When the angel who spoke to Cornelius had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him, and after telling them everything he sent them to Joppa. About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while it was being prepared he fell into a trance. He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. Then he heard a voice saying, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.’ The voice said to him again, a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.

…

And as Cornelius talked with him, Peter went in and found that many had assembled, and he said to them, ‘You yourselves know that it is improper for a Jew to associate with or to visit an outsider, but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean.’

ACTS 10:7-16, 27-28 

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‘The center will not hold’, screamed the Spring 2025 cover of Foreign Affairs. A marble cast of Trump’s fist hammers America, atop a bloody-red world map. Seismic quakes ripple to the Earth’s end, engulfing the UK.

Strange days, right?

For 19 years in a row, global democracy has retreated and autocratic rule on the far left and right alike has ascended. The WW2 zombie of nationalism has reanimated. We see ‘America first’ policies in the USA and a defensive pride in ever narrower identity politics in many other countries, asserting ‘Us first!’

And if you’re not ‘us’? Then assimilate or be ‘othered’. The next Southport Riot is only one immigration incident away.

In the midst of all this, how can we become wise peacemakers who listen to the word of God, the world, and one another for the flourishing of all, as the centre gives way? That question is on my mind right now as we launch LICC’s Reimagine small group course, which focuses on this call to wise peacemaking.

The story of Cornelius – a noble Italian army captain – being saved speaks volumes. But the real conversion here is of Peter, on pilgrimage to realise there can be no single Christian civilisation when we bend our knee to Christ as Lord of all.

So, what’s going on and why with Peter? What did he love, hate, and hope for? And how might this awaken Christians today, in a multipolar world of rival nations?

Peter loved Jesus and embraced his shocking call to evangelise Gentile nations (Acts 15:7). He knew it might cost his reputation among Jewish compatriots, but showed a willingness to blur the boundaries as he stayed with Simon the Tanner in Joppa – someone ritually unclean given his job handling dead animals (Acts 9:43).

Still, Peter’s sacred identity within God’s elect, serving ‘Jews first’, meant he hated impurity. Going beyond dietary restrictions in Leviticus 11, Peter swallowed divisive traditions that forbade him from fraternising with profane nations. Devout as Cornelius was, this Gentile repulsed Peter – an enemy occupying his holy land – requiring circumcision and assimilation into the Jewish people.

Peter’s hopes were enmeshed with his national identity, until Christ challenged him three times to rethink, opening up to love his foreign neighbour. Apparently insiders and outsiders can freely intermingle in Christ’s kingdom.

Do I recoil in fear or disgust over any nation today? How might I prayerfully remain open to God dismantling my prejudice? Will I hear the alien’s story – of their loves, hates, and hopes – seeing God at work beyond my people?

‘Us first’ ends when we listen to God first, acknowledging he works beyond our prescribed borders.

Dr Dave Benson
Culture and Discipleship Director, LICC

How might you listen to someone from a nation you avoid, hearing the story of their loves, hates, and hopes?