Sunday, May 12, 2019

4th Week of Easter, Monday, 13-05-19

Acts 11:1-18 / John 10:1-10

The saying that "one man's meat is another man's poison" may not have the literal meaning of poison. Rather it means that things liked or enjoyed by one person may be distasteful to another.

The general meaning points to food but it may also have a broader application.

The vision that Peter had in the 1st reading was about a sheet that contained all sorts of animals and wild beasts.

And then the command "kill and eat" obviously meant that the meat of these animals are meant as food.

Though Peter initially objected because he thought of the meats of some animals as "profane and unclean", the voice in the vision stated "What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane".

But the vision is not just about food and about what is "profane and unclean".

It has a further meaning that applies to people, and for Peter, just as he thought of some meats as profane and unclean, he thought of the pagans as profane and unclean.

We may not think of pagans as "profane and unclean". But in our minds, there are some people, regardless of whether they are pagans or otherwise, that we think are "profane and unclean" in that they irritate us to the marrow of our bones and we think of them as toxic and poisonous.

Through the vision of Peter, God is also telling us that these people are also created by Him, and we have no right to call them profane and unclean, or toxic and poisonous.

Let us ask the Lord to cleanse us of these profane and unclean, toxic and poisonous thoughts of our hearts, so that we are able to see these people with the eyes of God and to slowly come to understand them with a heart of love.