David Bahn – Reflections

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Acts 10:17-33

Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, ¹⁸ they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.

¹⁹ Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you. ²⁰ Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”

²¹ So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”

²² They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.” ²³ So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.

²⁴ They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being just like you!” ²⁷ So they talked together and went inside, where many others were assembled.

²⁸ Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. ²⁹ So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.”

³⁰ Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me. ³¹ He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God! ³² Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.’ ³³ So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.” 

I just finished listening to a biography of Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson. It’s a very interesting listen, made even more interesting by an accompanying PDF showing 144 drawings and reproductions of his paintings. One curious notation in his notebook was “Describe the tongue of the woodpecker.” You might wonder why that was on his to-do list. Most likely it was because he was inveterately curious. The interesting insight by such a description proved to help understand how a woodpecker can bang its beak against a tree at 100 times the force that would be fatal to a human being. The tongue – three times as long as its beak – apparently helps cushion the bird’s brain.

What has this to do with being curious to learn, and in particular to learn about God. Da Vinci held some patently heretical beliefs. And even though his funeral was in the Roman Catholic Church – where three separate masses were held, and perhaps as many as 60 more to boot – it’s difficult to find in his notebooks or in his life a clear confession of faith. That said, he painted some remarkable religious works. And he was curious.

Cornelius was curious as well. He wanted to hear what Peter had to say. He was waiting before God to hear the message the Lord had given Peter. He went to a lot of trouble for this. He sent three men to find Peter and bring him back to Caesarea. He gathered his friends, colleagues, and family to be present when Peter arrived so they could all hear God’s message through Peter. He even imposes on Peter having him come into a Gentile home which was was against their laws. 

But he wanted to hear from God.

I wonder if I could use a bit of Cornelius’ curiosity. Rather than reading the first few paragraphs of a book I’ve been given, I may need actually to read the whole book. Rather than leaning on the truth that there’s nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9), perhaps I should be more humble; that doesn’t mean I know everything under the sun that is to be known. I’m pretty quick to dismiss the latest findings by Barna, or insights of recent biblical scholarship – or at least to assume I already know them, or don’t need them. A bit of curiosity would serve me well in those areas.

This goes, too, for listening to others. A bit of curiosity can go a long way to finding out where someone really needs God’s grace, truth, comfort, challenge, or love. We all need all those things. Thank God Jesus embodies them all. But a bit more curiosity can help me understand my friend or neighbor’s true need. It might also serve to help me understand God’s grace and truth more fully if I don’t think I know it all and am willing to wait before God to learn from him.