|
First
Reading
|
Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
| Acts 8:26-40 |
Psalm 22:24-30 |
1 John 4:7-21 |
John 15:1-8 |
The Book of Acts is the continuation of the Gospel of Luke, telling of the life of the early followers of Jesus after the resurrection. As the Gospel began spreading beyond the regions where Jesus and the first disciples traveled, Luke wanted to emphasize that Jesus’ mission was meant for all people, not just for those in good standing with their local rabbi or who considered themselves part of Israel. In the Gospel, Luke specifically pointed out how Jesus had gone to those who were considered cultural outcasts. Unlike the cultural milieu of the day, Jesus did not consider those who were chronically sick or those with physical deformities as being cursed because of having sinned. Instead of isolating them, Jesus invited them in.
Today’s story of the baptism of the Ethiopian official is part of a trilogy of baptisms meant to indicate the increasing breadth and outreach of the early church. The first baptism was that of a magician and some of his followers from Samaria, and later it would be truthfully admitted that despite being baptized, Simon still struggled with temptation. The Samarians lived side by side with the people of Israel and many Jews would travel through Samaria in their journeys. The Samaritans were descendants of those lost tribes of Israel who had intermarried with other peoples when northern Israel had been overrun some seven centuries before. They had their own Temple and version of the first five Books of Moses. While officially scorned by mainstream Jews, they were, nonetheless, closely related to Judaism. Following today’s account of the Ethiopian official is the baptism of the gentile Roman soldier Cornelius and his family. The gentile soldier would, of course, have had few ties with Judaism and his occupation would have been suspect.
The Ethiopian, on the other hand, was somewhere in the middle. To be sure he was from a foreign land. Yet he was of ambassadorial rank with a retinue and would have been accorded the respect of a diplomatic dignitary. The description of him as a eunuch might have only meant that he was not married. It is said that he came to Jerusalem also to worship. He may have been a Jew, or at the very least, one who was termed a god fearer, one who had not formally converted, but who attended synagogue services. Personally he must have been a person of some means, for he bough,t presumably while in Jerusalem, a scroll of the book of Isaiah, and that purchase would not have been inexpensive.
Philip, one of the disciples, was called to go out and meet the Ethiopian official around noon. It would have been an inconvenient time and surely Philip thought to himself, “Why would I be asked to travel out into the desert when the heat of the day was the highest? Why could I have not been called in the morning or toward evening when travel would have been quite more comfortable?” Nonetheless, when the Spirit calls, it calls, and Philip set out.
We don’t know whether Philip harbored low or high expectations or based on past experiences, what assumptions he carried with him. Obviously he had been told to look for the Ethiopian. When Philip found him, the Ethiopian had already been studying the word of God in the book of Israel that he had purchased, and was receptive to learning more. What Philip discovered was that he did not carry the whole weight of the Holy Spirit with him. The Holy Spirit already had been working when he arrived. Philip didn't have to frantically attempt to fill up and jump-start the engine of the spirit. The engine was running, purring just fine along the hot, wilderness road. Both the Ethiopian and Philip discovered God's grace at work. Both went on their way rejoicing, blessed with the gift of an increased awareness of new life in Christ.
One of the lessons of the fast moving accounts in Acts, is that the source for the young church was in the power of the Holy Spirit, not solely in human power of persuasion and charisma or in the reservoir of personal energy and persistence. Such attributes helped. Philip responded rather than ignoring the call. The Spirit calls us to muster our enthusiasm and to use our intellect to the utmost. The story of Acts is a success story because the source of that success was grounded in the working of God’s Spirit.
To us at times, the Book of Acts may seem to only stress the growth and expansion of the Gospel and to gloss over any set back. Yet the people for whom Acts was first written, knew very well of the instability and insecurity of the world. They knew first hand that the larger society, as a rule, did not support their cause. They likely experienced varying degrees of separation and sorrow from family members and close neighbors when they became baptized Christians. Something was happening, however, which was even more significant. The Gospel was a new presence that would outlive the Roman Empire and all its constituent cultures. Acts wanted to convey that sense of destiny in Christ’s mission. The early church did not choose to sit in the seat the world offered. They knew the foundation of their strength. The last word of the early church always involved the spiritual dynamic of the resurrection that outlasted the last word of the world. First Christians had the courage to refuse the dungeon or tomb the world had prepared for them. That is also a valuable lesson for Christians facing our world today.
On Tuesday, five members of our congregation will re-confirm the vows taken in their name when they were baptized. Of course they were all baptized at a very early age, and none of them remember it, despite what they may claim. However, all through their lives, the Spirit has been, in some way, present to them and has been working by their side, in good times and bad ones. The Good News is that God’s Spirit will continue to be available to them for the rest of their lives. That’s Good News for the rest of us also.
And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
