Knocking Down Walls Of Division (Part II)
January 7, 2026
Fr. John Riccardo
Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered in the house of Cornelius, saying: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:34-38).
A knock is unexpectedly heard at the door. You go to open it and suddenly you’re staring face to face with a soldier. The soldier is a member of the most powerful army in the world. Even more, that army is responsible for torturing your friend to death. Though you would have been terrified by such an event just a few months before, you’re not now. Instead, you welcome him in. The soldier sits down and tells you that another soldier, a leader in the army, would like you to come to his house and speak about your friend – who he is and what he’s done. As it's getting late in the day and the journey will be long, you suggest the soldier spend the night in your home and then depart together the next day when you’re better rested. This is the most unimaginable reality behind the excerpt from the Acts of the Apostles we’re going to hear this coming Sunday.
Cornelius is a Roman centurion, a leader in the Roman Legion, the fighting machine that is the primary reason why the Roman Empire is both so vast and so feared. Yet Peter, who just a few weeks earlier denied he even knew Jesus before he was executed by the same army, confidently strides into this man’s house and proclaims the gospel to him, his household and his friends – presumably including a number of other Roman legionaries. What in the world accounts for the transformation not just in Cornelius but in Peter?
Such is the power of the gospel!
Peter has encountered the risen Jesus, and has been transformed from an understandably fearful man to the rock-like figure Jesus had called him to be, willing to go anywhere and speak to anyone about the Lord Jesus, the true King, the conqueror of Sin and Death, God in the flesh. “It is impossible”, he said to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, “for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard” (cf. Acts 4:20). The presence of the soldiers, who once caused him to cower in fear, no longer threatens him. And, perhaps even more importantly, he no longer sees the previously dreaded Romans as the enemy. They’re just rebels to win. Rebels for whom Jesus went to the cross. Rebels for whom Jesus bound “the strong man.” Rebels who, like him, needed to be freed from the captivity that is Sin and Death. And so Peter proceeds to preach the gospel to the soldiers, telling them that the real and rightful King is not Caesar but Jesus, crucified and risen, and that His death and resurrection has brought peace to the human race. Then, just as He did on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descends in power on Cornelius and the others in the house, and people who had previously seen the other as “other” suddenly see one another as brother.
Last week, on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus, Paul wrote to us about how Jesus had knocked down the dividing wall of hostility that has plagued our race since that dreadful moment when our first parents fell prey to demonic deception. This week, Paul’s friend, Peter, gives us a glimpse into how that wall can continue to be knocked down as he preaches the love and power of God made manifest in Jesus to members of the very army responsible for Jesus’ execution, men who had previously been considered enemies.
Such is the power of the gospel!
As we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord this Sunday, we are reminded that each of us has been commissioned by the Spirit at our own baptism to be both models and heralds of the wonders God and God alone can do in the lives of individuals and communities. As we turn the calendar and continue to read and watch stories of ongoing violence, wars, and division, let us call upon the intercession of Peter and Paul, and invoke the power of the Holy Spirit to fall upon us, that we may somehow further and advance the peace that only God can give and bring to the creature made in His image and likeness whom He so loves.
ACTS XXIX Prayer Intentions
January 2026
For our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV and his intentions, that he may be for God’s people a visible source and foundation of unity of faith and communion.
For our mission in the Diocese of Reno, that God would bless our time with the priests with every grace and blessing He knows to be most needed.
For our mission with the Diocese of Orange, that our time with the presbyterate would be a source of refreshment and the renewal of our minds and hearts.
For those traveling from across the country to join us in a Leadership Immersive, that God would give us His heart and mind so as to rescue, renew and transform the human family into the family of God.
For all those going through The Rescue Project, that they would be overwhelmed by the gospel, surrender their lives to Jesus and be mobilized for mission.
For the planning of The Jesus Conference: Mobilizing the Church for the World He Loves, that the Holy Spirit would lead, direct, and inspire every decision, so that this gathering may become a catalyst for renewal and transformation.
For our Episcopal Advisory Council, Board of Directors, and faithful partners in mission, that God would bless them with an outpouring of His love, reminding them of their part in helping get God’s world back.
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