First Presbyterian Church
Unless Someone Guides Me
Sermon for May 10, 2009
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Our reading from Acts today is about an Ethiopian eunuch. I wanted to read you some scriptures from Isaiah about Ethiopia and about eunuchs.

In Bible times, a eunuch wasn't a man who had had an embarrassing injury. Kings and emperors liked having eunuchs in their royal courts as advisors, ambassadors, or generals. They couldn't father children and start a rival dynasty. Eunuchs were often guardians of the royal harem. So sometimes boys would choose castration as a career move. We think of a eunuch as someone with a handicap, but then it generally meant a person of great power.

Except for the Hebrews. Eunuchs were not able to come into the inner courts of the temple, by law. 1 They would have to worship in the court of the gentiles, with other foreigners.

Listen for the word of God as it is found in Isaiah 18:1-2, 7; and 56:3-5.

18:1 Ah, land of whirring wings beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, 2 sending ambassadors by the Nile in vessels of papyrus on the waters! Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide.7 At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of hosts.

56:3 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." 4 For thus says the LORD: To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, 5 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.

Let's listen to the choir sing this good news.

Anthem

It is not all hopeful. There is this scary part in the book Zephaniah, about the Day of the Lord, when corrupt Judah would have to face God's judgment. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Zephaniah 2:4, 11-12.

4 For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation; Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted. 11 The LORD will be terrible against them; he will shrivel all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the coasts and islands of the nations. 12 You also, O Ethiopians, shall be killed by my sword.

This ends our old testament reading. So we have words of welcome and words of condemnation. The Bible is a mixed bag; how do we sort out what to believe? With those texts as a background, let's listen for the word of God as it is found in Acts 8:26-40.

26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) 27 So he got up and went.

Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it."

30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?"

31 He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.

32 Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth.33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth."

34 The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?"

35 Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.

36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?" 37 38 He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

39 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. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

This ends our reading of God's word.

So it's back to the good news. We have the Spirit of the Lord taking Philip away suddenly. Why? That's what the spirit did to the prophets Elijah and Ezekiel. When the spirit moves you, it's a sign that something holy is happening.

Philip ministered to the eunuch, and then he went to Azotus. Azotus is another name for the city of Ashdod. That was one of the cities where the people will be driven out on the terrible day of the Lord in our reading from Zephaniah. It is one of ‘the nations' that the suffering servant is called to in Isaiah.

So Philip goes in that Hebrew tradition, bringing the light, preaching the good news. Philip was one of the first disciples to go to the gentiles. And the Ethiopian learned about Jesus, was baptized, and took the scroll home.

The Ethiopian wasn't just a royal official, he was in charge of the Queen's treasury. This is a man with a lot of power, who wanted to learn. He read from part of the suffering servant section in Isaiah, where the servant is supposed to be a light to the nations. The servant's work is completed in nations who see God. The servant in Isaiah is a composite; the descriptions alluded to Israel, Moses, and Ezekiel. Now it has a new interpretation, about Jesus Christ, our savior, whose death on the cross was not a sign of defeat, but part of the great triumph of God.

This is the good news that Philip got to tell the Ethiopian, sitting beside him in the chariot. If you look at the cover of the bulletin, you see a racing chariot big enough for one man. But chariots in the ancient world were all sizes. The Ethiopian, in charge of the queen's treasury had enough money for a roomy traveling chariot with a seat. He had enough money for a scroll—which would have cost thousands of dollars.

The good news is not just for the poor, but for everyone, even for a foreign court official rich enough to buy his own scroll. And this is the man Philip dared speak to. “Do you understand what you are reading?”

He said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”

What sort of a guide was Philip? Father of four daughters, all unmarried, who had the gift of prophecy. Not a lot of status in being the father of unmarried daughters with no children of their own. He was one of seven disciples chosen to care for Hebrew widows. There's not a lot of status in caring for widows. And yet, the Spirit prompted him to go to that wilderness road and guide a visiting dignitary.

Lillian Daniel is a UCC pastor. She wrote about a surprising guide from God during holy week 8 years ago. Lillian loves Holy Week. She says, “I love Palm Sunday the way an accountant loves April 15. It signals the most intense week in my working life, the week I was made for, the week I saved up for, the week that reminds me why it is that I do what I do, even if it ends in exhaustion.

Shortly before Palm Sunday that year, our eight-year-old was under the weather. My husband Lou had volunteered to cover the doctor's appointment and the inevitable trip to the drugstore for whatever prescription would clear up Calvin's little infection. ‘You go to the gym,' he said. ‘You need to relieve some stress.' …

I was drinking a cup of coffee in the gym's café, feeling the post-workout glow of relaxed self-righteousness, when I picked up a call from Lou reporting on Calvin's visit to the doctor. ‘We're being admitted to the hospital,' he told me. ‘They say that Calvin has diabetes.'

