SERMON 7 - SUNDAY 6 MAY 2012 - St. Mary's Parish Church, Alderbury
Part 1
Acts 8: 26-40
This
for me is an absolutely astounding narrative leaving so many questions
unanswered – a remarkable occurrence where Philip is told, divinely, to use a
remote desert road to travel about 50 miles from Jerusalem, the capital of
Judea to the coastal town of Gaza – now so much in the news. We know from the TV footage that this area of
the Middle East is rather un-hospitable today – how much more must it have been
before the days of satellite navigation and mobile phones! Philip doesn’t seem to question why he is to
go there but it does indicate that the Good News of Christ’s life, crucifixion
and resurrection had travelled well beyond Judea and Samaria to the coastal
regions of Gaza , Caesarea and Azotus (Ashdod).
The
story is presented to us as an extraordinary encounter on this remote, and
presumably, dangerous road – an encounter in which God is the primary
actor. From the beginning to end of this
whole narrative, Philip is prompted by divine impulse. He moves at the behest of the angel of the
Lord to make this journey, just in a similar manner to which Elijah and Ezekiel
of the Old Testament had been instructed.
To
set the story in its historical setting, the eunuch’s conversion illustrates
the gospel’s power to reach even the remotest regions and include outsiders at
that time. Ethiopia’s remoteness and
invincibility were legendary and if the term eunuch actually meant a male who had been physically castrated,
then his status as an outsider is even more emphasised. In all probability, it was more of a title
indicating his position within the Queen’s household, (actually probably the
Queen Mother) but, nevertheless, his
inclusion within the people of God
appears to fulfil the prophetic hope that foreigners and eunuch’s would eventually participate fully in the
worship of God.
Here,
significantly we read that the eunuch, a foreigner, had previously been
attracted to Israel and its temple as a place of worship and he is now attracted
to its successor – “the good news of Jesus Christ”. We are told that he is making his way home –
back into Africa along this same road as Philip – after having been to the
temple to worship Yahweh – the God of the Jewish people. Whilst sitting in his carriage he is clearly struggling
to understand the latest piece of scripture which he might have been directed
to read or picked up whilst in Jerusalem. I wonder, how many of us have empathy with
that situation? I know I do – every time
we hold our weekly house group something new and fresh is revealed as well as discovering
that pieces of scripture, so familiar, are upturned by a fresh interpretation! Different commentaries and concordances
sometimes only add to that confusion as we read more and more.
Our
eunuch is reading Isaiah out aloud (a common practise in those days) – a piece
which is quite familiar to us too. What
does it mean? He asks. Or more importantly, “Whom does it mean?” Before we even
reach that point Philip, guided by the Holy Spirit asks the eunuch – “Do you
understand what you are reading?” What a
great way to start up a conversation for bearing witness to the Good News. Does that happen today? Well yes it does. Let me narrate a short story of my own –
A
couple of years ago I was on my way to London by train for a business
meeting. I was reading a book by Steve
Chalke called “Change Agents” – here
it is, actually signed by the man himself at Spring Harvest -an excellent book
and a quick and easy read explaining, as it does, some of the techniques that
can be used within a Christian setting to help shape the world more in our
Faith. At Basingstoke a chap got onto
the train and sat opposite me and started to read his own book. Between Basingstoke and Woking we spoke
hardly a word but he had obviously glimpsed mine for he suddenly asked me – “Do
you know Steve Chalke then”? I responded
that I had met him a couple of times at Spring Harvest and had been doing some
work for Stop the Traffik – one of
Steve’s Oasis charities. He then
revealed that, ironically as it happens, that he was a Christian and had heard
Steve speak and currently he was reading a commentary on Isaiah for his home
group. Needless to say we started
chatting and in the end, as I finished my book by Clapham Junction, I lent it
to him. He subsequently sent it back to
me with a lovely note saying how much he had been inspired by Steve’s book and
would be putting much of what was written into practice – especially in his
working life where he had been grappling with ethical problems which the book
helped him to overcome.
Now
I cannot say that I was guided by any clear divine impulse but this story does
emphasise that we can best learn and understand scripture when we share our
knowledge and proclaim the good news to others – and also when we are not
afraid to admit, like the eunuch, that we don’t understand something and need
it explaining more fully.
I
often hear it said by people who know I am a Christian and a regular
church-goer that they don’t understand why Christian’s have to go to
church. I even hear it said that “I am a
good Christian but I never go to Church – I don’t need to”. I would dare to say that such a statement is a
contradiction.
Our
eunuch clearly knew and appreciated the need to be a member of the church of
Christ. Having had the scripture
explained to him by the apostle Philip, he is anxious to be baptised – to
become a member of church. His
enthusiasm which he previously had for the God of the Jews has been extended to
that for God’s Son and Holy Spirit. A
completeness of his faith; a desire for
membership and fellowship. By membership
and fellowship in a Christian community we can grow – and we grow by being able
to ask those questions of life which bug us so much – which will test our faith,
which stretch us. Being a Christian is not about being comfortable, boring and unquestioning. The closer we are to God, the more we need
the help and support of our fellow Christian journeyers.
This
morning, I want to illustrate that need for sharing our faith and questioning
our own knowledge of scripture by inviting you to think about a bible passage
which might be quite well known to you but which you might not really have ever
understood or have recently struggled with. You should have received a piece of paper and
a pen as you entered this morning and we’ll use those as an ancient form of
texting! Scribble down your question and
then place it in this basket whilst Jenny plays us some reflective music for a
few minutes. If you can’t think of anything quickly now
perhaps reflect upon it later at home and then email it to me or one of the
clergy team for a response. After the
second reading and my short homily on it, we’ll then take a few of your contributions
anonymously and Nils has offered to join in to see if we can give some
answers. Also, if any of you have any
answer or thoughts you want to share please do not hesitate to contribute to
the discussion.
John 15:1-8
In
the Old Testament, mention of the vine was often used as a symbol for Israel
especially when trying to indicate a certain lacking of faithfulness. Jesus’s reference to the true vine is
appropriate therefore because he is telling his disciples that he is the very
essence of that network which will uphold and sustain a faithfulness towards
God.
Now
I am no gardener, indeed having been brought up in towns and cities by the sea for
most of my life, I really am not all that close to the earth at all – confining
my gardening to mowing lawns and hacking back the jungle which frequently seems
to appear in my back garden – but even I have noticed that when I cut back the
grape vine which proliferates at the side of our house, it bears more grapes
than when I leave it alone – and yes I have frequently left it alone. My wife has said that someday we might find
some lost civilisation in the undergrowth.
The disciples at the time of Jesus would therefore have understood this
much better than I do as the need to produce grapes and figs in such arid
conditions was indeed very important and poor viticulture could be disastrous.
So
what exactly is Jesus saying? Well, my
understanding of this passage after reflection is that unless we remain solidly
connected to the plant itself, Jesus in this case, and are nurtured by the Holy
Spirit we will whither and die at Judgement because we are no longer able to
bear fruit. Jesus wants his disciples (us
today) to blossom and bear fruit. We can
so easily stagnate in our faith because we do not allow ourselves to grow. We hear the word but we do not listen; we
hear the word but we do not try to understand; and sometimes, I’m afraid, we
don’t even hear it at all because we are engaged in our own distractions.
We
can’t go it alone either. We must be
connected to the vine – each of us by being so connected is connected to each
other. We receive our spiritual
nourishment from the same source – an inexhaustible source for all - but to
grow we must feed ourselves and each other through the Holy Spirit.
Now
let’s have a look at some of the biblical questions which you have given me.
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