Peter’s Dream of God Calling the Unclean Clean

Text: Acts 10:1-16

Reflection and Question: By all accounts, Peter was a devout Jew who abided by the purity laws of Leviticus. He is telling the truth in this dream when he protests that he has never eaten any animal deemed unclean (a synonym for “unclean” in Leviticus is “abominable”). Three times this happened in Peter’s vision and each time the conclusion is the same: “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” If animals called unclean in the purity code are now made clean, isn’t it possible for people called unclean to also be made clean by God?

Prayer: God of all creation, we confess that we can be like Peter who is slow to grasp the Gospel that You can make clean that which has been called unclean. Persist with us, as You do with Peter, in repeating Your teaching of Grace until we get it. Amen.

This meditation is based on the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).