“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
-Acts 10:

If we lived in the world of Harry Potter, I would get canceled for that title.

Mudblood was a racial slur against those whose lineage was less than exemplary. If one of your parents wasn’t a magic user, you were a less-than. (At least according to some of the Slytherins).

Oh, how I wish such sentiment remained the stuff of fiction. But no, there are many in our country who think their blood is cleaner than someone else’s.

Believe it or not, Peter was one of those people! Actually, Jews in general were. It wasn’t an overtly racist position, it was more of a religious practice. Jews had lots of rules that kept them from being “unclean”.

But one night, Peter was up on a roof, praying, and he had a vision. A sheet came down from heaven, holding all kinds of animals, fish, and reptiles. Even the unclean ones Jews were forbidden to eat. Here’s how it played out:

Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”  The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. (vs 13-16)

Only moments later, Peter figured out that God wasn’t talking about food. God was talking about people.

A man named Cornelius asked to meet with Peter. Cornelius was a good and faithful man, but he was a Gentile (basically someone who wasn’t Jewish). This presented Peter with a big problem. Jews weren’t supposed to associate with Gentiles (that unclean thing again), but here was God, prompting Peter to break the rules.

Which he did. A few hours later, Cornelius and his whole house were baptized and welcomed into this new emerging community.

As you’re aware, Jews, down through the ages have themselves been called some version of “mudblood”, and they paid dearly for that oppression.

I wish such sentiment was on its way out, but even our President once spoke of immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country.” This isn’t about politics—it’s about seeing people as God sees them.

Before we go pointing fingers, we should take a good look at ourselves. Even people who are strongly opposed to racism can find it hard to escape stereotypes, ingrained beliefs, and an inherent fear of “the other”.

Peter moved past his learned bias, but only after he moved. Sitting on the roof and praying wasn’t enough. Only through his faithful actions were Gentiles ultimately welcomed into the church.

We live in a society where people can be targeted because of their ethnicity or the color of their skin. Recent rulings seem to condone such actions, but I don’t believe Jesus would.

The voice of God was always with him, saying: “Get up, and touch someone with leprosy. Talk with Samaritans and women. Treat a prostitute as an equal. Love those who others refuse to love.”

God is speaking to us, too. Let us follow the examples of Peter and Christ to act in love towards those who are different from us.

(Even transgender folks, J.K.)

Have a great week,

Mitch