HOLY INCLUSION

May 2, 2021
5^th Sunday of Easter
Acts 8:26-40; Ps.22:25-31; 1 John 3:16-24; John 15:1-8
Rev. Denise Clark-Jones

In Acts, we see what happens when the early followers of Jesus were filled by the Holy Spirit and traveled far and wide proclaiming the life-transforming and world-changing good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Today we read about the encounter between Philip, an Ethiopian eunuch, and the main actor in the book, the Holy Spirit. The author — I’ll call him Luke since he states he is continuing from his gospel — gives us many important details that give us insight into the significance of what happens here.

From an earlier chapter in Acts, we know that Philip was one of seven deacons chosen by the Apostles to care for the poor. He was called a deacon. This Philip is not Philip, the Apostle, so he is identified as Philip the Evangelist. Both at the end of Luke’s gospel and the beginning of Acts we read that Jesus directed his disciples to spread the Good News from “Jerusalem to Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Philip had just been in Samaria performing healing miracles for the afflicted and acts of charity for the poor when he was directed by an angel to meet a man on the road to the south toward Gaza. Luke adds the detail that it was a wilderness road, so we know two things: this was probably not a road Philip would have chosen to take on his own; and, from other wilderness settings in the bible, we expect God was going to do something new and life-altering. Philip had spread the gospel, starting in Jerusalem, then to Samaria and now he was going to ends of the Roman Empire to the south. Philip was fulfilling Christ’s commission.

Luke refers to the man Philip was to meet as the Ethiopian eunuch, who worked as the finance minister of Candace, ruler of the Ethiopians. Candace was the term for female rulers in the Cush dynasty.  Eunuchs could work in a female ruler’s administration because they were considered non-threatening. He might have been castrated by choice, but it is more likely he was chosen to work for the Queen than made to be castrated. It is also possible that he was born without male genitalia and was eligible to work for the Queen because of that anomaly. For whatever cause, his identity was formed by a physical trait. The Ethiopia referred to in this passage was not the Ethiopia we know today. Geographically, it was made up of an area in what is now the southern part of Egypt and the northern part of Sudan. Ethiopia was a Greek word which, translated literally, means “burnt face.” Thus, another aspect of the man’s identity was his black skin. Luke tells us the Ethiopian eunuch had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship, so we know he was either Jewish or interested in Judaism. Because he was reading an Isaiah scroll, which would have been very expensive, Luke informs us he was a wealthy man.

According to Jewish law, a castrated male would not have been allowed in the temple. Yet, the ancient Deuteronomic laws may not have been strictly enforced by that time or he may have worshipped in a synagogue led by a rabbi who was more progressive in his interpretation of the Law. Presbyterians have certainly reformed earlier restrictions on church membership and leadership throughout its history. But in both Jewish and Roman society, there would have been a negative stigma placed on a eunuch. We too, in our contemporary society, separate and restrict others based on physical features beyond another’s control. We have laws that restrict the civil rights of people based on skin color and sexual organs and sexual identity. In fact, after a brief period of taking away restrictive laws, we are now seeing these kinds of laws proposed or enacted to bring back legal restrictions of civil rights for people whose skin color is not considered white enough by the white majority and for homosexuals and transgender people.

Skin color has been an issue since white colonists arrived in the land of darker-skinned Native Americans. When Africans were kidnapped and sold into slavery and the black slaves were forced to work in the fields. But then there started to be children born of black mothers and white fathers. What to do about them? It was decided the lighter-skinned bi-racial progeny would be house slaves while the dark-skinned slaves remained in the fields doing the hardest physical labor. Because any darkness of skin tone was considered inferior, people were considered non-white if there were any black ancestry. They devised new words like quadroon and octoroon to identify degrees of African ancestry. It was not until about 20 years ago that there was a line on personal date forms that allowed a bi-racial or multi-racial person to identify themselves as “other” instead of “black.”

So, Luke has given us reasons that the Ethiopian eunuch may have felt “prevented” from being considered a full child of God. But the main character in this story, the Holy Spirit, had other ideas. The Ethiopian eunuch was led to search for something that was missing in his life. He was led to read an Isaiah scroll at the part that foretells God sending a “Suffering Servant” king, who will be Israel’s salvation. Further along in Isaiah, you’ll find more messages of promise and freedom. Isaiah has always been a book of hope and promise for the captives, the poor, the sick, the disabled, the outcasts – even eunuchs. Isaiah promises freedom from marginalization and release from forced restrictions and burdens.

The Ethiopian eunuch wonders if this freedom could be for him. He asks: “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus and how his life, death, and resurrection he had fulfilled the prophecy. The Good News was transformative for the Ethiopian eunuch. He realized Jesus was Good News for him! Jesus had lived and died for him too. He was more than one bound by the chains of identity politics — he was a child of God! As a castrated, black-skinned man, there were restrictions on his life placed by others who claimed superiority, but there was nothing to stop him from being included as one of God’s beloved children. In verse 36 he asks: “What is to prevent me from being baptized?” Then we get to continue to verse 38.

Wait! What happened to verse 37?

In commonly used bibles there is no verse 37. In the New King James version verse 37 is in, but in the original King James, it was not. In some Bibles, there is a sentence in parentheses between verses 36 and 38. In verse 37, which was added much later, Philip says: ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said,’ “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’” Originally, there was no qualification and no doctrinal statement of assent. In baptism, we accept what God has already graciously given to us. We acknowledge we are children of God and begin our faith journey. Like the Ethiopian eunuch, we follow the path to the kingdom of God Jesus has shown us. We study the scriptures, learning and asking questions. We seek the support of other Christians as the Ethiopian eunuch did with Philip. We strive to live lives that give witness to resurrection and renewal. As our gospel reading urges, we stick close to Christ, the vine that nourishes us, the branches. Like the author of First John, we are to follow Christ’s commandment to love others as he has loved us. As baptized Christians, we are to acknowledge the dignity and worth as children of God of all of our brothers and sisters – no exceptions, no restrictions.

Jesus spoke to his followers using the Old Testament image of the messianic banquet to explain the kingdom of God. He demonstrated God’s love and desire for all to be fed, both spiritually and physically, by accepting dinner invitations from, and inviting to his own table, all who would eat with him. He corrected, in no uncertain terms, those who demanded places of honor at the table or who went so far as to exclude others from sitting at the table. How can we come to the Lord’s Table in truth when we harbor the unloving convictions that our own tables be reserved for people we consider worthy, people like ourselves? The bible tells us ‘We cannot truly love God if we do not love our brothers and sisters’ and ‘love with words not demonstrated in actions is no love at all.’ Christ invites us to a table of grace, of love, of justice, and mercy. May we come prepared to share bread and wine in the spirit in which Christ invites us all.

Amen. May it be so!

© Rev. Denise Clark-Jones, 2021, All Rights Reserved
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