Acts 10:34-43. Peter's proclamation upon arriving at the house of Cornelius, a centurion. Cornelius was a devout, faithful man who had a vision in which an angel told him to send for Peter. Meanwhile, Peter had a vision in which he was presented with all the animals of the Earth and told to eat of them. He said "No, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean." This happened three times, and while Peter was puzzling over it, Cornelius' messengers arrived asking him to come to Cornelius' house. Now, it was unlawful for Jew to visit a non-Jew, but Peter, in this speech, recognizes that God was telling him that he wants all people to come to him, he does not care about nationalities. So here Peter says "in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him." Then he proceeds to tell Cornelius, and all the people Cornelius has gathered there, about Jesus. Peter says Jesus was anointed by God and went about doing good and healing those oppressed by the devil. He was put to death, but then raised on the third day. Peter attests to being a witness to all these things, and says Jesus commanded them to go out and preach to people. Peter attests to them that Jesus was ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead; that all the prophets bear witness to him; and that anyone who believes in Jesus will have forgiveness of sins.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI told us that the Church is about three things: proper worship; evangelization; and care for the poor and oppressed. All three are vitally important, and all three are intertwined. We each, individually, are called to do all three of these things, and each supports the other. This visit by Peter is an example of all three. Peter goes to the house of a person who was considered an outsider by the Jews, and who Peter would have been prohibited from visiting. This centurion is "poor" in the sense that he wants to know about God, he is seeking the truth, but he does not have any way to learn it, except from a witness such as Peter. Peter is worshiping properly, in that he is attesting to the truth, and he is evangelizing - spreading the Good News.

None of these three missons is limited to a certain group or a select few. Jesus came for all, and so we have the duty to accept all and attest to the truth to all. Unfortunately, the culture we are living in right now is very focused on dividing people into groups, stressing their differences, and inflaming them. Unity cannot be achieved this way, and it is exactly the opposite of what we should be doing. (This is what makes me so sure it is the devil and a spiritual battle - he is the scatterer, opposed to God's unity.) In this reading, Peter went to the home of a centurion, right after the Romans had put Jesus to death. If there was anyone of whom Peter had a right to be distrustful, it was someone like this. But he did not treat this man as an enemy, instead, he preached to him, welcoming him into the new Church.

None of us can know what is in another's heart, only God knows that. Everyone we meet, we meet for a reason, and we have the opportunity, and duty, to be Christ-like to them - to welcome them, talk to them, and love them as Christ would, no matter their "identity," race, nationality, social class, political leanings, physical or mental disabilities, etc., etc. We may be the only person that person ever meets who models Christianity to them! Don't lose that opportunity for the sake of culturally imposed divisions. Peter didn't!