Most Christians in our times are the Gentiles to Jewish people. The first reading of this Sunday from the Acts shows the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit. The Jewish Christians of the earliest Church did not even imagine it would happen to uncircumcised people. But before their eyes, the Holy Spirit came down upon those foreign people. Moreover, even to our surprise, the Holy Spirit came down on the unbaptized Gentiles. The unbaptized pagans spoke in tongues and praised God!
Some might misunderstand this episode as a demonstration that everyone and anyone can receive salvation outside the Church. But remember that God can make a donkey speak a human language as in an episode of Balaam, a Gentile prophet from the Book of Numbers. And that Gentile prophet Balaam delivered prophecies of God of Israel. The Holy Spirit may use animals and the Gentiles for his instruments. However, that does not prove that animals and the Gentiles receive salvation.
Those non-Israelite people who received the Holy Spirit were sincerely looking for God. As St Peter says, they feared God and did what was right before God. These foreign people were not modern-day self-righteous secular humanists who believe they can save themselves here on earth. Cornelius and the other Gentiles people welcomed Peter and the gospel message when they heard it. And they willingly received baptism to become members of the Church.
Fearing God and being righteous before God are required not only for the non-baptized but also for the baptized Christians to receive salvation. It is because God is impartial to everyone.
Fearing God contains many meanings. As a disposition of a soul, it means humility and love for God. And as knowledge, it means knowing God as the Judge. People fearing God seek God’s will for their life. They desire God’s words and messages. They are ready to listen to God and to follow his will.
Being righteous before God by doing what is right also means many things. It means to listen to their conscience and follow it. It follows the commandments of God in moral and social life. It also means to offer thanksgiving and praises to God through religious rituals and devotions. For Christians, it means to participate faithfully in the Sacraments of the Church.
We are waiting for Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit, which comes in two weeks. During Lent, we prepare for the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord. Likewise, we should prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit, too. I think we can examine those two requirements. Let us ask if we carry the fear of God in our hearts. And ask if we can say we are without faults before God’s eye.
