Pope at Audience: An evangelizer
should not impede God’s creativity
Pope Francis in his General Audience of Wednesday, focuses
on the experience of St. Peter in the Acts of the Apostles to urge Christians
to allow themselves to be amazed by God’s surprises and creativity with which
He makes Himself known as the "Lord of all".
By Robin Gomes
The starting point of Pope Francis’ catechesis was the
experience of St. Peter in the Acts of the Apostles, where he has a vision of a
large tablecloth with four-legged animals, reptiles and birds descending from
above and a voice asking him to eat their meat. As a good Jew, Peters abstains
from eating anything impure. But the voice repeats: “What God has made clean,
you are not to call profane.”
Looking beyond, to the heart
The Pope explained that through this episode, God wants
Peter not to evaluate and categorize events and people as pure and impure, but
to learn to go beyond, to look at the person and the intentions of his or her
heart. In this regard, Jesus says that what makes man impure does not come from
outside but only from within, from the heart.
After this vision, God sends Peter to the house of
Cornelius, a non-Jew who is God-fearing and religious, given to works of
charity and prayer. In that house of pagans, Peter preaches Christ and the
forgiveness of sins to anyone who believes in Him. Cornelius and his family who
are filled with the Holy Spirit are baptized by Peter in the name of Christ.
Salvation for all
Meanwhile, other Christians in Jerusalem scandalized by
Peter’s behaviour, reproach him severely because it was against the custom and
the law. But after his encounter with Cornelius, Peter is freer from himself
and in greater communion with God and with others, because he saw God's will in
the action of the Holy Spirit.
The Pope said that this event marks a decisive turning point
in Peter’s life and his vision is a divine "provocation" that brings
about a change of mentality in him. Peter realizes that God’s choice of Israel
as His people is not based on their merits but is the sign of the gratuitous
call to be the mediation of the divine blessing among pagan peoples.
Pope Francis said that from Peter we learn that an
evangelizer cannot be an impediment to the creative work of God, who “wills
everyone to be saved”, but one who fosters the encounter of hearts with the
Lord. This episode, he said, questions our behaviour especially with our
brothers and sisters, especially non-Christians, whether we hinder or
facilitate their encounter with the Father.
God’s creativity
The journey of the Gospel in the world, the Pope said, is
accompanied by the supreme creativity of God which manifests itself in
surprising ways. Christians, he said, need to overcome particularism and open
themselves to the universality of salvation, because God wants to save
everyone. They are called to come out of themselves and open themselves up to
others, to live close together which transforms every interpersonal
relationship into an experience of fraternity.
The Holy Father concluded his audience urging Christians to
ask for the grace to allow themselves to be surprised by God's surprises,
without hindering His creativity, but to recognize and encourage the ever
new ways by which the Risen Christ pours out His Spirit into the world and
attracts hearts, making Himself known as the "Lord of all".
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