My first reaction, I must confess, was one of judgment. ‘I should never have let Lou take Cal to this appointment,' I thought to myself—as mothers, who believe they can do everything just a little bit better than their husbands often do. ‘Lou has gone and messed everything up. And now they are admitting our son to the hospital for no reason.' I was calm as we made plans to meet there in a few minutes.

I was calm because I knew that there was absolutely no possibility that this diagnosis could be accurate. Calvin was healthy in every way. Juvenile diabetes was something that ran in families, and it didn't run in ours. I drove calmly to the hospital, ready to clear this up for everyone. Instead they were waiting to clear things up for me.”

Her son had type 1 diabetes, she writes, the kind that can't “be reversed by diet or lifestyle. The body's own immune system attacks the pancreas for no apparent reason. The pancreas then shuts down—slowly over a few months—and there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it. Suddenly out of nowhere, our son was dependent on insulin, and would be for the rest of his life.”

The learning curve for the parents was steep. Lillian never could learn how to inject her son with insulin. Her son stayed at the hospital for more than a week, as she and her husband learned about type 1 diabetes, and how to avoid diabetic comas.

In the middle of all this, she had to work on Palm Sunday. She wrote, “I had planned a lot for that day. There was to be the usual grand procession with the palms the special music, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. But because I had assumed that this would be a celebratory day, I had decided that it would also be the day that new members would join the church. Early that Sunday morning, I sat at the desk in the church's front office, not feeling celebratory at all. I wondered if it would be easier to simply lead the congregation through the service and then tell them the news, or whether I should tell them first. It seemed like a different person had planned this festive Palm Sunday worship service.

One of the new members who was to join the church that day, a young man in the medical field, had arrived bright and early. ‘How are you this morning?' he asked, not realizing that he was the first person I had seen at church that morning and that he was about to really find out how I was.

‘You know what, I'm not doing too great. My son is in the hospital, diagnosed with diabetes, out of nowhere, and he may or may not get to come to church today. No, diabetes doesn't run in my family, unless you count my great uncle, who I am just now remembering. He lost his leg to it in his thirties and his life to it in his forties, leaving behind a widow and a little daughter. They say he never took care of himself, but how do you make someone take care of himself? So how am I doing? To be honest, I'm a little shaky.'

I realized that I had said more than I had wanted to say, and more than he, a new member had asked. I think I remember saying, ‘Sorry,' as we careful people do when we are accidentally honest with one another.

‘Juvenile diabetes or type 2?' he asked, evidently knowing a distinction most people do not. ‘Type 1?' I nodded.

‘Well, I have type 1 diabetes too,' he said. ‘In fact, it's what drove me to go into medicine. I'm passionate about helping people to live healthy lives with this condition.'

I looked at this young man who seemed to have it all together—he was the picture of health, a person who had talked about climbing mountains and kayaking and who traveled the world. Suddenly my image of this disease had a new face, and I liked it a lot better than my late great uncle's.

‘I think that's why I am joining the church today,' he said, and we both stopped to take that in. ‘I'm going to be a friend to your son, and help you deal with this.'

And that is exactly what happened. That young man's friendship changed our lives in the years that followed, and none of that would have happened were we not joined together in the body of Christ, not just when our news is good but also when it's bad.” 2

We need guides through that time, when the news is bad, or when the news is confusing, or when we don't have any idea what the news is. We need guides to bless us.

We asked you, the congregation what are the blessings you wish for our graduates. Here is what you said: good health, friends, a satisfying career, a mate to love, family and extended family support; joy and peace as you challenge yourselves; inquiring curious minds and the joy of discovery; and during the busyness, challenges, and stresses, to realize that “all is well.”

The gifts they wish for you are faith, confidence, optimism, thoughtfulness, the ability to be a Christian servant and share Christ's message; clarity on your dreams and belief that those dreams need to be followed as part of the divine order, and to know you are entering the best years.

We as a church have learned to be open to your ideas and insights, your positive participation and involvement in the church. We should all step out of our comfort zones and share our talents with our church family as well as our own personal family. We have witnessed your faith, energy, dedication and service.

Charles cares about the church, enough to make frequent trips to Baker City. Morgan's insights after the famine and during Youth Sunday made it clear she “gets” the Christian life. Adam has a steady faith, and never lets his quiet demeanor get in the way of contributing to the youth group. Dallas has shared lessons she's learned. Once she commits so something, she gives it everything she has until it's over.

And to all of you graduates: thank you for being a great positive change for our children. It has been priceless. We are so proud of you all .

There will be times when someone in power and authority asks you about the good news. You will be able to tell them of God's grace and kindness. You might even be able to offer them some ethical guidance, and show them the right way. You may one day be the person in power who needs guidance. Our guide is Jesus Christ.

So as you make our way into the world, away from Baker City, you go as disciples who have been nurtured in this church, at least for a little while. You have guidance to offer those people you meet who say, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”

1 Deuteronomy 23:1. No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the L ORD .
2 Daniel, Lillian. “Things turn around,” Christian Century, April 21, 2009, p. 26-29.