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Sermon April 29, 2018
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, LSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s, Newport, PA
Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B
//lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Easter/BEaster5_RCL.html
He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:38-40
Please be seated
In my late 20s I belonged to a Lutheran church in Harrisburg. The Lutheran churches in Harrisburg had joined together into an organization called Harrisburg Parish Lutherans Together or HPLT for short. We did a number of activities together from an outdoor Pentecost tent service to street corner summer Bible School activities for children. We also did a survey with the neighbors of the various city Lutheran churches.
One of the people I routinely saw was Katherine. She had beautiful red hair and was really tall, probably about six feet. She was a quiet woman. At one time, I learned that Katherine was transgender. From people who knew her better, I heard about the significant challenges she faced in living as who she was. In one case at least, she had to take her employer to court in order that the employer would recognize her for herself.
While our understanding and awareness of people who are transgender has improved, unfortunately, many still face the same challenges that Katherine did. Luckily, Katherine was in a church that supported her and cared for her and allowed her the freedom to worship God and Jesus Christ. I have known others who have been forced to leave their Christian communities once they present their true selves.
I was reminded of Katherine in the past couple of weeks. When Peterson Toscano came to preach last September, he left 2 copies of the DVD entitled, “Transfigurations – Transgressing Gender in the Bible.” Mr. Toscano presents familiar stories from the Bible in a new way, including dramatic performance and commentary. The stories are about people in the Bible who transgressed what were commonly understood boundaries of gender. I was reminded of Katherine and the many other people I know who have done the same….lovers of God and faithful worshippers.
One of the stories Mr. Toscano presents is the one we heard today from Acts. During Easter we do not have a reading from the Hebrew scriptures. We read from the book of Acts. As you may remember, Acts is believed to have been written by the writer of the Gospel of Luke. It is believed that Luke was a companion of Paul and was possibly with Paul in Rome at the time of Paul’s death.
The Book of Acts picks up where the Gospel of Luke ends, telling us what happened to the followers of Jesus Christ after Christ ascended into heaven. We hear and learn about the early Christian church.
The piece we heard today occurs after Stephen has been stoned to death. The followers of Jesus are being persecuted and flee from Jerusalem. This time is also before Paul had his conversion on the road to Damascus.
Philip goes to Samaria where he tells people about Jesus Christ. He also heals people from physical and mental illnesses. Remember that people from Samaria and people from Jerusalem didn’t always get along very well. So the fact that Philip was in Samaria already gives us a clue about the inclusive foundation of our Christian faith.
Then Philip has an encounter with “an angel of the Lord,” who tells him to leave Samaria and travel on the road south of Jerusalem to Gaza. This is probably a distance of close to 100 miles. We are told that Philip got up and went.
While Philip is on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, a distance of about 50 miles, we hear about this encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch.
There are a number of things to note here. Now Ethiopia during that time is what we call modern-day Sudan. It was also understood to be the territory south of Egypt. It was a land with tremendous natural resources – precious gems, gold, copper and ivory. It was a center of commerce and learning with contacts with the Egyptians, Arabians, Greeks, Phoenicians and Jews.
Eunuchs, as you may remember, were people born with male anatomy, who were often physically castrated. In essence, they were neither male nor female. They were considered fierce warriors and often served as trusted aids and important officials to government leaders. Yet, eunuchs were also outcasts. In the Jewish religion, they were considered unclean.
What is interesting about the person in our reading today is that they were a court official of the queen of the Ethiopians and in charge of the queen’s entire treasury. The other curious fact from our story is that this person had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. People who were Jews were expected to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem and sometimes they could only make the pilgrimage once in their lifetime.
However, there is no indication that this person was Jewish and in any event, being a eunuch and Jewish could have been difficult if considered unclean. Although further on in Isaiah, 56:3-5, they would have read:
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.
So it is possible that Philip would not have considered them to be unclean.
Most scholars suggest they were God-fearers. This pilgrimage was about 1500 miles in a chariot. It would have taken nearly a month to get to Jerusalem and a month to get back. It is amazing to me how drawn to God this person must have been to make this pilgrimage.
We also hear that they were reading a scroll of the book of Isaiah. Obviously, this person was well educated. And maybe this was the first encounter the person had with the Hebrew scriptures. It all would be confusing or raise more questions.
Philip explains how the passage the person was reading relates to Jesus Christ. Philip goes on to tell the person about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Immediately, they ask to be baptized, which is easily accomplished at a nearby stream.
Philip is then snatched away by the Spirit, or in some translations, by an angel of the Lord and the person goes on rejoicing.
Luke is telling us that the good news of Jesus Christ…that the teachings of Jesus Christ… are meant for the whole world. Luke is telling us that even those considered outcasts or from far-off places are welcomed as members of the Christian church.
May we like Philip go where the Holy Spirit takes us. May we like Philip share the good news of Jesus Christ. May we like Philip welcome all who desire to follow Jesus Christ. May we like the Ethiopian eunuch rejoice always in our baptism.
Amen
