“Ethiopian Eunuch Baptized” Acts 8:26-39

 Have you ever had an experience where you felt a nudge, or maybe even a firm push to do something? How did you respond? And how did you figure out of that push/ nudge was from God or not?

Philip is one of the folks who was selected along with Stephen to serve as a deacon as an early church - one of those people trusted with the task of distributing food fairly to all of the widows. Now we know that those were respected people full of the Spirit’s power and wisdom. But in this particular part of the book of Acts, Philip isn’t fulfilling the role of food distributor but he still shows a keen sense of discernment. 

Luke writes that the angel of the Lord said to Philip “Go towards the South on this particular road.” Philip must of intuited that the angel meant now - because he didn’t ask any questions - he simply got up and went. He didn’t know why he was going - the angel didn’t give that detail. He didn’t know where he was going beyond the directions given. He simply went.

Whenever I think about Philip having this encounter, I am struck by his faith. A few months ago I was journaling during Advent about Mary’s encounter with the Angel Gabriel. We tend to downplay Mary’s yes - thinking well an angel showed up, of course she is going to do whatever he says. But Mary says “yes” to this journey that is ultimately into the unknown - no one else has come to have a child the same way she will. No one else has given birth to the Savior of the world - there isn’t a book for this sort of thing. She has no map, no guide, just step by step she goes forward. There is so much power in her words “Let it be” when you take it within this context. And as I was journaling I found myself praying about whether I would be willing to say this sort of “yes”.

Because truth be told, I want that book. That map. I want to know the plan. Not just follow one simply command like Philip did or say “yes” like Mary did, even with all of the unknowns. 

For those of you with children or grandchildren, you probably have had the opportunity to watch Disney’s Frozen 2, perhaps many, many times. There is a song that Queen Elsa sings in that move called Into the Unknown, where she says after she hears this voice calling her beyond the castle walls. “What do you want? 'Cause you've been keeping me awake. Are you here to distract me so I make a big mistake?” That is a lot more like me, friends, someone who sometimes doubts the call to go and overthinks it in the midst of all of those details.

But Philip, thankfully did go, and because of his faithfulness he had the opportunity to encounter this unnamed eunuch along the road. Eunuchs were men who had been castrated, mostly so they can serve in a position close to royalty. Which is true of this man, because he is the chief financial minister to Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He is in an important position of power and if that wasn’t hint enough, the chariot he was riding in would have given that away.

Now, in this particular position, there is next to no way that he was Jewish. Yet, there is something about the Jewish culture that speaks to him, because he is returning from worship in Jerusalem. And there is something about the Jewish text that has captured his heart, because he finds himself reading a scroll with Isaiah 53 written on it in that chariot.

Scripture has this ability to just speak to our hearts sometimes. That’s one of the reasons we refer to it as the living Word of God, because some days it can just hit us at the right place and right time in our lives that it leaves a lasting impact. But there are other times, when Scripture is confusing, friends. When you can read the same thing over and over and over again, and you can’t quite grasp what it is trying to say. The eunuch wants one of those soul quenching experiences, but right now he is having one of those puzzling experiences.

Enter Philip. Philip who has been faithful to respond to the call of God. Philip who again feels a nudge to go up to this complete stranger and ask if this man understands what he is reading. And once again, Philip is faithful. 

Through is faithful response, Philip is able to lead the eunuch through this amazing story. Like Stephen before him, he weaves together the story of Jewish history and unite it with the teachings of the prophets to one connected story that tells of the Messiah. The one who has come to set the people free - Jesus Christ. But what is most exciting about this story, its not just for the Jewish people. Its for the eunuch as well. And he is so moved that he asks to be baptized. Being one of the first people in the book of Acts who shows that the Good News of Jesus - it goes far and wide to change lives. 

This story of Jesus is open to everyone to hear and everyone to respond to. And the eunuch’s response that day was let me be baptized! Let me be part of this Good News myself. Let my life be changed as well. 

Philip has this spiritual ear that was attuned inside of him to hearing the will of God and responding with a “yes.” The word we use for that is discernment. To sort out which of those nudges I feel are from God and which are from me or other people. Philip clearly knew. He had been so practiced at discernment, at listening for God, that he just knew.

It can be like that for us as well today. The more we practice discernment, the more we listen for those nudges and work out what is from God and what isn’t - the easier it can become. I know one of the ways that I can be nudged is to have someone come to my mind. For the longest time, they would come to mind and I would just let it slip by. Then after time, folks would come to mind and I would pray for them. Now, folks come to mind and I reach out to them, letting them know that they have been on my mind and I would like to pray for them. Sometimes people just look at me funny when I say that, which is fine. But more often then not I will hear something like “how did you know that I was having a difficult day? Or that I’m facing this thing? Or I have been having this struggle?” To which I reply I didn’t, but God did.

I don’t know what your nudge moment is. Maybe its feeling like you just need to go a particular place at a particular time and you have no idea why. Or pick up the phone and call someone. There are lots of ways that God can nudge us, but we need to be used to listening to God in order to have the courage to respond. Especially when following God doesn’t always come with clearly laid out plans with the smallest details. Saying yes, that takes trust, which can only come from knowing God.

May we be open to a life of faith and pray that breaks through in the most unexpected of ways. Let us be surprised by the movement of the spirit in our lives. And let us respond with “yes’s” that transforms hearts and lives… including our own. Amen and amen.