Acts 11:1-18 / John 10:11-18 (for Year A)
Not every thing that swims, crawls or flies is fit for human consumption.
Eating the wrong or poisonous thing can lead to serious problems and even death.
The curious thing about the 1st reading is that vision of Peter and that voice that said to him "Now Peter, kill and eat".
As a devout Jew, he protested by saying "Certainly not, Lord. Nothing profane or unclean has ever crossed my lips".
The rebuttal was immediate - What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane. And it was repeated three times to indicate that it was imperative.
But before we go off and eat anything that swims, crawls and flies, let us remember the context of that vision and what it really meant.
As we read further on, then we will see that it was with regards to the mission of evangelizing the Gentiles, ie. the non-Jews, who were considered by the Jews as unclean and profane.
It even led to a serious discussion among the apostles and the disciples in Jerusalem and Peter was questioned by them about his association with the Gentiles.
But the vision and his subsequent account led to this common conclusion: that God can evidently grant even the pagans the repentance that leads to life.
It also must lead us to understand that no one is so unclean and profane that he cannot be converted.
As Jesus said in the gospel, "There are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and these I have to lead as well."
Let us look for these sheep and bring them to Jesus and He will make them clean and give them the new life that He promises to those who believe in Him.