Standing in the house of a Gentile, Simon Peter preaches a sermon that will set the direction of the Church for all time. God doesn't play favorites! That is the message.

According to the Gospel of John, the Incarnate Word (Jesus) was present at the creation. So John is suggesting that Jesus was privy to God's dream for the whole creation from the beginning. That's not all, since God spoke the universe into being, Jesus was an active part of all that is.

Often the most important insights come when our heart has been broken, when we stand somewhere weeping. A rabbi once said that God puts love on our hearts (rather than in our hearts) so that when our hearts break, love will fall in. Is that whats happening here?

Bob Dylan sang, "You're gonna have to serve somebody," and he was right. The question appears in high relief during Holy Week. Are we going to serve the powers of the current economic-political system or follow the one whose kingdom "is not of the world"?

What does God require of us? Of the many things we value most, what does God place emphasis on? This story is pretty clear that God's loyalty stands with "the least of these" and the way we treat them will determine our grade on the final exam.

Gordon Cosby, Founding Pastor for the Church of the Savior, once said, "Remember that everyone you meet is standing next to a pool of tears." Today's story demonstrates that truth graphically. I wonder how it would change the way we treat each other if we remembered that more often.