Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B
May 14, 2006
Christ Church, Covington
“When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip
away” (Acts 8:39).
There’s a breathless quality to our first reading today, a frenetic pace that
carries us from place to place in rapid succession. An angel of the Lord tells
Philip the Deacon to get up and go; the Spirit then sends him running in close
pursuit of his goal; and with Philip’s work completed, the same Spirit snatches
him up and deposits him some distance away with a new mission. Like I said, it’s
hard for these folks to catch their breath and figure out exactly where they
are. Each event follows quickly upon the next. If I didn’t know better, I’d
mistake this for a description of Christ Church, Covington, where the pastoral
rhythm keeps to a like rapidity of succession, and where God’s People have to
orient themselves anew all the time! “Where are we?”, “What’s happening?”,
“Which way’s up?”. In this world, there is movement and change, and the
ever-present activity of God.
Though it may resemble our world, our reading details the world of the Early
Church, the early days of the Christian mission, a story told in the Acts of the
Apostles. In the stories of the early apostles and evangelists, people are
constantly moving from place to place, engaged in the mission of the Church.
These leaders of the Church are moving ahead, taking stock, figuring out where
they have landed and quickly orienting themselves to the task at hand. These
leaders are guided by the Holy Spirit, who snatches up people like Philip and
sends them running. When you are trying to keep up with the Holy Spirit, you
need to be able to sprint.
Notice what Philip’s up to in our reading. He is proclaiming the good news of
Jesus’ death and resurrection, and forming the Ethiopian eunuch in the Christian
faith. The words from the prophet Isaiah have become the template for a new
life. The mission of the Church is to share this new life, and Philip is showing
the way. The eunuch himself is moving from an old way of life to a new one,
right before our eyes, following the Messiah who dies so that new life can come.
When God moves, you have to be ready to move with him.
Now our call may not involve movement of the same sort as Philip’s, the
annihilation and collapsing of distance by the Spirit that moves you physically
from one place to another. But our call will certainly involve movement of
another sort: from where we are to where we need to be. We know the place we
occupy now, but there is also the place that God is calling us to. There will be
a distance we will have to travel to get from one to the other, and the journey
may take awhile. We’re going to need every ounce of faith and courage we have to
follow this road of responding to God. We have to die to the old life so that
the new life can come. Along the way we may find ourselves asking, “Where are
we?”, “What’s happening?”, “Which way’s up?”. But God will move us along from
where we were until we arrive at the point where we are supposed to be.
The takeaway for us is that wherever we are in this process, inhabiting whatever
way station between those points of where we are and where we need to be, God is
with us. We’re not alone. We’re moving from the old life to the new life, and
Jesus Christ is himself the way (the road we travel), the truth, and the life.
It is the Holy Spirit who inspires us and sets the itinerary. There are others
who are journeying as well. Our “Journey to Adulthood” folks are helping to
remind us of something that is true for all of us. What is the distance you must
travel? What is the task before you? The key questions on the journey are,
“Where are we?”, “What’s happening?”, “Which way’s up?” The journey will demand
our courage and our faith, but God will give the grace. We’re headed to where we
need to be.
John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington.
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