Acts 8:26-40
26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) 27 So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” 30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 32 Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” 38 He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Devotion
As a young boy, I enjoyed assembling models, whether made of plastic or wood. I always had a profound sense of joy after opening the packaging and pulling out the sheets of plastic or wooden parts, and the painting and gluing together of the various pieces and seeing it come together. But anyone who assembles models will tell you, the model at step 1 looks almost nothing like the finished piece. The first piece of the engine does not bear any resemblance to the finished and painted car. Step 1 must be followed by step 2 until all the steps are completed and then the finished model looks like the image on the box. All the steps must be completed and completed for the masterpiece to be finished.
In our journeys of discipleship, we also walk in time and space by steps. In our following of the Holy Spirit’s lead, we are led in stages of the one whole journey. Our moments in the “present” time always take place after our “past” events and always take place before our “future” moments. Our entire existence as the Covenant Community of Christ, is one long journey of discipleship towards the Shepherd, lived in stages or steps, 1, 2, 3, etc., until we reach the end or goal, the Kingdom of God.
In the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch, Philip clearly displays “discipleship by steps.” Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) Here is step 1 of his journey for the moment but notice that the angel neither tells him the next step or even where and why he is going down this wilderness road. He is only led and guided in a particular space and time, and the reason why and where the journey finishes is hidden from Philip. Philip is just commanded to follow the Spirit’s lead and Philip does not bicker or complain about the command, he only obeys gladly the Spirit’s lead.
Here is where our discipleship not only differs from Philip’s but also becomes increasingly difficult. We want to not only know the result of the Spirit’s leading but also what that trip is going to cost us. As people who have survived the Enlightenment and Modernity, before we make many choices, we must calculate the risks and the costs of such a trip down our wilderness roads. Where are we going, and do I want to go there? Who will I meet, and do I want to meet them? What is the point of going, and what will happen to me there? Will I be mugged on that road or meet a new friend? In essence we are not prepared to follow the Spirit’s lead and trusting in the greater purpose of God for that moment. We want to know, like God knows, why, when, what, and will happen to me down that wilderness road.
We simply want to know what has been deliberately hidden from us by the Spirit. Tell me the whole journey and the results and I will tell you if I want to go or not. Is this discipleship towards the Spirit of Jesus Christ, or is this yet another attempt by us to play God and control our own lives? Are we being the Church of Jesus Christ trusting in God even when the future is hidden, or are we being fallen humans, desiring to know as God knows, which really means we want to be God? Can we handle being just humans that cannot and should not see the whole picture, traveling by stages trusting and obeying the lead of God, or must be calculate and lead ourselves through life’s stages? Can we handle being a creature of God, or must we be our own God also?
Perhaps the only hope for us fearful and self-reliant creatures is the Word become Flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord. Not only is he God who leads and sustains, but because he is also human, and a perfect one at that, he also follows and trusts. Who better to help us follow the will of God as a human being, than the one who perfectly followed and discipled the Spirit of God? And if Christ lives in us, then we can at long last, through Christ, begin to disciple God by stages. And more importantly when we find ourselves in stage 1 of a new journey, and it seems like an absurd step 1 like an afternoon trip down the wilderness road, we can like Philip trust in the plan and sight of the Holy Spirit and obey accordingly.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, I have no doubt that we all in our discipleship travels, have received at the time some absurd orders, and before we will comply with them, we often want to know the end of the journey with all the corresponding consequences before we begin. But this is not faith. Faith is trusting the destination and the journey to the Spirit, even when steps 2 through 20 have been hidden from you and step 1 sounds and looks weird. Through Christ and with Christ, let us follow God’s lead with faith and trust. Amen.
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