Sunday, May 3, 2015
First Congregational United
Church of Christ – Sermon by Rev. Caela Simmons Wood
There’s a lot of action in the book of Acts. I guess it only
makes sense, given that the book is called Acts, right? It is the story of the
early church….book two in a two-part series by the author of the Gospel of
Luke. And it’s action-packed.
As I was studying today’s passage about Philip’s encounter
with the Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza, I was struck by the angel’s
commandment, “Get up and go!”
“Get up and go to the south…to the road that goes from
Jerusalem to Gaza.”
I thought to myself, “Boy, there’s really a lot of ‘get up
and go’ in the book of Acts because right after this comes the story of Saul’s
journey to Damascus.” You might remember that Saul was a total jerk. Evil,
really. “Breathing threats and murders against the disciples of the Lord.” He
was hauling people out of their homes and jailing them. Self-righteousness and
privilege and bigotry unchecked often leads to terror. When Saul was on his
journey, he was suddenly struck blind….literally “blinded by the light.” And
when he was laying on the ground he encountered Jesus himself. And Jesus’s
command to him was to “get up and go.” By the time this little story is over,
Saul’s name is Paul and he is baptized. An unlikely convert.
That’s Chapter 9. In Chapter 10 we have two more people who
are told to “get up and go” – Cornelius and Peter. They are commanded to find
each other. This faithful Jew and Roman Gentile solider encounter each other.
Peter shares the story of Jesus and Cornelius is baptized. An unlikely convert.
The entire story of Acts seems to be just one “get up and go”
after the next. The story of Jesus is exploding faster than the early followers
can manage. People everywhere are begging to encounter Christ and to be
baptized. There are arguments about who can be included in this new
movement….just the Jews? What about those who are God-fearers….non-Jews who
participate in some of the Jewish rituals? What about straight-up Gentiles who
have no connection at all to the God of Abraham? And the answer over and over
is yes, yes, yes. You, too. You are invited. You can be baptized. You are
included.
Perhaps none of these stories of radical inclusion are more
powerful than today’s passage. When Philip gets the orders to “get up and go”
he is in Jerusalem. It’s a testament to his faith that he went at all. He was
having a great time in Jerusalem. Preaching the Gospel like crazy. Converting
people left and right. Baptizing people by the boatload.
But when he is told to get up and go, he does just that. Did
I mention that the place he is going is into the wilderness? The angel tells
him to start walking to Gaza via the wilderness road. So he does. And who does
he encounter but this nameless Ethiopian eunuch, sitting all alone in a
chariot.
Talk about an unlikely convert. We don’t know the man’s name,
but we can guess a few things about him. First, he is from Ethiopia and works
closely with the Queen. He is in charge of her treasury. That’s a pretty big
job. He’s traveled a long way. He would have been of a completely different
ethnic group than Philip. He would have been a black African.
We also know quite a bit about eunuchs in the ancient near
east. Eunuchs were men who were given important positions in the court
precisely because they could be trusted around women. Female rulers and family
members needed to be guarded and served, and they did not put typical men in
those positions because they feared that they would take advantage of the
women. So they entrusted eunuchs because eunuchs were men who were not
interested in women. Now, it’s not really okay to totally conflate eunuchs with
modern-day gay men. We know that some ancient texts speak of eunuchs who were
“born eunuchs” (as in, not interested in women at all) and others who were
“made eunuchs” (as in, castrated). We don’t know for a fact that this
particular man was gay, but we do know that he would have been associated with
gay men. By the way, for a more careful treatment of this, please check out the
book The Children Are Free, which is
in our church library. It’s one of my absolute favorite easy and short reads on
what the Bible has to say about same-sex relationships.
So Philip is walking in the wilderness and encounters the
man. I like to kind of imagine this moment as if it were a social media meme.
You know, the kind that’s referred to as “clickbait?” A story or video with a
ridiculous headline that you just can’t resist clicking on. “He went into the
wilderness and ran into a foreign, black, gay man. You won’t believe what
happens next!”
