The Preacher's Lectionary Notebook - When the Spirit Steps over Boundaries
The First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of the Lord (Year A)
In Acts, God breaks down walls and announces that Jesus is the Messiah, and not just for a chosen few. It comes smack in the middle of Peter’s encounter with Cornelius, a Roman centurion, and it’s a major turning point in the early church. Peter begins by stating “God shows no partiality,” which gets to the heart of Epiphany. God’s light shines on everyone.
In that moment, Peter understands that God’s plan isn’t only for Israel. The divine revelation is universal—beyond social, cultural and religious divisions. Epiphany is the celebration of the manifestation of Christ to the world. In this passage the world is Cornelius and his house (Gentiles who were outsiders to the covenant) and the manifestation is Peter’s realization of God’s impartiality and the universality of Jesus’ mission.
Peter then transitions into a mini-sermon of sorts, describing Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection. He reminds his listeners that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power, and that Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. Jesus himself was God’s glory in action.
Epiphany is not simply the scene of seeing or recognizing Christ—it’s the presence of God in the world, making the invisible visible. Peter insists that Jesus’ resurrection proves God’s plan cannot fail, a divine affirmation of Jesus’ life and teachings. The resurrection, in a way, is the greatest epiphany of all—the point at which God’s illuminating light bursts through death itself to reveal to everyone that salvation and new life are available for all, not only for a select few—regardless of how the “select few” are defined—ethnically, socially, economically, nationally.
Peter also emphasizes the significance of testimony. The apostles witnessed everything Jesus did, and now the responsibility is to share this revelation with other people. This relates directly to Epiphany as an act of communal celebration of God’s self-disclosure. In the same way that the Magi followed the star to see Jesus, Peter’s audience is invited to see, and to act in response to the truth regarding God’s work. It’s a reminder that God’s epiphanies aren’t just things we experience in private; they ripple out to envelop us and invite us into the light. Peter instantly performs this sort of universality of God’s call—another Epiphany trope—by baptizing Cornelius and his people immediately following this speech. God’s revelation is a light on the people who were once on the frontier, showing that the kingdom of God has no borders and that the light of Christ is for everyone.
Thus Acts 10:34-43 almost reads like a miniature Epiphany. It is about seeing clearly, knowing God is impartial, and seeing the power of Christ that knows no human division. It reflects the exuberance of new discovery, the pleasure of inclusion, and the unstoppable nature of God’s plan; the gospel working through unexpected places as the star revealed Christ to the Magi, leading the world to perceive God’s glory. It’s a passage where readers are invited into that light to see God working in ways they would have never imagined.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION
What assumptions or boundaries did Peter have to unlearn before he could recognize God’s work among the Gentiles, and what similar boundaries might still shape how the church sees “outsiders” today?
How does Peter’s declaration that “God shows no partiality” challenge common ways faith communities link God’s favor to culture, morality, or belonging?
If Epiphany is about God’s light being revealed to the nations, what does Acts 10:34–43 suggest about where that light might appear now—especially in places or people least expected?