Hello, and welcome to this week's episode of
Trinity Sermons. This week we are wrapping up
our sermon series, Cross Culture, where we are
looking at God's plan for an intercultural church.
What does it mean for us to be a diverse group
of people who are all part of God's family together?
And today we are also welcoming a guest preacher,
Dorothy Pang, who is the director of the Tyndale
Intercultural Ministry Center. And Dorothy brings
lots of experience in law and business and executive
leadership, but also her experience working with
churches and her own story as a Chinese Canadian.
Dorothy's going to share with us about Peter's
vision, where there is this whole cast of unclean
animals that Peter is asked to eat. But why?
And what does that have to do with the gospel
and with welcoming people from across cultures?
That's what we'll unpack in today's sermon. Good
morning everyone. Today's reading is from the
book of Acts, chapter 10, verses 9 to 48. Get
comfortable. About noon the following day, as
they were on their journey and approaching the
city, Peter went up to the roof to pray. He became
hungry and wanted something to eat. And while
the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.
He saw heaven opened and something like a large
sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
It contained all kinds of four -footed animals,
as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told
him, Get up, Peter, kill and eat. Surely not,
Lord, Peter replied. I have never eaten anything
impure or unclean. The voice spoke to him a second
time. Do not call anything impure that God has
made clean. This happened three times and immediately
the sheet was taken back to heaven. While Peter
was wondering about the meaning of the vision,
the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's
house was and stopped at the gate. They called
out, asking if Simon, who was known as Peter,
was staying there. While Peter was still thinking
about the vision, the Spirit said to him, Simon,
three men are looking for you, so get up and
go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them,
for I have sent them. Peter went down and said
to the men, I'm the one you're looking for. Why
have you come? The men replied, we have come
from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous
and God -fearing man who is respected by all
the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask
you to come to his house so that he could hear
what you have to say. Then Peter invited the
men into the house to be his guests. The next
day Peter started out with them. and some of
the believers from Joppa came along. The following
day, he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting
them and had called together his relatives and
close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius
met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But
Peter made him get up. Stand up, he said. I am
only a man myself. While talking with him, Peter
went inside and found a large gathering of people.
He said to them, You are well aware that it is
against our law for a Jew to associate with or
visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I
should not call anyone impure or unclean. So
when I was sent for, I came without raising any
objection. May I ask why you sent for me? Cornelius
answered, three days ago I was in my house praying
at this hour at three in the afternoon. Suddenly
a man in shining clothes stood before me and
said, Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and
remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa
for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest
in the home of Simon the Tanner who lives by
the sea. So I sent for you immediately. and it
was good of you to come. Now we are all here
in the presence of God to listen to everything
the Lord has commanded you to tell us. Then Peter
began to speak. I now realize how true it is
that God does not show favoritism, but accepts
from every nation the one who fears him and does
what is right. You know the message God sent
to the people of Israel, announcing the good
news of peace through Jesus Christ, the Lord
of all, the Lord who is Lord of all. You know
what has happened through the province of Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John
preached. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power. and how he went
around doing good and healing all who were under
the power of the devil, because God was with
him. We are witnesses of everything he did in
the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They
killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God
raised him from the dead on the third day and
caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all
the people, but by witnesses whom God had already
chosen. by us who ate and drank with him after
he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach
to the people and to testify that he is the one
whom God appointed as judge of the living and
the dead. All the prophets testify about him
that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness
of sins through his name. While Peter was still
speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on
all who heard the message. The circumcised believers
who had come with Peter were astonished that
the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out
even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking
in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said,
Surely no one can stand in the way of their being
baptized with water. They have received the Holy
Spirit just as we have. So he ordered that they
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then
they asked Peter to stay with them for a few
days. The word of the Lord. Dorothy got back
to me right away and was so excited and enthusiastic
about the focus that we wanted to have for this
month. And I need to also let you know that just
this past Tuesday, Dorothy came and spent the
whole morning with our staff team and with a
bunch of lay leaders here at Trinity as well,
doing some really challenging but also really
transformative training with us. to experience
even a little hint of that this morning, then
you are going to be blessed indeed. So I am very
grateful and I am very excited to welcome Dorothy
with us once again. Would you put your hands
together and let's give Dorothy a very warm Trinity
welcome. Thank you. Well, good morning, everyone.
