Philip and Ethiopian eunuch
poses some interesting questions. For one, I think every pastor likes to
imagine that all of you are the eunuch, happily reading Isaiah, waiting for
someone like me to come along and help you interpret it. Then, undoubtedly, you
will be so moved by my interpretation that you will ask to be baptized, or
recommit to your faith, or go to Synod Assembly. I don’t know. Something like
that.
Real life is a little more complicated. You may or may
not share much in common at all with that eunuch. Pastors love to imagine that
every person in the pews is dying to hear our interpretations of scripture, but,
again shockingly, that’s not always the case. Then, there is this tendency of
pastors, like myself, to believe that since you aren’t as interested in certain
things as me you are probably lukewarm in your faith, apathetic—whatever you
want to call it—and we tend to think this even though faith is experienced and
practiced in many ways and some of you are on a very different road of faith
than others. Some of you just feel pulled to be part of something and you don’t
understand how or why, and if somebody asks you’ll assume your reasons aren’t
very good.
Pastors like to imagine—because we like to see ourselves
as Philip—that there’s something wrong with you if you are like this; that you
should be more like the eunuch; that it’s our job to make you more like the eunuch, and if we just deliver that perfect
sermon you’ll be roused to stand up and your life will be changed for the
better. If we do our mandatory visiting of you—because we all know the Spirit
works most effectively through spreadsheets that tell us who we need to see
these days—then, of course, you will be strengthened in your faith. Because I’m
Philip; you’re the eunuch. Obviously.
Or… maybe not.
Maybe this isn’t a story where we are supposed to find
ourselves in one of the characters. Maybe instead this is a story where we need
to find ourselves in the scene that is set before us. Maybe we need to find ourselves
in the fortunate, circumstantial meeting of two people who needed each other.
It’s the scene, not the characters, where we need to look for direction. It’s
the fact that the eunuch was going one way, doing one thing, and then he was
jarred by the Gospel to do something else. Philip, too, was going one way,
doing one thing, when the Spirit moved him to go another way. If I had to guess
I imagine this is the way God typically works—by bringing things together, by
subtly changing the direction of our lives.
We still have control. That eunuch was free to ask to be
baptized; he wasn’t coerced by God into doing it, but he was in that situation
with that man, Philip, because God stacked the deck. In our lives, we may be
completely unaware of how God stacks the deck for us. Usually, God does move us
in ways we do not see until after the fact, if at all. Now, what I’m saying is
subtly different than the cliché “God has a plan.” A plan implies complete
control over the steps from A to Z. This is less a plan and more a nudge; God
often nudges us to connect us with something we need and it’s up to us if we
follow through or not.
We need that connection but we are always free to walk
away. God is in charge of the big picture but God nudges us, through the work
of the Holy Spirit, to go one way rather than another. There is nothing
stopping the eunuch from being baptized because through God in Christ Jesus he
is free to do so. Baptism is this wonderful free gift. It doesn’t require much,
really: Just water and a person to be baptized. It’s this beautiful sign of our
chosenness; it is our connection with God. Our connection. It is one place
where God connects us, chooses us, and sets us apart. It’s also a reminder that
God does these things in our lives whether we see them or not, because for many
of you, baptized as infants, you have no recollection whatsoever of the events
of that day. Instead you are connected to it by those who made that choice for
you—parents, sponsors, grandparents.
The wonderful thing about God’s work in our lives, about
baptism and every other thing God does for us, is that it is not dependent on
us to set the stage… just to follow through. Philip, the eunuch… it’s not the
characters we can relate to; it’s the setting. It’s the feeling of needing
something badly, and right when we need it, just the right person stumbles into
our lives. It’s the way we are made for connection and every so often fulfilled
by a connection we would never have expected.
Those are our God moments. You might see them; you might
not. I’m not going to force myself into Philip’s role, imagining that I am
enlightening all of you to see. Maybe you don’t need a Philip; maybe you are
Philip. It doesn’t matter if you see yourself as either of these characters;
what matters is that God sets the table for you in your life. You get to freely
respond. What do you do with the freedom God gives you? Where do you go from
here?
No comments:
Post a Comment