscience agree with the decision.
These are challenges that are as old as the Church. Peter had received a vision about what was clean and unclean. Those distinctions were critical to large segments of the early Church. Most Christians at the time Acts was written were Jewish.
Many Jewish Christians clung to the notion that only those who were Jewish by birth, or who had fully converted to Judaism could be Christians. A Gentile (the category of everyone who is not Jewish) could not be a Christian. They were, by definition, unclean. Even though Jesus had welcomed Gentiles, many in the early Church would not. It took a vision from God to convince Peter that Gentiles could become Christian.
Peter's visit to Cornelius' household was the beginning of the Gospel reaching to a much wider world. Gentiles heard the Good News and came to Christ in the thousands. What had been a local Church, centered on Jerusalem, was now spreading throughout the Empire. It would take time for the young Church to fully grasp Jesus' command to go into all the world, proclaiming the Gospel.
Thankfully it did, for we are the beneficiary of the Gospel spread. As we move into the future, we will face more challenges to what it means to be the Church. I am confident that the Holy Spirit will guide us as we seek to make Christ known. The Father will forgive us where we err and bless us where we more closely follow Jesus. At least not until the New Heaven and New Earth comes, we will never be a perfect Church. However, we can strive with all we have to be faithful as Christ's Church.