Date: April 28, 2024 

Scripture: Acts 8:26-40

Sermon Title: “Sent by the Spirit”

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Bob Jon

You can also listen on Podcast from iTunes and Spotify. Search for “Podcasting from Rev. Bob Jon.”

There was an article by Rev. Darren Wood, UMC pastor in Indianapolis. He had a conversation with his district superintendent about the kind of church he felt God was calling him to go and serve. When the DS finally called him about the new appointment, he was surprised because it was the opposite. Moreover, the church was in trouble. Rev. Wood asked his DS to describe the congregation in more detail. Well, in most cases, the DS is likely to say, “Oh, that church is a wonderful congregation! They have so much potential!”  But this DS gave him straight by saying the church was “hemorrhaging.” It was a bad appointment where he was bound to struggle. And what do you do about it? 

Most of us are likely to choose where we want to eat, where we want to go for vacation, and where we want to work. I have found out that the new pastor for Grace Chapel in Lexington is going to be one of the associate pastors from the Church of Resurrection in Kansas. But when the church announced the search for a new pastor, I learned that over 1,000 people across the country applied for the position. I thought that it was interesting to hear this when there are many churches these days that have no pastor and have a hard time finding one. I think that the appointment system in the UMC might be one of the most counter-cultural things today. 

But that is what the Holy Spirit often does with us, calling us to go to the place where we least anticipated, be with the people we never even imagined or dreamed before. In our reading today, we encounter Philip. He is not one of the apostles who followed Jesus. When the number of followers of Jesus increased, the apostles came to learn the need to care for the widows in the daily distribution of food. So, the twelve disciples decided to select seven people of good standing who could do this work, while they focused more on preaching and teaching. So, along with Stephen and others, Philip was anointed to care for the neglected and support the apostles. 

But the Holy Spirit had more plans for Philip. He went around to the city of Samaria and proclaimed Messiah to them. A great number of people came to listen to him and witnessed miracles such as the sick being healed and the demons being driven out of people. One day, an angel of God told Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. As he went there, he saw an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official who served the queen of Ethiopia. He came to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home, riding in his chariot while reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Holy Spirit told Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” 

According to Matthew 19, Jesus said that there were three types of eunuchs. There were eunuchs who were born from birth. There were eunuchs who were made eunuchs by others. And there were eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of God, in this case, to stay celibate. Because they could not be sexually active, they were often hired as the guards of royal women, like the queen or concubine. And this eunuch from Ethiopia was an official who was in charge of the entire treasury for his queen in Ethiopia. He had all the power and possession. And yet, he was considered less than a human being. 

The Bible tells us that this eunuch, whose name is not known, went to Jerusalem to worship but it is very possible that he could not enter the temple. According to Deuteronomy 23, eunuchs could not come into the assembly of God. So, I wonder what he was thinking traveling all the way to the temple in Jerusalem when he knew he could not enter it. As Philip got on the chariot with him, the Ethiopian eunuch indicated the scripture from Isaiah, “In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 

Thomas Long, a scholar in preaching, comments that the biblical word is “never merely about ‘back then.’”^[1] Instead, the word of God is always for us today, giving us the good news in our circumstances. As Jesus opened the scroll, he said, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Maybe this eunuch is curious because he himself understood what being humiliated was like, what it was like to be denied in justice, what it was like to be cast out of his society. Again, he had his car. He had his house. He had his servants. He had a prestigious job. And yet, people saw him as less than man. 

And Philip started explaining to him about Jesus who was humiliated, who was ostracized, and whose life was taken away from the earth. In a way, it is a depressing news. It is a negative news. And yet, for this Ethiopian eunuch, it was the good news that Christ not only knew his predicament but also became cut off from his society, therefore being the lamb for the salvation of all. There is good news for him as he went further along in Isiah 56, God said, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give them a monument and name… I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 56:4-5). 

In my former church, there was a gay man, John, who had a spouse in a same-sex marriage. Some years ago, he was deeply inspired by the Disciple Bible Study and at the end of the study, he decided to give his life for Christ by pursuing ministry. But he knew that he could not be a clergy because of the language in the Book of Discipline that says that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. This was deeply hurtful to him, but he did not give up answering his call to ministry. He decided to be a certified lay minister for two churches. He preached, led the worship, taught in the Bible study, and served in the soup kitchen. 

John and I worked closely together because I was the chair of the District Committee on Ordained Ministry, and he was the registrar. We drove one hour to the church where we interviewed the candidates for ministry. One day, we interviewed someone who came unprepared. In our norms for the interview, there was no way we could support this person. “Go back and read some more theology. Have some more meetings with your mentor, who can guide you on the right track.” After the interview, we took a paper ballot to decide the fate of the candidate. Out of 12 votes, 11 votes were no. And one was yes, and I recognized the handwriting—It was John’s. 

What I thought was that for many years, John was familiar with hearing the word “No” from others, from his family, from his friends, and even his church. So, he could have paid back by saying “no” to others. He could have said no to some people who came to his church seeking some help. He could have said no to the customers at his secular work. He could have said no to the ministry candidate. But John wanted to witness the good news of God, who said “yes” to us, imperfect, broken, and often lost. Therefore, Long says, “When the eunuch’s story of shame is refracted through the story of the cross and resurrection of Jesus, it becomes a narrative of redemption, restoration, and hope.”

The Ethiopian eunuch saw some water down the road. He was full of joy and said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. There is no time to celebrate. The Holy Spirit calls us to move constantly, going to the persons who are hungry for God today. And the tradition tells us that this eunuch went back to his country and told his queen all about Jesus and what happened to him. And she also came to believe in God. 

As Jesus says, the Holy Spirit blows where it wills. And we cannot control where the Holy Spirit calls us to go. At least, that is the testimony of Rev. Darren. After he was appointed to this new church, he was full of resentment and anger. He often felt grateful that there were no visitors due to low attendance, lousy anthem, and pitiful singing. His chair was so uncomfortable that it felt like a casket. As the service progressed, he became more resentful, so he prayed, “O God, this church sucks! My DS is a liar, and the bishop is an idiot. These people will never change.” At that moment, he heard the voice of God, “Darren, who do you think you are? How do you know what I can and cannot do with this congregation?” 

And he says that as the choir finished the anthem, he heard God say one last thing, “Shut up and preach!” This week, you will also go back to your places, facing so many decisions to make, prioritizing what is more important and what is not. But in the midst of all that, I encourage us to listen to the Holy Spirit, especially when God leads us to go to the place and be with people whom we anticipated the least. I know we may have many reasons to say no to such places and such people. But everyone says No, God is God who says yes. And may God surprise us with God’s unexpected gift this week. 

Amen.

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^[1] Thomas Long, Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 2