An inconvient truth. What a great title. For a culture that is suspicious of truth, we sure get the point of it being inconvient. This morning I was reading about Peter and Cornelius. The story where the sheet comes down from heaven with all the unclean animals on it and God tells Peter to eat. After this happens a few time (and Peter doesn't eat, just proclaims his holiness), Cornelius the gentile sends for Peter. What cracks me up is Peter's first conversation with Cornelius is all about how Peter can hang out with a dirty pig like him. It is as if I was called to go to a African American Barber Shop and Oakland and tell all the guys in it how it is okay for me to hang out with them because God said it was alright for me to hang out with black people. And what blows my mind is Cornelius is not offended, shocked, or anything. Note, the Holy Ghost is able to reconcile race relations.

Another part of this story that should cause most of us some trouble is when Cornelius recounts his encounter with God (or some shining figure) and he says, "Cornelius your prayer has been heard and you alms have been remembered before God." It doesn't say tithe. Who knows what Cornelius was giving his money to or how much. Here are the prayers and good works of a pagan being called righteous by God. We are working so hard on getting our theology correct, or making sure we are doing Christ Centered preaching, that what about prayer and good works?

Lastly the other part of the story that caught my attention was Peter saying, "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins." Peters invitation or charge to Cornelius is not merely that he know Christ, but that he enter this world of the prophets. That Cornelius would engage the foundation on which the entire New Testament stands. This surprises me considering I would expect Cornelius might say, "The who?" Yet who is it that shows up just after the words of Peter? The Holy Ghost, doing the work.