So, I was born and raised on the Canadian prairies
in Saskatchewan, of all places, and you would
think that I would not be fazed by the weather
that we're currently having in Toronto. But I'd
be lying to you, because I don't have that kind
of resilience anymore. My husband, on the other
hand, is currently in Winnipeg. He was born and
raised in Winnipeg, and this weekend happens
to be my mother -in -law's birthday. So Mike
texted me this morning and he said, it is minus
47 in Winnipeg this morning. So when I say I
am really glad to be here with all of you in
balmy Toronto, I sincerely mean it. So in case
my mother -in -law is watching though, hi mom,
happy birthday. Okay, so I want to begin by thanking
Pastor Rob for inviting me. I have been following
your series online over the last three weeks,
and it really is my privilege to be able to bring
the concluding message in this series. Pastor
Rob opened the series with a profound and timely
question. What does it mean for Trinity Streetsville
to be a church in one of the most diverse cities
in Canada? In week one, he took you on a fast
but sweeping flyover of the Bible, from Genesis
to Revelations, from bookend to bookend, showing
us that God's vision has always been for a diverse
humanity. Diversity was not an afterthought.
It was not a concession. It was God's intention.
It was by his design. Diversity was God's plan
A. Then in week two, Pastor Rob invited you into
the tension that was emerging as the gospel moved
beyond a Jewish -only movement to include the
Gentiles. As the people of God became more diverse,
questions of belonging surfaced. Circumcision
became an ethnic boundary marker deciding who
was in and who was out. Certain Jewish leaders
wanted the Gentiles to be circumcised just as
they were. There was a strong pull towards sameness,
a desire to erase cultural differences in order
to manage it, in order to control it, in order
to make it feel safe. A kind of gatekeeping mindset
set in, one that said, you are welcome here,
but you need to show your faithfulness. the same
way that we show our faithfulness. And I think
it's important that we pause and note here. The
ones feeling this pull to erase cultural differences,
it wasn't the newcomers. It wasn't the outsiders.
It was the insiders. The ones who already belonged.
The ones who already knew the rules. The ones
who grew up with the rules. The ones who are
now enforcing the rules. They were the ones on
the inside who felt safe on the inside and who
now felt disrupted because there were all these
newcomers coming in with different ways of being
and different ways of expressing their faith.
In effect, they were saying, you're welcome here,
but this is how we do things around here. So
the question is, How does Trinity Streetsville
respond when more and more newcomers come into
this faith community? How do we respond when
there are all these different ways of being and
understanding the world and expressing our faith?
Back to Jerusalem and the circumcision issue.
This question was eventually brought to the Jerusalem
Council. Should Gentiles be required to conform
to Jewish ways in order to belong? And that's
when Peter the Apostle stood up and said, quite
simply, no. He asked the council, why do you
try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles
a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have
been able to bear? And then he says something
truly extraordinary. He declares, no. We believe
it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that
we are saved, just as they are. With these words,
Peter recenters the entire conversation on Jesus.
While others were trying to manage the difference,
flatten the difference, Peter points towards
a new way of being a community together. While
some saw belonging as something to be granted
by the insiders to the outsiders, Peter named
something deeper. He names shared belonging.
Shared belonging that isn't rooted in sameness,
shared belonging that is rooted in Christ. Isn't
that what we all want for Trinity Streetsville?
That as a congregation grows, in diversity, as
it becomes a gathering of folks with more and
more different types of stories and backgrounds
and ways of expressing faith, that community
differences aren't erased here at Trinity Streetsville,
that this will be a community where belonging
doesn't have to be earned by the newcomers, a
community where, with Christ at the center, belonging
is shared. So if that is your heart, and if that
resonates with you, then the question becomes,
how? How do we live into that? How does Trinity
Streetsville become a community of shared belonging
with Christ at the center? Well, to explore that,
I want to take us back to Peter himself and his
own transformation, because Peter didn't arrive
at this insight overnight. His mindset was shaped,
challenged, and reformed by God. Peter's transformation
unfolds in Acts chapter 10. And this morning,
I want to share with you a few reflections on
that story. Now, just so you know a little bit
about me, I am a storyteller. I am a practitioner.
