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ST CORNELIUS |
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Heavenly Father, we give thanks for the living, loving Spirit,
releasing us from old fears and prompting us to new venture. Fit us
by your grace to realise more ardently the fellowship which is ours
in Christ, and to extend it generously across all frontiers, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. This Roman Centurion in Acts 10 is a vital Biblical figure in our calendar. To him, under God, we owe the initiative whereby Peter the Galilean first overcame the Jewish taboo which forbade entering a non-Jewish home and eating there. Subsequently, ‘Gentile’ believers were incorporated by baptism into the Christian fellowship. These were massive steps in the obedience of the Church. That others, like Philip the Deacon and nameless disciples in Cyprus, were doing the same around the same time does not make Cornelius less remarkable. He was humble enough to send for a native fisherman, while Peter was big enough to comprehend where the Holy Spirit was leading. Later tradition sees Cornelius as a bishop. We remember him with gratitude for his obedience to the Holy Spirit and for the part he played in prompting a similar momentous obedience on the part of Peter and the earliest Church. COLLECT FOR ST CORNELIUS Heavenly Father, your loving Spirit called both Cornelius and Peter to courageous obedience and strengthened them to obey gladly. We thank you for the revelation of your consistent love for every human being and ask that your Holy Spirit may enable us to live, proclaim, and extend your Gospel of universal grace across all barriers and frontiers. Grant this through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen. |