Okay, we’ll click. And, truly, what happens next is almost
unbelievable. Not only does Philip see the man, but he listens to him, shares
the gospel with him, and blesses him with the gift of baptism.
It’s telling that this stranger is sitting in his chariot
reading this sad passage from Isaiah. “In humiliation, justice was denied him.”
Because we know that the man would have been turned away from the temple in
Jerusalem. Eunuchs were considered unclean – not allowed to go in. So he sits
here – alone, rejected. And Philip sees him. He listens to him. He shares the
gospel with him. And when the man asks, “What is to prevent me from being
baptized?” Philip answers – not with empty words, but with action. He takes the
man into the water and baptizes him on the spot.
It’s a powerful story of radical inclusion. The entire book
of Acts is one story after another of the Spirit blowing in new and powerful
ways, drawing the circle wide….and wider still. No one is to be left out of the
story. No one can be denied God’s love and care. All belong. All are welcome.
You really just shake your head and wonder, “Have some people
even read the Bible?” Those who turn away queer folks? Those who refuse to bake
a wedding cake for same-sex couples or to even deliver a pizza at their
wedding? Those who bully and harass and terrorize at people who are
transgender? How on earth can you read the book of Acts and come to those
conclusions?
And so this: how do we honor our ancestors in the faith? How
do we, as people here and now heed the call to “get up and go?”
It’s easy to stay in Jerusalem where things are going well –
where you’re being praised – where the party is happening. But the wilderness
beckons. Because life is not a party everywhere.
In the past week, I’ve spent many hours listening to horrific
stories of injustice playing out in our own nation. We’ve seen peaceful
protesters gassed. We’ve seen people clubbed and beaten. We’ve seen a man
standing in the street with his hands up pounced on by a whole team of police,
shoved into a van. It looked like a kidnapping out of some dystopian movie.
And we’ve heard the story of a Baltimore public defender who
described the scene as and her team she liberated dozens of people who had been
held without any charges in tiny jail cells in Baltimore. They had been there
for over 48 hours – they were never charged with any crime, they did not make
phone calls, they were not given access to lawyers or even their medication,
and had to take turns resting because there wasn’t room for them all to lie
down.
The wilderness road can lead us into strange places. It may
feel as though we’ve stepped through the looking glass into an alternate
reality that can’t possibly be right. A reality where human beings – beloved
children of God – are killed simply because they committed the “crime” of
running from the police. But it’s not an alternate reality. It’s the United
States of America. Here. Now. Today.
What do we do as we go into the wilderness? Well, for
starters, just heeding the call to “get up and go” is huge. Because vast
portions of privileged people in our society seem unwilling to do even that.
They bury their heads in daily living. They side-step the issues when they come
up around the watercooler. They dare not speak of them at church. They change
the subject – at home and on national television. Getting up and going is no
small thing.
And then, once we are on the road, I think we can learn so
much from our brother Philip. Do you remember what he did?
First, he saw the man (hands to eyes). He saw him. He noticed
him. He encountered him as a fellow beloved child of God.
Second, he listened (hands to ears). He heard his grief and
pain. He did not explain it away. He did not change the subject. He did not
even offer his opinion until he was invited to do so.
Third, he shared (hands extended). After he took in the man’s
stories, he shared what little he had. And what he had was a story of hope. A
story of encouragement. He had the story of a God who loved the world so fully,
so completely, and who cared so much for justice that this God could not stop,
would not stop, until all were fully respected, cherished, and loved.
And fourth, he blessed (blessing sign). When asked for a
blessing, he did not hesitate. He used his very hands as instruments of healing
and grace and God’s love. With the water, he reminded the man on the road that
he was loved fully, included fully, cherished fully. No questions asked.
As we walk through the wilderness that is our world right
now, let us all be on the lookout for opportunities to do as our ancestor
Philip did. Let us see the pain in the world. Let us listen and honor the
stories of those who have had experiences different than our own. Let us share,
when invited, our own words of hope. And let us actively work with our hands to
bless this whole world – until the day comes when all are safe, fed, housed,
educated, respected, honored, and loved.
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