Fifth Sunday of Easter Sermon
Sermon
Location Faith Lutheran – Date 5/10/2009
Fifth Sunday after Easter – Year B
Primary Text: Acts 8:26-40
In one story arc of Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin is at school during recess. It is the beginning of spring and the boys of the class are all playing baseball. Calvin does not want to play though. Finally after being teased and taunted, he eventually signs up. Once he starts playing it becomes clear to the other kids that Calvin is, well, really bad at baseball. And so he is yelled at whenever he makes a mistake. Eventually he is banished to the deep, deep outfield, where he does not see that the teams have traded sides. Finally, he makes his big play, he catches a high fly ball to the outfield, only to discover that he caught a hit from his own team. Embarrassed by this Calvin quits, and as he leaves his teacher calls him a quitter. Calvin returns home saddened and feeling unwelcome. He asks Hobbes his Tiger that evening.
“I don't understand it, Hobbes. The kids teased me when I wouldn't play baseball. Then they yelled at me when I did play. Then the teacher called me a "quitter" when I stopped playing. Unless you're a star you can't please anyone.
Hobbes: In that case, why not just please yourself?
Calvin: Because Mom won't let me move to Madagascar.
Calvin feels as if he is being pushed to the edges. Our text from Acts is the same. One of the first questions that I asked the first time I ever heard this text was what is a eunuch? Eunuchs are men who have had certain parts removed, rendering them unable to have children. Eunuchs were often in charge of court proceedings, because it is thought that with no ability to create children, they would be less likely to be deceitful and try to steal money from the treasury. They would also be unable to interfere with the royal concubines.
In Jewish law however, there are more penalties than the obvious. No matter how you became a eunuch, on purpose or accident, you were unable to enter the temple area to worship as you were not considered whole, and therefore not clean.
The eunuch in our text has even more going against him. He is from Ethiopia, a country that still exists to this day in Africa. As such he is definitely not of Jewish ancestry. As a Gentile, one who is not Jewish, he would not be allowed to enter the temple to worship.
And so we find ourselves with an outcast, non-complete, gentile eunuch, who while excluded from worshiping in the Temple is yet returning from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship. How he worshiped we do not know, but it most likely in a secluded private manner. He would not have been welcomed into the temple with open arms.
And yet, it to exactly to this one that the first witness and missionary work comes. And it is not a simple coincidence of both walking along the same road at the same time. Phillip is no where near here. In fact, the Eunuch is most likely the only one on this road. We see that this is a wilderness road, this road may be only traveled a couple times all year, definitely not a major causeway. And yet, Phillip is sent by the angel of the Lord to this remote spot.
Phillip finds himself alone on this road and sees this chariot, and then he is again sent, this time by the spirit, to join this chariot. And in the chariot he finds this outcast, this outsider, this unwelcome one.
How many outcast, outsiders, and unwelcome ones are there in this world. We have so many groupings that it may be impossible to count. Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Homosexuals, the mentally challenged, the handicapped, convicts, drug users, single mothers, the poor, the uninsured, and any number of others.
Not matter how we personally treat and react to these groups, they have been and most likely will still be the outcast, the outsiders, and the unwelcome ones.
And it is to one of these that God sends Phillip. This eunuch in fact would fill any number of categories, all excluding and denying him, yet God reaches to him. The one unworthy of the temple is one of the first baptized.
Who is worthy to belong? That is the question that the text asks. There have been times where every one of those I listed above have been seen as unworthy by various groups throughout the world. They have been unworthy of even simple acceptance. It seems like every year we have to add to the number of hate crime laws in this country.
But this text goes even beyond that. It is not simply about reaching to those who are marginalized in our world, but the fact that if God reaches out to this one who is so very far removed, God most certainly reaches out to us.
Even if we may not be one of those excluded and unwanted in this world, we will have times where we may feel like we do belong to those groups that do not belong. We may have lost our job, we may have become sick, we may be grieve the loss of a loved one, we may feel alone and tired. It is then that God reaches to us most urgently. It is then that God reminds us that in our baptisms we have been united with Christ, and nothing we do can destroy that.
In Baptism we are joined to the saving power of Christ’s death and resurrection, it is in that baptism that we are joined to Christ. There is no one unworthy of becoming a part of Christ’s body. And as such there should be no one unworthy of being a part of this world. No matter who you are, you are worthy of being baptized, you are worthy of the love of God, you are worthy of the unconditional grace of God.
