Dangerous missions

This morning I had a flash of understanding about two of the most provocative stories in the New Testament to me - Peter walking on water, and falling into a trance before he was sent to preach to Cornelius and his household in Acts 10-11.

Of all the apostles, why did Jesus send Peter to preach to Cornelius? This was no easy assignment. For a God-fearing Jew to fellowship with a Gentile, and explain the way of salvation to him was a stumbling block of epic proportions. It would smash all Jewish paradigms of holiness and purity. It would frighten any Jew trying to please God. It would cross all acceptable boundaries. It was a dangerous mission.

So why did Jesus pick Peter to fall into a trance and command him to eat the unclean animals that appeared to him? How did Jesus know that Peter could submit to something so radical, so shocking, and so stumbling?

Could it be because Peter had first passed the test, on a stormy night months or years ago, when he alone conquered his fear and said, "If it is You, command me to come to You on the water..."? Peter alone had the faith to shout those words across the raging seas, he alone experienced what it felt to walk on water, and he alone experienced the grip of Jesus' hand as he started sinking.

On that fateful night, Peter somehow decided that it was worth drowning to be near Jesus. And perhaps, just perhaps, passing that test qualified him, and him alone, to be entrusted with another dangerous mission close to Jesus' heart.