I work with leaders who are navigating intercultural
spaces, helping them to develop mindsets and
skills to navigate those diversity differences.
But all of that work, everything that we do at
the Tim Center, it has to be grounded in a theological
conviction that through Jesus, we are reconciled
to God, and through Jesus, we are reconciled
to each other. With Jesus at the center, the
walls of separation are torn down. The differences,
the social categories, the cultural assumptions,
the barriers of race, class, and power, all of
that is torn down through Jesus. So, if you have
your Bibles, you can turn with me to Acts chapter
10. Acts 10 takes place after some big moments.
Jesus has died, he's risen, he's ascended. The
Holy Spirit has come at Pentecost. The church
is growing, but it is still mainly a Jewish movement.
Peter is one of Jesus' closest followers. He
walked with Jesus, ate with him, failed in front
of him, and was restored by him. By Acts 10,
Peter is a respected leader in the early church,
moving along the coasts of Judea. And then God
disrupts him. God moves him into discomfort.
Peter's transformation begins in prayer. At that
start of the story, we find Peter in a very ordinary
moment. He's hungry. He's staying as a guest
in the home of a Jewish tanner. And it's noon,
and it's hot, and he's waiting for lunch to be
served. Peter's probably uncomfortable. And in
that discomfort, he chooses to pray. He goes
up to the rooftop where, if we're honest, it's
actually even more uncomfortable because now
he's even more hot and he's exposed. And yet
it is precisely in this ordinary, inconvenient,
uncomfortable moment that God opens the heavens.
Before we even get to the vision that Peter sees,
I want us to pause here. Peter is praying and
God speaks. Peter is praying, and God gives him
a vision. Peter's transformation begins not with
a plan, but with a prayer. It doesn't start with
a church strategy meeting about church growth.
It doesn't start with looking at the demographics,
at the changing demographics of our neighborhood.
It does not start with clever leadership or careful
planning. Peter's transformation begins when
he is driven by discomfort He drives them to
the rooftop to pray. So I want to ask you, what
discomfort is driving you to prayer right now?
What pain, division, fragmentation in our world,
or even in this church, what is stirring something
in you that sends you to the rooftop to pray?
What is making you uncomfortable? And perhaps
more importantly, what is that discomfort inviting
you to bring before God in prayer? So what is
this vision that Peter receives? Scripture tells
us that Peter falls into a trance. He sees, he
saw heaven opened and something like a large
sheet. being let down to earth by its four corners.
It contained all kinds of four -footed animals,
as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told
him, Get up, Peter, kill and eat. Surely not,
Lord, Peter replied. I have never eaten anything
impure or unclean. The voice spoke to him a second
time, Do not call anything impure that God has
made clean. This happened three times because
with Peter, of course, everything has to be done
three times. And then the sheet was taken back
up into heaven. Peter doesn't celebrate this
moment. One translation says that Peter is deeply
perplexed, troubled, confused, unsettled. And
that makes sense. The vision doesn't simply challenge
a preference. It disrupts Peter's categories
that he has lived with his entire life. His world
has been clearly divided. Jews, Gentiles, clean,
unclean, insider, outsider, us and them. Gentiles
weren't just different. They were considered
unclean, dangerous, spiritually suspect. Embedded
in Peter's understanding of the world was a deep
ethnocentric pride. This confidence that we are
clean and they are not. I want to take a brief
personal detour here about how I experienced
this passage. I am a Chinese -Canadian, born
and raised in Saskatchewan. When I read this
story, I'm taken back to my childhood. Growing
up in the 1970s in Saskatchewan, it was predominantly
Euro -Canadian. I remember classmates wrinkling
their noses at my lunch and saying, ew, what
is that? Or saying, that's weird. Or worse, ugh,
that's gross. This passage also brings to mind
the rise of anti -Asian hate during COVID and
the ways cultural practices around food from
different parts of the world How it's prepared,
how it's sold, how it's shared. These were judged
as dirty and dangerous. They were declared unclean.
