The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired)
We are more than halfway through Eastertide, and the Church, like a good
mother, continues to choose Bible readings that teach us how to live as Easter
people.
Today's first reading is the story of the deacon Philip and his ministry to
the eunuch from Ethiopia. Philip, like the better-known Stephen, was a deacon.
The deacons had been chosen and ordained, with the laying-on of hands by the
apostles, to take care of the ministry of service and helping: seeing that the
needy, the widows and the orphans were given adequate food from the offerings of
the church people; making sure that the sick were tended to, the homeless given
shelter and those in trouble were helped according to their need. This was
supposed to free the time of the apostles for teaching and preaching.
But some of the deacons, especially Stephen and Philip, apparently were
called by the Holy Spirit to teach and evangelize, and one day Philip found
himself led by the Spirit to a roadside where he saw a chariot with an Ethiopian
eunuch in it.
We do not know why this man from Ethiopia had come to Jerusalem. He could
hardly be a Jew; his color and the fact that he was an eunuch would prevent him
from worshipping in the Temple. Perhaps he was a servant of the king or queen of
Ethiopia, sent with a message to the leaders in Jerusalem. We just don't know.
At any rate, he was sitting in his chariot, reading a scroll, the scroll of the
book of Isaiah, when Philip saw him. Like Jesus himself, and like any good
evangelist, Philip took advantage of every opportunity to reach out to others
and tell them the Good News about Jesus. And so, Philip came up to the chariot
and asked, What are you reading?
The Ethiopian showed him the scroll and confessed that he was not really
making much sense out of it. He was reading one of Isaiah's servant songs, which
the Christians believed to prophesy the crucifixion of Jesus. Philip knew that
this was an opportunity given him by the Spirit, and so he asked if the man
would like him to explain it to him. When the man said "Yes," Philip began
telling him about Jesus and how his death on the cross had made it possible for
everyone's sins to be forgiven, and for them to have eternal life...if only they
believed that Jesus is the son of God, sent for that specific purpose.
When Philip finished explaining, the man asked how he could become a follower
of Jesus, and Philip explained about baptism. Seeing a brook of water alongside
the road, the man asked to be baptized. Philip took him down to the water and
baptized him then and there; and immediately the Holy Spirit took Philip up and
transported him back to where he had been, and the Ethiopian went on his way
rejoicing.
This is still the main work of deacons today: helping the church meet the
needs of the people, and helping the people understand what the church is all
about.
The Coptic Christian church in Ethiopia began when the man reached home and
started telling his friends and neighbors about his conversion; it is still
going strong today.
I wonder how many Christians we would have, and how strong the church would
be, if every Christian took advantage of the opportunities the Holy Spirit gives
us to teach others about Jesus, to spread the Good News, and to bring
non-believers to baptism? That is exactly how Jesus himself preached and taught
his message...taking every opportunity that presented itself, not doing any
"hard-sell" evangelizing, but simply telling the story, answering the questions
that the person might have, and showing them how it can benefit them to become a
believer and join the followers of Christ. The Holy Spirit gives us so many
opportunities for "telling the old, old story." Most of us do not take advantage
of them, and so the church does not grow as it could. The reason that the early
church grew so fast is that every Christian was very much aware of his or her
responsibility to tell the Good News, teach the story of Jesus, and be a good
example of Christ-following to the neighborhood or area in which they lived. As
they did this, more and more people came and asked about their way of life and
were taught...and eventually, baptized. If they had not been careful to do to
others as had been done to them, the church would never have grown as it did,
and would not have come down the ages to you and me.
Take a little time today to think about the people who taught you about
Jesus, the people who bought the Good News to you. Think about the people to
whom YOU could bring the Good News, and the opportunities you have every day to
tell the story, spread the gospel. Can you think of one or two people you could
bring the Good News to? How will you go about it? Can you make a resolve now to
evangelize in your own neighborhood, family or workplace? Can you, like so many
other Christians through the centuries, take delight in telling the story of
Jesus to others? WILL you? Amen.
