Sermons

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Text: Acts 8:26-40

Pastor Jean M. Hansen

 

 

     On the Sundays after Easter, the first lesson is not from the Old Testament, as is usually the case, but from the book titled “The Acts of the Apostles”, or Acts, in which the story of the early Christian church is told. Some years I’ve focused on those readings, but not this year … until today. I just could not pass up the account of the encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian official.

     There is, of course, some context that helps us grasp the significance of this account. First, in Chapter 1 of Acts Jesus told his disciples that, after receiving the Holy Spirit, they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” In Chapter 2, the Holy Spirit arrived, and the number of believers began to multiply due to the disciples’ witnessing. In Chapter 6, seven deacons were chosen to oversee the food distribution among the faithful, including men named Stephen and Philip. When Stephen preached a fiery sermon and was executed, believers fled Jerusalem in fear. Those who left included Philip who became the first follower to preach the Gospel outside of Jerusalem and Judea.

     He began in Samaria, whose residents were considered enemies and outcasts of Israel; we can imagine his being there was controversial among the Jewish followers of Jesus, as was the case when Jesus himself entered Samaritan territory. Still, many Samaritans believed and were baptized in Jesus’ name.  

     Thus, we arrive at today’s text when Philip was suddenly sent to a wilderness road running from Jerusalem to Gaza. And who did he encounter there but someone who even more fully than the Samaritans represented “the other”. This person was an Ethiopian, an official in charge of the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians. In Greek the word Ethiopia meant black, which no doubt described this traveler’s appearance. This important African, who, surprisingly, was devoted to the Jewish religion, had traveled all the way to Jerusalem to participate in a Jewish feast. Yet, as a eunuch, someone who did not fit the usual categories of sexuality, the official was excluded from the Temple, the holiest place,  and considered an outcast of Israel.

     How surprised Philip must have been that this visitor was devoutly reading the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, which only a wealthy person with connections could have possessed. The Holy Spirit urged Philip to join the chariot and ask, “Do you understand what you are reading?” and the reply was, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”

     Not just any passage was being read, but the one that proclaimed, “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him….”

     Could these words have seemed personal to this one who was so stigmatized in the Greek and Jewish society? It is likely that the Ethiopian official identified with the one who Isaiah described as humiliated and also with the unjustly crucified Jesus once Philip’s explanation connected the two. Suddenly, it was clear that the household of God was open to sufferers and outcasts. “Look,” the new believer proclaimed, “here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?”

     Commentator Meg Janista notes, “No wonder he wants to be baptized. No wonder he goes on his way rejoicing. Here is a story of amazing love. And it is for him. It is the for people of Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Ethiopia, the ends of the earth.” (By the way, far as the Greeks and Romans were concerned, Ethiopia (now northern Sudan) was the ends of the earth.)

“The stranger now belongs to the people of God and, from all historical accounts, goes on to share the story of Jesus in Ethiopia. The church in that country has a long history that they trace back to this very encounter.” (1)

     A side note … historians believe that the entire country of Ethiopia was declared a Christian nation around 330 C.E.; 800 years later the emperor of that region wanted to build a “new Jerusalem” and 11 Christian churches were carved directly into the mountains. Can you imagine? I wish I could know more about the faith and commitment that motivated building such astounding edifices to honor God. These structures not only exist but are in use today; from them the Good News received by the Ethiopian of today’s story is still proclaimed. 

      Today’s story and others in the book of Acts are all about the Holy Spirit. Perhaps that’s why it has been suggested that the book’s title should be “Acts of the Holy Spirit” rather than “Acts of the Apostles.”  The Spirit led Philip to the Ethiopian and provided him with the ability to explain the Isaiah passage, guiding his words, even though Phillip was not an apostle who had spent 3 years with Jesus. And the Holy Spirit opened the Ethiopian’s mind to hear and heart to respond to the Good News, leading to a request to be baptized, which by the Spirit’s power, Philip did. Then the Spirit whisked Philip away, after which the newly converted Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing and witnessing.

      It’s interesting to note that this was the case for many early converts to the Christian faith; whether they were scattered by persecution or by religious pilgrimage or by personal business, they preached the Gospel. The Holy Spirit used ordinary people to spread the Good News, to convey God’s grace and welcome the outsider in. Quoting Meg Janista concerning today’s account, “From beginning to end this is a Spirit-driven encounter. One that graciously included the outsider. This is what God does because this is who God is.” (2)

     That means, then, that this is who we are too – people who, by the power of the Spirit, break barriers down for the sake of those who feel and are excluded. The baptism of the Ethiopian official, writes scholar Richard Jensen, “is sheer miracle – a miracle full of the grace of God in the person of Philip and the waters of renewal. The impossibility of this event is made possible by the unbelievable reach of God’s grace.” (3)

     That’s the Good News we proclaim – the reach of God’s grace is not limited; it embraces all. AMEN