2026 Pentecost Devotions III
Wednesday, October 21
Acts 10:44-48
44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the gentiles, 46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
“… 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the gentiles, …”
For most of us, it’s hard to believe that God’s love encompasses everyone. From the best, most moral and upright, faithful individual to the worst, most loathsome and faithless, evil scumbag, God’s love knows no bounds. Yet, as the disciples and Peter discovered, even the Gentiles were recipients of God’s Spirit.
Who’s out and who’s in has been a bailiwick for the church for millennia. As soon as a congregation gets started, they seem to find ways to exclude others. Sometimes it’s on theological grounds. Other times, it’s because of spiritual difference. Practices, ideology, ethnic background, racial heritage, cultural anomalies, political affiliations, and downright bigotry have offered excuses for exclusion, marginalization, and rejection.
What Peter and his friends discovered was that God was having nothing to do with keeping people out of the kingdom. Rather, God’s arms were wide open, not just to Jews but to Gentiles as well. In order words, the doors of the kingdom are flung wide and the invitation to enter is extended to all.
This passage helps us to reconsider who makes up the community of faith. Rather than a closed shop, available only to a select few, all are invited, all are welcome, all are loved by God.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the abundance of Your love that’s extended to all people. Drive from me the desire to exclude, marginalize, and reject. Instead, fill me with Your love, Your openness, and Your welcoming Spirit. Amen.