Philip the Evangelist

Dear friends:  We have focussed our attention for several months now on the Gospel readings and message, laying the foundations of the beliefs of the Anglican Christian.  Now I would like to branch out a little bit, to focus on one incident in the history of the Church, involving Philip the Evangelist.

 

The setting of the story is straightforward enough.  A high official in the Ethiopian royal court has made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  Apparently, he is one of those "God-fearers" Paul talks about.  He admires the Jewish faith.  He is curious about God.  He is a true seeker.  But he cannot participate fully in Temple practices nor become a full-fledged Jew because he is a "eunuch."  Such people are looked down upon as being different.

 

Ironically, the same thing that allows him into the very presence and confidences of the Queen of Ethiopia prevents him from satisfying his thirst for God.  That is, until Philip came along.  Together they explored the Scripture, and with Philip's guidance, God converts the official.  He is baptized, and presumably takes his new-found faith to Ethiopia.  The Coptic Christian church is Ethiopia is one of the oldest in Christendom, so perhaps this official became quite the evangelist in his own right.

 

The fascinating thing about this passage is that the Holy Spirit directs everything that is going on here.  The Spirit sends Philip down the right road to meet the Ethiopian official, the Spirit opens the eyes of the official, and the Spirit directs Philip and the official down different but very God-inspired paths in life, as well as in geography.  What do you know -- God is in charge!!

 

This Sunday we want to talk about the role of the Spirit in our lives, and how the Spirit can guide us, empower us, and transform us.  Be there, or be square!!