The eunuch even asks the question. What is to prevent me from being baptized?
Nothing!
This outcast, this outsider, this unwelcome one, is baptized.
Baptism is not some exclusive club where you have to meet certain requirements to join. All are Welcome to baptism. Marty Haugen, the hymn writer, wrote a hymn entitled All are Welcome, the second verse goes:
Let us build a house where hands will reach
Beyond the wood and stone
To heal and strengthen, serve and teach,
And live the word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger
Bear the image of love’s face;
Let us bring an end to fear and danger:
All are welcome, all are welcome,
All are welcome in this place.
In our baptism we die and are raised with Christ to new life. As the words of our next Hymn say, By your grace, our lives we offer, Recreate us, God, transform.
In our baptism we are transformed from outcast, outsider, unwelcome, to a Child of God, we are recreated, renewed, restored by the grace filled love of God. There is no reason that any should be excluded.
The story arc of Calvin’s baseball misadventures do not end with Calvin walking away feeling unwelcome. That weekend Calvin and Hobbes are wondering what to do, Calvin states anything but an organized sport, Hobbes suggests Want to play Calvin ball? This results in a large yeah from Calvin, and off they go happy as can be.
If you don’t know it CalvinBall is a made up game, you make the rules up as you go. If you don’t want to play baseball, you don’t have to, you can play badminton, soccer, or just run around screaming for an hour. Any way that you want to play is acceptable. No matter who you are you will be accepted playing CalvinBall. Even Calvin’s dread enemy his babysitter, Roselyn, gets to play CalvinBall.
God works much the same way, you do not have to fit into a specific slot to be accepted. If you are a baseball player you are welcome, or if you are a tennis player you are welcome, or even if you are simply a CalvinBall player you are welcome. God welcomes and takes in all, from the outcast Eunuch to the unwelcome little boy.
Let us pray,
God of Mercy, Peace, Joy and Grace,
We thank you for your witness in Phillip, bring to us the same understanding that you gave to the Eunuch on the road. Hold us and remind us that we are welcome, in our Baptism we are transformed from outcast to Child of God. We are given healing and strength through your tender care. Continue to abide in us, and fill us with your love.
Location Faith Lutheran – Date 5/10/2009
Fifth Sunday after Easter – Year B
Primary Text: Acts 8:26-40
In one story arc of Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin is at school during recess. It is the beginning of spring and the boys of the class are all playing baseball. Calvin does not want to play though. Finally after being teased and taunted, he eventually signs up. Once he starts playing it becomes clear to the other kids that Calvin is, well, really bad at baseball. And so he is yelled at whenever he makes a mistake. Eventually he is banished to the deep, deep outfield, where he does not see that the teams have traded sides. Finally, he makes his big play, he catches a high fly ball to the outfield, only to discover that he caught a hit from his own team. Embarrassed by this Calvin quits, and as he leaves his teacher calls him a quitter. Calvin returns home saddened and feeling unwelcome. He asks Hobbes his Tiger that evening.
“I don't understand it, Hobbes. The kids teased me when I wouldn't play baseball. Then they yelled at me when I did play. Then the teacher called me a "quitter" when I stopped playing. Unless you're a star you can't please anyone.
Hobbes: In that case, why not just please yourself?
Calvin: Because Mom won't let me move to Madagascar.
Calvin feels as if he is being pushed to the edges. Our text from Acts is the same. One of the first questions that I asked the first time I ever heard this text was what is a eunuch? Eunuchs are men who have had certain parts removed, rendering them unable to have children. Eunuchs were often in charge of court proceedings, because it is thought that with no ability to create children, they would be less likely to be deceitful and try to steal money from the treasury. They would also be unable to interfere with the royal concubines.
In Jewish law however, there are more penalties than the obvious. No matter how you became a eunuch, on purpose or accident, you were unable to enter the temple area to worship as you were not considered whole, and therefore not clean.
The eunuch in our text has even more going against him. He is from Ethiopia, a country that still exists to this day in Africa. As such he is definitely not of Jewish ancestry. As a Gentile, one who is not Jewish, he would not be allowed to enter the temple to worship.
And so we find ourselves with an outcast, non-complete, gentile eunuch, who while excluded from worshiping in the Temple is yet returning from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship. How he worshiped we do not know, but it most likely in a secluded private manner. He would not have been welcomed into the temple with open arms.
