Creator God, we thank you for your deep and extravagant love that carries us through all of life. May your holy and peaceful presence meet each heart in this moment. And may your Spirit refresh us, refill us, and renew us in this time together. Amen.
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There are a few stories in the book of Acts where one of the budding Jewish apostles encounters a Gentile stranger – someone who is new to them and different from them who ultimately helps them grow in their apostleship. This happens to Peter when he visits Cornelius the Roman Centurion (at Cornelius’ request). Through that exchange, Peter finds that the strict definitions he once held of what is sacred and who belongs are broken open and redefined.
Today’s story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch is a similar sort of encounter. But, in contrast to Peter (who names his hesitation to hang out with a Gentile), Philip seems eager and willing to just go with the flow. The Holy Spirit says, “go down the road toward Gaza” and so he goes. When he finds the eunuch sitting in his chariot, the Spirit says, “go join him.” And he does.
As he draws near the chariot, Philip hears familiar words. He recognizes the passage from the prophet Isaiah that the eunuch is reading. It’s about the Suffering Servant and Philip has some thoughts on this passage. He hears in these words a representation of Jesus’ suffering – the injustice he endured and his death.
Philip wants to talk with this person. So, he asks if the eunuch understands what he is reading. He responds that he is open to some help. Studying scripture together was a common practice, after all. Philip isn’t insulting the eunuch’s intelligence. He wants to give him his take on things and see where the Spirit might lead them. So, Philip hops in the chariot and they continue their impromptu Bible study as they travel down the road together.
The Spirit has brought them together. Both of them seem to feel that. The eunuch is already an eager worshipper of God. He is a pilgrim who traveled all the way from Ethiopia just to worship at the Jerusalem temple. He might already consider himself religiously Jewish. He could be a curious seeker who encountered Judaism later in life or perhaps he was even born into a Jewish family. Some Jews were exiled to Ethiopia after the Babylonian conquest. So, Judaism is not foreign to him; it was part of the religious landscape of his home.
So, when this enthusiastic local Jewish guy comes up to his chariot and asks if he wants to talk scripture, he says, “Sure! Why not? Tell me what you think. Help me understand.”
The Ethiopian eunuch is so moved by what Philip has to say about Jesus that he decides he’s all in. He wants to follow in the Way of Jesus too. He wants to be a part of this growing movement of this Holy Spirit that has brought them together this day. And, even though he’s heading home, I think he wants to be in a community of faith with people like Philip.
“Look, here’s some water!” he says. Maybe it was a roadside stream, or a pond, or perhaps they are all the way to the Mediterranean Sea by now. “Here’s water. What is to prevent me from being baptized?” That is a loaded question, as it turns out, and we’ll come back to it momentarily.
But, for Philip (to his credit), in this moment, the answer to that question is nothing. Nothing is preventing the eunuch from being baptized. Nothing is standing in the way of his full immersion into communion with the growing church in the world, into this new phase of his own faith journey, and into fuller commitment to his relationship with God (a relationship he has already been exploring and nurturing). The eunuch is all in. And so is Philip.
And so, they go down to the water together – once strangers, but now friends, now siblings in the Spirit. And Philip baptizes his new friend. And together, in that cool, cleansing water, they experience God’s abundant grace and love made visible and tangible. It is an act of blessing, an act of welcome and initiation into the church, and an act of affirmation of the eunuch’s identity as a beloved child of God.
They emerge from the water, refreshed, renewed, and united to one another in a new way. And, though the whimsical Holy Spirit would momentarily send them off in different directions, I know they never forgot this moment. This was a defining experience for both of them that helped shape both their lives and their callings.
So, as Philip heads up to Caesarea and the eunuch heads back to Ethiopia, they go with joy overflowing in their hearts.
To this day, our siblings in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church trace their lineage back to this encounter. They claim this eunuch as the primary bringer of Christianity to Ethiopia. There were surely other who did too, but he is an important figure in that tradition.
“What is to prevent me from being baptized?”
There are some people who wouldn’t have responded to that question in the way Philip did; some who wouldn’t have been so eager to engage and quick to welcome. The eunuch may have encountered some of those attitudes in the past and possibly in Jerusalem.
