S = 8:26-31 Now
an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that
goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
So he started out, and on his way he
met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of
the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to
Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his
chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.
The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that
chariot and stay near it.”
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and
heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are
reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone
explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
O = This man Phillip was one of the seven men chosen to “wait
tables” so that the Hellenist (Greek-speaking Jews) widows got their fair share
of the distribution of bread (6:1-7). Is it any surprise that we see this
Spirit-filled man sharing the “bread” of the gospel of Jesus Christ with people
of other cultures, even at great risk to himself (his co-worker Stephen had
just been killed)? Saul’s persecution had scattered the Christians from
Jerusalem and Philip went boldly preaching the gospel (lit., good news) not
complaining about persecution (the bad news) and people paid attention (8:4-8).
It seems that we rarely hear what the Spirit is saying when we are complaining.
The Spirit-led witnessing of Phillip happens as he responds in trusting
obedience to simple (but incomplete) instructions. Finally, God cared enough
about a disabled Ethiopian accountant to send a special messenger to him. Not a
stretch for a man who had ministered to both the overlooked (6:1-7) and the overwhelmed
(8:4-8) to overtake the perplexed official and open the Word of God to him. Jesus
is for everyone, but Jesus is also the only way. Transformational!
A = When the Spirit says “Go” why do I so often over-think
and under-obey? If I want to be Spirit-led I must not only be quick to hear and
obey what he says to all Christians
through the Bible, and also willing to trust those small fragmentary promptings
he speaks to my heart. By fragmentary
I mean that rarely do we see the second and third steps until we take the
first. How long do I need to run alongside this person’s chariot? The Spirit
didn’t tell Phillip, so I guess that means as long as it takes. When can I
share what I know? When I am asked to do so…until then I need to keep running beside
the chariot! So, in my multi-cultural, multi-ethnic context, how willing am I
to stay near another’s cultural “chariot”? Will I take the time to learn about
them and to enter into authentic conversations concerning their questions about
Christ? I hope so.
P = O Lord, may I be
quicker to obey your voice and patient to wait for the right moment to give an
answer. May my interest and care for others make them thirsty enough to ask for a drink and may my words be true
to yours so that a cup of kindness grows into the baptism of a transformed
life. Start the process in me today so that I have something truly good to
share with others. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment