Acts 10:30-33. I have had this reading before, and blogged about it in Peter Models Our Mission. Here, Cornelius, the centurion who an angel told to send for Peter to come teach his growing Christian family and community, greets Peter as he arrives. Although knowing that Cornelius is a gentile, Peter has come because of a vision that he himself had.

I think that I got this reading again today because I am struggling with how to talk to many people in my life. The world is so divided right now, all the way down to the most basic level - the family. The devil has been very successful in planting seeds of division and disunity, and they have now taken root and are growing quickly. It is so painful, especially because I know in my heart that we are not that far apart, really. I and my family, the people I love, all of the people from whom I feel so divided all know the big picture. We all believe in God, we all have faith in Jesus Christ. It is the petty things that the devil is making seem like they are huge and threatening - those are the things that are dividing us! I know this, and I want to be in communion with my family, I want to feel the peace of Christ in the home that God gave me, with the people who love me and whom I love. I want to talk to the people I love, and have them talk to me, about the important things we have in common things -  our faith, our hope, our love. I know that this is what we need, but we can't do it right now. Too many are still too wrapped up in the blame, fear, and anxiety that, again, the devil has been causing. When I try to talk with them right now it just causes more anxiety and stress. So I have to wait and I have to trust that God will let me know when and how we can talk to each other again.

In this reading, I see that when Cornelius and his family needed to hear from someone, an angel told him who to seek out - Peter. And God made sure that Peter also knew to go when called. God will let me know to whom I should speak and what to say. I may not be the right person to bring peace to my family right now, but I know that I have been bringing peace to others during this time, and they to me. God will provide the people we need to hear from, and he will let us know when to seek them out.