He may have felt like an outsider, an outcast even.
For one, he was a Gentile from a foreign land. He probably had darker skin than a lot of the locals too. People would have noticed his difference in appearance. And, as a eunuch, he was also someone whose gender identity didn’t fit neatly into a culturally-constructed binary.
And some people may have been quick to point out to him that Deuteronomic law prevented eunuchs from “entering into the assembly of the Lord.” So, his access to the temple may have been restricted.
Many eunuchs in the ancient world were actually enslaved as children and rendered infertile in order to work in a royal court without being a threat to the queen or to the royal bloodline. So, there’s a good chance he didn’t choose this for himself. He may have been a victim of abuse. We don’t know how he felt about this. We don’t know if he came to terms with it.
A Gentile. A eunuch. For some people, that’s all they saw. Some people probably stopped there, hesitant to get too close to someone who seemed different, and didn’t bother to get to know him. But not Philip.
And, like Philip, we can see there is so much more to him. Of course there is! He’s a person of faith; a child of God who is spiritually hungry. Someone who wants to learn. Someone who wants to deepen his spiritual journey. Someone who wants to connect with a broader community. Someone who will be a wonderful church member with many gifts and much love to offer. And he knows how to keep track of a royal treasury. Sign this guy up for the finance committee!
“What is to prevent me from being baptized?”
His inherited cultural convention and religious tradition might have led Philip to respond as a gate-keeper with restriction, exclusion, and thinly-veiled disapproval. But, instead, the Holy Spirit of Love led Philip to respond with an open heart and joyous affirmation. And both of them were blessed in the process. Thank God!
This is something to celebrate! And, like these two people, every time we respond with open hearts; embrace joy; proclaim pride in our individuality, diversity, and all that makes us beautifully human; every time we affirm God’s extravagant love for all people (no strings attached), and embody true community and connection, we are moving with the Holy Spirit too.
And we are moving with the prophetic impulse of the Hebrew prophets and Jesus (who followed in their footsteps) as they interpreted and framed the tradition for their generation.
I have to give the prophet Isaiah some credit here. I don’t know how much further in Isaiah those two read as they traveled along the road that day. But if they made it to chapter 56, they would have come across these words:
Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely separate me from his people,”
and do not let the eunuch say,
“I am just a dry tree.”
For thus says the Lord:
To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath and do not profane it
and hold fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar,
for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
(Isaiah 56:3-7)
In contrast to Deuteronomy’s prohibition, Isaiah offers a much broader invitation of inclusion, affirmation, and community that truly welcomes all people.
Then, as now, people had choices in how they would utilize, interpret, and apply the words of scripture to their own lives, to their religious practices and traditions, and to their relationships with others. Perhaps the ever-liberating, ever-loving Holy Spirit led Philip and his new friend to embrace Isaiah’s wider welcome and bigger vision together.
That same ever-liberating, ever-loving Holy Spirit is still working on us too.
A little over a year ago we officially adopted our Open and Affirming statement in which we, as a church, proudly declared our commitment to and affirmation of the LGBTQ+ community and to all who seek connection with our church. As we continue to live into this commitment as a community of faith, may the Holy Spirit continue to guide us. It is as important now as ever to be loud, proud, and bold in proclaiming God’s love for all people – that’s the truth of the gospel. And it’s a truth that people need to hear.
One thing I love about the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch is that it also illustrates that church can happen anywhere. Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad you show up here on Sunday mornings too! But it really only takes a heart open to the Spirit’s leading and open to others around us to make church happen.
Whether we’re in a church building with a community, at home, in a chariot (or a car), or out in the world… whether we’re alone, with one friend or loved one (or a few), or at the Pride parade with a huge crowd (like some of our friends are today)… the Holy Spirit is on the move, God is present, and love is made tangible.
Philip and the eunuch experienced God’s blessing in the baptismal waters that day. Wherever you find church in your lives – today, this week, whenever – may the Spirit bring you a boundless baptismal blessing too.
Amen.