May 14, 2025

Fr. John Riccardo

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter” (Acts 10:1-5).

The Acts of the Apostles usually moves fast — too fast for those of us who are naturally inquisitive and want answers to questions that Luke and the Holy Spirit don’t seem that interested in answering. There are, however, several exceptions. The story of Stephen and his martyrdom, for one, and the three accounts of Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Another exception is the story of Peter and Cornelius, found in Acts 10 and 11. These chapters, as one scholar puts it, suddenly seem like slow-motion. With pain-staking detail Luke records for us this meeting and the explosive conclusion found in the excerpt above.

Cornelius was a Roman centurion, a member of the Italian Cohort stationed in Caesarea, the administrative capital of the Roman Empire in Judea. Luke tells us Cornelius was devout, feared God together with all his household, gave alms, and prayed continually (cf. Acts 10:2). This is all rather extraordinary. Rome was an Empire primarily because of its Legion, that is to say, because it imposed its will on other peoples through its military supremacy, which was often brutal. Nonetheless, there were some good men, like Cornelius, within the Legion.

Peter, however, doesn’t yet know any of this. All he knows is that suddenly, as he is praying, men are knocking on his door and asking him to come with them to the house of this…Roman Centurion! Let that sink in: just a few months ago Peter had denied he even knew Jesus in front of a slave girl at a charcoal fire. Now, without a care for his life he strides confidently into the house of a man who is intimately connected with the violent execution of his Master! What in the world can bring about such a transformation in an individual?

The great Church Father St. John Chrysostom reflected on this transformation in one of his sermons. He wrote, “That [the apostles] were fearful, timid men, the evangelist makes clear; he did not reject the fact or try to hide their weaknesses. Indeed he turned these into a proof of the truth. What did he say of them? That when Christ was arrested, the others fled, despite all the miracles they had seen, while he who was leader of the others denied him! How then account for the fact that these men, who in Christ’s lifetime did not stand up to the attacks by the Jews, set forth to do battle with the whole world once Christ was dead – if, as you claim, Christ did not rise and speak to them and rouse their courage? Did they perhaps say to themselves: ‘What is this? He could not save himself but he will protect us? He did not help himself when he was alive, but now that he is dead he will extend a helping hand to us? In his lifetime he brought no nation under his banner, but by uttering his name we will win over the whole world?‘ Would it not be wholly irrational even to think such thoughts, much less to act upon them? It is evident, then, that if they had not seen him risen and had proof of his power, they would not have risked so much.”

There is a moving scene in The Chosen where Jesus is sitting around a fire late at night talking with Matthew. Matthew is hurt by Jesus’ choice of Simon to have been given so much authority and to be Peter, the rock. The show’s dramatic portrayal of Matthew makes it easier to understand just how scandalous it must have been for Jesus to associate Himself with a former tax collector, as such a person was a traitor to the Jewish people. The portrayal also helps us understand how challenging it must have been for the apostles to trust one another, live together and grow to love one another. And yet they did. In this particular scene, after listening to Matthew’s objections to Peter having been chosen for this unique role, and his unstated opinion that Peter is incapable of changing, Jesus tells Matthew, “I make people what they aren’t.” Oh, how wondrously true is that!

Peter must have been aware of the whispers behind his back about his denials, concerns about his past, and various other attacks on his character. Not just from the anonymous crowds, but especially from within the small group of the Apostles. He might even have expected Cornelius to question him about his lack of loyalty. Instead Peter is free because he is the recipient of God’s version of the ”cancel culture.” Unlike the one we currently live in, where people get canceled because of past failures and indiscretions, God’s version cancels the failures and indiscretions — not the people who committed them — thereby enabling us to begin again.

As we continue to rejoice over and revel in the wonder of Jesus’ resurrection, let us ask Him to help us know ever more deeply that we are not defined by our pasts and that He does indeed make all things new — especially people. But let us also beg Him for the grace to know that the very thing we rejoice over in ourselves can happen in others, and especially in those we are tempted to think will never change, and to not continually remind ourselves of their failures, especially towards ourselves.

God Makes All Things New – Especially People

Begging the Spirit to Do What Only He Can Do

A Momentous Time