I share this because none of us come to scripture
empty -handed. We all read the Bible through
our cultural lenses, through our lived experiences.
And that is precisely why we need to read scripture
together with people whose stories are different
from our own. We need other perspectives if we
are to more fully understand this multifaceted
God that we worship. Because now that you've
heard my story, when you hear God say, do not
call anything impure that I have made clean,
There's another layer to it, isn't there? I hope
there's another layer of understanding. God's
vision doesn't just challenge Peter's diet. It
disrupts how he understands purity, difference,
and belonging. The story continues with a knock
at the door. It is Cornelius' men, and that detail
matters because Cornelius is a Roman centurion.
an officer of the occupying power. To the Jews,
he represents the enemy, the oppressor. I can
imagine the tension in that household as the
door is opened. Fear, uncertainty, questions
in their minds. What could these Roman representatives
possibly want? Would someone be arrested? Would
there be consequences? Peter, too, must have
felt uncertain. accepting an invitation to a
Roman officer's house was no small thing. And
yet scripture tells us, the spirit said to him,
Simon, three men are looking for you, so get
up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with
them, for I have sent them. Out of obedience,
Peter goes. The next day, he sets out for Caesarea
to visit Cornelius' house. It's not a short journey.
It takes about a day. But it's also a profound
crossing of boundaries. Peter, a Jew, is about
to enter the house of a Gentile. There are deep
cultural, religious, and social implications
wrapped up in this moment. When Peter arrives,
he doesn't pretend everything is fine. He names
the tension out loud. You know, it's against
our law for a Jew to associate with or visit
a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should
not call anyone impure or unclean. Peter doesn't
sidestep the elephant in the room. He acknowledges
the discomfort. He admits the tension. And he
confesses that God has been correcting his thinking.
revealing biases he has probably never acknowledged
to himself, let alone acknowledge out loud. It
is God who exposes these blind spots. It is God
who reshapes Peter's thinking. And Peter comes
to an extraordinary insight. One, he is the first
among the apostles to articulate. In God's new
family, there is no racial divide. In God's new
family, there is diversity. In God's new family,
there is diversity, but that diversity does not
lead to division. Before we continue with the
story, I want you to notice something important.
Who moved? This matters for us at Trinity Streetsville.
In our modern churches, we often talk about welcoming
newcomers into our space. And that is good. It
is hospitable. And please keep doing that. Please
keep inviting your friends and neighbors to experience
this faith community. But we also need to recognize
something. When people come into our space, it
is still our space. We're the ones who are the
insiders. We're the ones who are comfortable
here. So what would it mean not just to welcome
people into our space, but to move into theirs?
To step outside the safety of these walls, to
cross boundaries, to encounter people who are
different from us on their terms and in their
space. Notice who bears the cost in this passage.
Cornelius doesn't cross the cultural boundary.
Peter does. Peter moves. Peter enters discomfort.
Peter takes the risk. The story continues. While
Peter is still speaking, the Holy Spirit falls
on the Gentiles. Does that sound familiar to
you? It echoes Acts chapter 2. It echoes Pentecost,
when the Holy Spirit fell on the Jewish believers
gathered in Jerusalem, and they began to speak
in tongues. And I imagine that as the Spirit
moves in Cornelius' home, Peter is transported
back to that moment. Some have even called Acts
chapter 10 the Gentile Pentecost. In this moment,
Peter's theology finally catches up with God's
activity. And he declares, I now realize how
true it is that God does not show favoritism,
but accepts from every nation the one who fears
him and does what is right. God doesn't merely
tolerate diversity. He welcomes it, he delights
in it, and he sends his Holy Spirit to confirm
it. Peter then does something profoundly relational.