And yet, it to exactly to this one that the first witness and missionary work comes. And it is not a simple coincidence of both walking along the same road at the same time. Phillip is no where near here. In fact, the Eunuch is most likely the only one on this road. We see that this is a wilderness road, this road may be only traveled a couple times all year, definitely not a major causeway. And yet, Phillip is sent by the angel of the Lord to this remote spot.
Phillip finds himself alone on this road and sees this chariot, and then he is again sent, this time by the spirit, to join this chariot. And in the chariot he finds this outcast, this outsider, this unwelcome one.
How many outcast, outsiders, and unwelcome ones are there in this world. We have so many groupings that it may be impossible to count. Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Homosexuals, the mentally challenged, the handicapped, convicts, drug users, single mothers, the poor, the uninsured, and any number of others.
Not matter how we personally treat and react to these groups, they have been and most likely will still be the outcast, the outsiders, and the unwelcome ones.
And it is to one of these that God sends Phillip. This eunuch in fact would fill any number of categories, all excluding and denying him, yet God reaches to him. The one unworthy of the temple is one of the first baptized.
Who is worthy to belong? That is the question that the text asks. There have been times where every one of those I listed above have been seen as unworthy by various groups throughout the world. They have been unworthy of even simple acceptance. It seems like every year we have to add to the number of hate crime laws in this country.
But this text goes even beyond that. It is not simply about reaching to those who are marginalized in our world, but the fact that if God reaches out to this one who is so very far removed, God most certainly reaches out to us.
Even if we may not be one of those excluded and unwanted in this world, we will have times where we may feel like we do belong to those groups that do not belong. We may have lost our job, we may have become sick, we may be grieve the loss of a loved one, we may feel alone and tired. It is then that God reaches to us most urgently. It is then that God reminds us that in our baptisms we have been united with Christ, and nothing we do can destroy that.
In Baptism we are joined to the saving power of Christ’s death and resurrection, it is in that baptism that we are joined to Christ. There is no one unworthy of becoming a part of Christ’s body. And as such there should be no one unworthy of being a part of this world. No matter who you are, you are worthy of being baptized, you are worthy of the love of God, you are worthy of the unconditional grace of God.
The eunuch even asks the question. What is to prevent me from being baptized?
Nothing!
This outcast, this outsider, this unwelcome one, is baptized.
Baptism is not some exclusive club where you have to meet certain requirements to join. All are Welcome to baptism. Marty Haugen, the hymn writer, wrote a hymn entitled All are Welcome, the second verse goes:
Let us build a house where hands will reach
Beyond the wood and stone
To heal and strengthen, serve and teach,
And live the word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger
Bear the image of love’s face;
Let us bring an end to fear and danger:
All are welcome, all are welcome,
All are welcome in this place.
In our baptism we die and are raised with Christ to new life. As the words of our next Hymn say, By your grace, our lives we offer, Recreate us, God, transform.
In our baptism we are transformed from outcast, outsider, unwelcome, to a Child of God, we are recreated, renewed, restored by the grace filled love of God. There is no reason that any should be excluded.
The story arc of Calvin’s baseball misadventures do not end with Calvin walking away feeling unwelcome. That weekend Calvin and Hobbes are wondering what to do, Calvin states anything but an organized sport, Hobbes suggests Want to play Calvin ball? This results in a large yeah from Calvin, and off they go happy as can be.
If you don’t know it CalvinBall is a made up game, you make the rules up as you go. If you don’t want to play baseball, you don’t have to, you can play badminton, soccer, or just run around screaming for an hour. Any way that you want to play is acceptable. No matter who you are you will be accepted playing CalvinBall. Even Calvin’s dread enemy his babysitter, Roselyn, gets to play CalvinBall.
God works much the same way, you do not have to fit into a specific slot to be accepted. If you are a baseball player you are welcome, or if you are a tennis player you are welcome, or even if you are simply a CalvinBall player you are welcome. God welcomes and takes in all, from the outcast Eunuch to the unwelcome little boy.
Let us pray,
God of Mercy, Peace, Joy and Grace,
We thank you for your witness in Phillip, bring to us the same understanding that you gave to the Eunuch on the road. Hold us and remind us that we are welcome, in our Baptism we are transformed from outcast to Child of God. We are given healing and strength through your tender care. Continue to abide in us, and fill us with your love.
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