We shared a humorous moment at a
session meeting recently when one of our elders looked a little panicked. He
thought he was being asked to preach on an upcoming Sunday. It was a
misunderstanding that was cleared up quickly, to his great relief. This is an
elder with a lot of wonderful gifts, but I guess he does not consider preaching
to be one of his gifts. Although, it certainly could be.
I have to admit that I think it is interesting
to put the question to a person sometimes and just see how they react. Would
you like to preach? If their reaction is the expression of a person facing a
firing squad, then they probably won’t take me up on the offer. But sometimes a
person says, “yes.”
I saw that once when I was a campus
minister. My students were preparing to lead worship at a local congregation.
For some reason, call it the Holy Spirit, I turned to one of them, Nicole, and
asked her, “Do you want to preach?” I think everyone expected her to say no,
but she didn’t. She sat quietly for a moment and then said, “yes.”
Nicole had never been asked before,
and possibly never really considered it before, but she was ready. And on that
Sunday at Trinity United Methodist Church she got up in the pulpit and she was
on fire. The people of that congregation got some preaching that day. It was
wonderful.
Nicole’s home congregation would never
have let her do that. No women are permitted to proclaim the word of God –
that’s strictly men’s work in the congregation in which she was raised. I don’t
know if Nicole has ever had an opportunity since then to preach – but she
should. She really should.
Philip was not a preacher, originally.
He was among the early followers of Jesus and, back in Chapter 6 of Acts, he
was one of the seven chosen to serve in the newly created role of deacon. At
that time, the church was growing rapidly and so the community was having to
constantly make adjustments and accommodations – growing pains, you might say. And
there arose a dispute between the Hellenistic Jews and the Palestinian Jews.
The Hellenists called out the Palestinians for unfair treatment – they said “You
are not taking care of our widows the same way you are caring for your own widows.”
Rather than dismiss the complaints or argue against them, the elders decided
that they needed to have an appointed group to lead the ministry of caring for
those in need. And they apparently selected seven men from among the Hellenists
to be in charge of that, so they could be assured that the Hellenistic widows
would not be neglected. A wise and generous decision.
Philip was one of the men chosen to
care and serve, the ones we now call the deacons of the church. Deacons are not
expected to preach, normally. This is not a part of their calling. However,
elders are. Traditionally. Just, FYI.
Yet, even though preaching was not in
Philip’s job description, things changed. A severe persecution against the
church began, and all except the leadership team (the apostles) were scattered
throughout the countryside. And “those who were scattered went from place to
place, proclaiming the word.” In other words, preaching.
So, just like that. Philip was a
preacher. He went into Samaria and preached the word. To the Samaritans, an ethnic
group who were considered outsiders, outcasts; somehow lesser than others. But
that didn’t stop the church, nor did it stop the Holy Spirit.
Then an angel of the Lord – or we
might say, again, the Spirit – told Philip to get up and go south. He got up
and went. There he encountered the Ethiopian eunuch who happened to be sitting
in his chariot reading from the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit nudged Philip again.
Go over there. So he did and started a conversation, which led to preaching,
which led to baptism.
We have a lot of rules about who can
do what and how, and so on – but stories like this one can make you wonder if
we have too many rules. Or if we might take our rules too seriously sometimes.
Because nobody ordained Philip to preach, let alone to baptize. He was ordained
to serve as a deacon. He had no call to preach, except the call of the Holy
Spirit.
And this unexpected preacher finds
himself preaching to unexpected converts. First the Samaritans. Then the
Ethiopian eunuch. A eunuch was definitely an outcast; the law of Israel said
that he could never be admitted to the temple, because he’s a eunuch. That
didn’t stop the Spirit, though.
The Spirit of God seems to like to go
out and gather in the outcasts, doesn’t she? I mean, if you read the scriptures
that sure is what you see. And that is just what the Spirit is calling and
urging and pushing the church to do.
Should anyone be prevented from
serving God and singing God’s praises? Should anyone be prevented from joyfully
living out their calling? Certainly not. Yet, so many are. Sometimes because
the church deliberately puts up a barrier that says, “Nope. Not you, you are
the wrong … whatever.” Or, much of the time, simply because we lack the energy
or interest to get out there and follow the Spirit’s lead.
The Spirit of God will always guide
our steps if we allow her to. The Spirit of God will always provide us with the
gifts we need if we are willing to try. Then we will sing with the psalmist: “Posterity
will serve God; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim
God’s divine deliverance to a people yet unborn.” We will say it and
believe it.
There is a song I learned many years
ago about this story of Philip. The refrain says, “I believe God will use me.”
Like Philip. Like the Ethiopian who went on his way rejoicing. Believe that the
Spirit will speak to you, guide you, and equip you to carry the good news
onward and outward, to carry it to the ones who have been neglected or shunned.
To be about God’s work, rejoicing.
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