He accepts Cornelius' invitation to stay. He
baptizes them, he eats with them, and he receives
hospitality from a Gentile. Later, Peter will
be criticized by his fellow Jews, not for preaching
to the Gentiles, but for eating with them. And
as I reflect on how this story ends, it strikes
me that while Peter may have gone to Cornelius'
house out of obedience, he stayed. because something
deeper had taken root. I'd like to think that
Peter lingered because he had grown to love them.
That is what reconciliation looks like. To be
reconciled to Christ is to be reconciled to one
another. With Christ at the center, walls of
separation are torn down. As a reconciled people
under Jesus, we move into discomfort. We hold
the tension of difference. we examine our biases,
and over time, we grow in love toward one another.
So as we come to a close, I want to leave you
with a few suggestions as you move towards shared
belonging here at Trinity Streetsville. First,
for you personally, and then for you as a church.
For you personally, think about your circle of
friends, the people you have meaningful interaction
with. The people you invite over for lunch or
for dinner. Who is missing from your circle of
friends? Who might the Holy Spirit be prompting
you to see that is missing from your table? Secondly,
think about the times you have entered into someone
else's space. Has it been a while? What would
it mean for you to leave your space of comfort
and move into someone else's space in order to
truly encounter the other? And lastly, where
might Jesus be gently confronting your biases?
I know it is really uncomfortable and even socially
unacceptable to admit we have biases. But the
truth is, we all have biases. They have been
socialized into us. They are deeply embedded
into our subconscious. And we need to take responsibility
for those biases. We need to become aware of
them and steward them responsibly. We cannot
change something if we are not willing to name
it. Search me, O God, and know my heart. See
if there is any offensive way in me and lead
me in the way everlasting. And then for you as
a church, I'm so encouraged to hear about your
upcoming Taste of the World potluck. If you haven't
signed up yet, I encourage you to do so. As you
prepare for that evening, can I invite you to
hold onto a posture? It's easy and it's fun to
go from table to table, booth to booth, sampling
food, enjoying the music, admiring the cultural
dress, and all of that is good. But what if you
went... not as consumers of culture, but with
a posture of curiosity. Behind every dish, every
song, every piece of clothing, there are stories,
meaningful stories, that hold the potential to
deepen how you belong to one another in this
community. Here are a handful of questions you
can bring with you to that potluck. What is the
story behind that dish? Does this song connect
to a special memory for you? What does this outfit
mean to you? And lastly, how did you or your
family come to settle on Turtle Island, on what
we call Canada today? That last question, that
one matters. Because unless you are of indigenous
heritage, we are all settlers on this land. how
we came, how our families came, why we came,
and how we were received, those stories shape
us. When we share those stories with one another,
we create shared belonging. And with Christ at
the center, we become the kind of community that
reflects God's beautiful vision right here at
Trinity Streetsville. I want to end today by
lifting our eyes toward a vision the scripture
gives us, a vision of where all of this is headed.
In Revelations 21, John is given a glimpse of
the future that God is bringing about. He sees
the new Jerusalem, the city of God, coming down
from heaven. And what stands out first is not
the architecture or the streets or the gates.
What fills the city is the glory of God. God's
presence illuminates everything. And at the center
of it all, the Lamb, Jesus himself, is our light.
And then we're told something beautiful. The
nations walk by that light. They come into the
city. They bring with them the glory and the
honor of the nations. In other words, people
do not enter the city stripped of who they are.
They do not leave their histories, their stories,
their cultures, their languages at the gate.
They come as fully cultural people, bringing
their cultural practices as gifts, and these
gifts are received as something that glorifies
God. The future God promises us is not colorless,
it is not cultureless, it is not uniform. Instead,
it is vibrant, it is rich, and it is deeply diverse,
and it is perfectly united. With Christ at the
center. This is the picture of shared belonging.
And this vision isn't just about where we're
going someday. It's meant to shape how we live
today. Revelations 21 reminds us that God is
not asking us to create something new here at
Trinity Streetsville. God is inviting us to live
into something that he has already promised.
a people reconciled, a community of shared belonging
with Christ at the center. Thanks very much,
Trinity Streetsville, and God bless you. Thanks
for tuning in to this week's episode of Trinity
Sermons. This sermon was recorded at Trinity
Church Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario on
January 25th, 2026.