Acts 8: 26-40
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
April 29, 2018
Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’
So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.
Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
‘Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.’
The eunuch asked Philip, ‘About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.
As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’ He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. - Acts 8: 26-40
But Oliver actually gives these seniors something much bigger than that. Oliver is giving his elders the gift of belonging. At such a young age, Oliver has sensed that the senior residents in his community need to feel they are still loved, valued, and connected to the larger whole. And Oliver himself is searching to belong to a life of purpose and meaning to serve others. God is definitely doing something amazing in his life.
Phillip knew that calling to serve too. Jesus chose Phillip to follow him as a disciple (Luke 6:14; Matthew 10:8; Mark 3:18; John 1:43). For three years Phillip followed Jesus’ example of being drawn more deeply into communal relationships by serving God and others.
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Risen Christ sent the disciples in the power of the Holy Spirit to share the good news starting in their immediate community of Jerusalem and then spreading God’s love to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
Phillip took these final words of Jesus Christ to heart. His fellow apostles saw Phillip’s passion to belong to Jesus’ ministry of authentically changing lives in the community. He was chosen as one of the seven to distribute food to those in need (Acts 6: 2-6).
Phillip followed the Spirit’s lead to share the good news in word and deed. And suddenly he felt the Spirit’s nudge. Have you ever had that feeling – like the Spirit is tapping you to go somewhere and you don’t exactly know why? Well that is what Phillip experienced. He followed the Spirit’s lead to get up and go south because God was about to do something amazing.
I love this story of God bringing together these two individuals – Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch - in this particular time and place. Phillip was willing and ready to serve God and neighbor. He ran up to the chariot and heard the text of Isaiah being read aloud – no less the words about the suffering servant – the prophecy of our Savior’s suffering and death to reconcile us to God and one another and with the eternal promise of new life.
Phillip came alongside the eunuch like a brother and friend. In that moment Phillip knew this individual was searching for belonging. The ancient culture and religious traditions had rules which cut off eunuchs from a future of having a family, of belonging to the whole of society or even the community of faith (Leviticus 21:20; Deuteronomy 23:1).
But Phillip remembered Jesus Christ breaks down barriers. Phillip remembered Jesus Christ is the One Isaiah prophesied about. The prophet said:
“Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will surely separate me from his people.’; and do not let the eunuch say, ‘I am just a dry tee.’ For thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths [worship and rest in my grace], who choose the things that please me and will hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 56: 3-5).
And then God created a space for Phillip and the eunuch to experience something bigger than themselves; they became more deeply connected to the good news and to the kinship God’s household. That moment was a life changing moment for both men.
More than likely, this was the first time the Ethiopian Eunuch had been received in the fullness of his humanity and human dignity. When he invited Phillip to sit with him in the chariot, the two talked as friends sharing their insights with one another. As we sit in the story with these two, I hear the words of the hymn we just sang:
“We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord…
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand…
We will work with each other, we will work side by side…
As the Eunuch felt united with Phillip in the Spirit he had one desire – to respond to God’s faithfulness by being baptized into the household of God.
What a privilege that was for Phillip to go down to the river to pray with his friend as water and Holy Spirit claimed this young man as a beloved child of God; that is the everlasting name that shall not be cut.
I just wish at some point Phillip had asked this man his name! Nevertheless, that newest baptized member of the household of God went on to be the first Christian missionary to Africa. And Phillip became known as an apostle who had unique gifts for sharing his love for Christ in genuine ways.
As Carol Johns says at the beginning of worship, “If you are searching to belong to a church home, well you have found it!” And I concur! But I will also add if you have never been baptized and you find a sense of belonging here, please talk with me after the worship service.
The waters of baptism remind us that we are all searching to belong to a greater purpose that brings meaning to our life. That purpose and meaning is not something we can self-generate. As the Ethiopian Eunuch said himself, “How can I understand if I do not have someone to guide me?” (Acts 8:31).
The waters of baptism lead us into something Phillip was helping others to live into: the joy of authentic Christian community. Christian community is not living in a bubble or cutting ourselves off from the rest of the world.
It is to live daily as Jesus did in trusting God is with us. It is to take one step at a time in the communities we live in and get to know the people, the larger faith community, the schools, the businesses, and what is unique about the context we live in. It is to see what God is doing among us and through one another.
The waters of baptism open the spiritual eyes of our hearts to see ourselves and the world around us as God sees. The Lord sees all that separates us from God and one another. The Lord sees Jesus’ saving death on the cross as God’s love poured out to reconcile us to himself. And the Lord sees us as ambassadors for Christ to carry on Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation in our homes, in our community, and in the wider world.
The waters of baptism move us to no longer see one another from a human point of view, that is seeing one another through the lenses of human labels which dictate belonging. Rather we are to see all those we meet as a child of God.
To follow Jesus as a disciple means the Spirit is on the move to give you and me the courage to come alongside those we know and those we meet for the first time with a sense of child-like wonder like six-year old Oliver Davis. To follow in Jesus’s steps of compassion is to remember everyone is struggling with something and everyone longs to know they are loved and are a part of the whole.
This week I want for you to think about your gifts and passions. And each of us has uniquely God-given gifts and passions.
In this space I see those with the gifts of compassion, mercy, and patience; I see gifts of service, prayer warriors, storytelling and creative hearts; I see gifts of justice, financial discernment, and servant leadership; I see gifts of gardening, hospitality, and humor.
How might God’s Spirit be nudging you to use your gifts as you live out your faith at school, at work, or in this season of your life? What space may God be preparing for you to come alongside another in authentic Christian community?
As we follow the Spirit into the community to serve God and others, whether it be through a mission trip, stopping to help someone on the side of the road, or standing up for one who has no voice, God works through us to empower another to find belonging.
Coming alongside another child of God means we are all just walking each other home.
All praise and glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who makes us one. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment