The first reading for this sixth Sunday of Easter (Acts 10:25-48) tells the story of the encounter between Cornelius, a gentile Roman officer, and Peter, a fisherman turned preacher, the head of the Apostles, and a Jew. This encounter tells how God dealt a blow to that human tendency discrimination, for bigotry, segregation, racism, and partisanship. In the house of God, there are no Jews nor Gentiles. Prior to this encounter, Peter would never have thought it possible that a Gentile Roman officer could become a baptized, Christian, believer because of his biases and cultural background. The Jews never believed that Gentiles were subject of salvation. God used this encounter between Cornelius and Peter to instruct us never to allow any barriers— language, culture, race, geography, educational and economic level—to keep us from telling others and fellowshipping with them about what Jesus Christ has accomplished for all peoples and nations.
Our parish is a mini–United Nations, made up of people from different nations, races, and tongue, expressing one faith, one baptism, and one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in a Catholic community. God, by this diversity, invites us to submit, in all measures, our dislikes and biases, prejudices, presuppositions, and assumptions, and our diversity to the greater purposes of God’s kingdom, by loving, understanding, encouraging, and accepting each other in the one Lord, Jesus Christ. As believers, it is the will of God for us that we learn from one another; that we celebrate, not tolerate, each other; that we empower and encourage one another to grow in faith and in the knowledge of God’s word. In this story, we could see that Cornelius needed Peter to hear the Good News and know the way of salvation. Peter also needed Cornelius to know that Gentiles were included in God’s plan. We all need one another to fully understand how God works. Nothing gives greater glory to God and provides a more compelling witness to our faith than when we, as a diverse community—different races, ethnic backgrounds, and social strata—come together, in faith and love, to worship and honor our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Each one of us is only but a different manifestation and expansion of the Supreme Godhead. It is only by bonding together that we will stand, grow, and survive.
So, we must find ways to integrate our differences and turn our diversity into strength. That means that we cannot, because of our diversity, be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We must stand together in the pursuit of our parish goals and vision, because, as the saying goes, “The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is in the pack”. The truth is that even the weak become strong when we are united. So let us find the good, seek unity, and ignore any attempts at divisions among us. Our diversity is not a call to segregation but an invitation to congregation, greatness, and togetherness. May God give us the grace to see the strength in others and celebrate our diversity, Amen!
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