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Sunday May 14, 2006- Easter 5, Year B

It’s a great story, and it all begins with Philip.
Philip’s not someone
that we know a whole lot about in the bible. In fact, there seem to be two people called Philip, and in the book of Acts, it’s never entirely clear
which one is which.
There is Philip
who was one of the twelve disciples;
and there is a Philip
who was named by the apostles after Pentecost
as one of seven
to deal with the practical administration of the early church.
As far as we can tell, they are two different people,
but which one
is the one in this story?
It’s not really clear. But whichever one it was,
he was a leader in the church.

And one day
an angel
spoke to Philip,
and told him
to go to the road
that led from Jerusalem
to Gaza.
It was a strange request, kind of like saying, “go to the Turnpike.”
Roads tend to be things that take us somewhere;
they’re rarely destinations in themselves.
But Philip did what he was told, headed off down the road,
most likely wondering
what on earth
he was supposed to be doing there.

And as he wandered by the side of the road, a chariot came past. It was the fifth one he had seen, and each time
the occupants
looked curiously at him, probably wondering
what he was doing there and if he was any threat. After all, this road
went through the wilderness; pretty much like the road in the story of the good Samaritan, it was a likely place for robbers and crazy people. But the fifth chariot, in that one
the traveler didn’t even look up at Philip.
He was busy
with his nose in a scroll, totally absorbed.
And where as with previous travelers,
Philip had been quite happy to let them go past, this time
he was seized by an irresistible urge — later he described it
as the prompting of the Holy Spirit —
Philip had an irresistible urge
to find out
what the traveler
was reading.
Luckily
the chariot wasn’t going very fast;
Philip hurried over, and asked the traveler
“what are you reading?”
And the traveler answered,
“the prophet Isaiah. But I haven’t a clue
what it’s all about. Can you help?”
And when Philip
said yes,
the traveler invited him to get into the chariot,
and Philip sat up beside him
and began to explain
what that bit of Isaiah
was all about.
Or at least, he began there,
and went on to talk about Jesus.
And next thing, the traveler
was asking Philip if he could be baptized.
When Philip said yes, the traveler suddenly called to his driver to stop
and there in a conveniently located stream, Philip baptized him.
And as the traveler came up out of the water, Philip was gone,
and he continued on his journey.

It’s a dramatic story, something that we don’t exactly expect
to happen to any of us.
But I have a suspicion
that sometimes we do come across situations
not so different from the way Philip did
but most often
they pass us by.

And two things stand out.
First was Philip’s response
to seeing the traveler
reading the book of Isaiah.
He saw it
as an opportunity,
an opportunity
to talk about his faith.
He began
where the traveler was, stuck in the middle
of the book of Isaiah;
and then he journeyed with him
to Christ
and to faith.

For Philip
his faith was so much a part of his everyday life
that his automatic response
was to take the opportunity he was given
to talk about Jesus.

Our baptismal covenant, our baptismal promises
that we renewed at Jack and Tristan’s baptism last week
reminded us
that we are called to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.
And it seems to me
that opportunities to talk about our faith
come more often
than we would like to admit.

Just a few weeks ago,
there was a flurry of press attention
about the Gospel of Judas. A bunch of people
asked me what I thought.
As Christians, we need to think about things like this
to be ready to talk about them when the opportunity arises,
and to direct the conversation to Christ.

On Friday this week
the movie, the Da Vinci Code will open.
Will you be ready to talk with your friends
about what it claims,
and use it
as a chance to talk about Christ?

And for the next six weeks, the Walnut Theater in Philly
is putting on Godspell.
Have you ever thought about inviting a friend or coworker to see something like that with you
and then taking the opportunity
to share your own faith?

Things like this
make it easy. All it takes
is for us to be willing
to give it a try.

The second thing that stood out in the story of Philip and the traveler
was that Philip was willing to talk about Jesus
with someone who didn’t belong, who was different.
As soon as Philip saw that traveler,
he would have known
that he was different.
First up, the bible describes him as an Ethiopian, and that means that most likely
he was black, a different race and color,
a stranger and outsider.
Second, he was a wealthy, wealthy enough to have his own chariot and driver.
Those two things alone
would have made him different in Philip’s eyes.
But along the way, probably as they were sitting talking,
Philip discovered that the traveler was a member of the Queen’s household, a eunuch, and that he was on his way home from Jerusalem, where he’d gone to worship.

But under Jewish law and tradition, a eunuch could not be a full member of the Jewish faith, a eunuch
couldn’t even enter the outer areas
of the temple.
The traveler
was an outsider, one who couldn’t hope to ever be welcomed
as a full member of the Jewish faith.

But this new faith, this faith in Jesus
was different.
It didn’t matter
that the traveler was Ethiopian;
it didn’t matter
that he was a eunuch.
All that mattered
was that he believed in Jesus.
And when he did,
Philip baptized him,
and he became a full member
of this new thing,
the Christian church.

From the very beginning, from that day of Pentecost
all that mattered
to become a Christian
was faith in Christ.
It didn’t matter
if you were male or female;
it didn’t matter
if you were a slave or free;
it didn’t matter
if you were Jewish or not;
everyone
was welcome in the new-born church.
Everyone.

It doesn’t matter how much we say we’re open to all people
the reality is
that we’re most comfortable
with people who are like us.
People who look like us, who talk like us, who have backgrounds like us. They’re the easiest ones
to get along with.
We don’t have to worry about what we’re going to say,
don’t have to be afraid
that we’re going to say something wrong.
So we tend to stick with our own kind.
So if we have young children, we tend to hang out with other families.
If our kids are grown
we tend to be naturally drawn to other child-free adults.
Women tend to find it easier to approach women,
men find it easier to start up a conversation with other men.
Immigrants
discover things in common with other immigrants.
We are more comfortable with people who are like us.
And so when we look at people, we tend to categorize them, to try to sort them out in our minds.
We look at their gender, their clothing, their race.
When they open their mouths, we listen to how they talk.
We look at who is with them,
and what they talk about.
And from all of that looking and listening
we categorize people in terms of their gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, education, the region they come from, their family status, age,
and so on.
It’s usually not something we do consciously, but we do it all the same. We can’t help it.
But what we can help
is what we do with that information.
Do we take it, and use it as an excuse
not to talk with someone,
not to try to get to know them
or do we say to ourselves,
“In Christ
we all belong.”
And then go and make friends
with the person who is not like you.
Invite them
to stay for coffee hour.
Love them
with the love that God
has given to you.

Philip and the traveler. It’s a great story
from the early days of our faith. But it’s also a great model for us.
So I challenge you this week.
Take whatever opportunity you’re given. Talk to someone about your faith. Look around after church. Welcome someone
who isn’t quite like you.
And remember
that we are the descendants of those first disciples,
people like Philip and Peter and Paul and John,
and if we don’t carry on their mission
no one will.

 

Sermon ©Raewynne J. Whiteley 2005