What about us is the same?

29-30 The Spirit told Philip, “Climb into the chariot.” Running up alongside, Philip heard the eunuch reading Isaiah and asked, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”

31-33 He answered, “How can I without some help?” and invited Philip into the chariot with him.

Philips helps the eunuch. He helps a servant. He helps a man that society was willing to mutilate so that he might work more efficiently. This is how God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, his angels and his people think.

The passage he was reading was this:

As a sheep led to slaughter,

and quiet as a lamb being sheared,

He was silent, saying nothing.

He was mocked and put down, never got a fair trial.

But who now can count his kin

since he’s been taken from the earth?

34-35 The eunuch said, “Tell me, who is the prophet talking about: himself or some other?” Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him. Acts 8:29-35

We can only imagine how the Eunuch, himself a sheep who was slaughtered, with no voice to change his society, mocked by all, his opportunity to make and build a family of his own stolen from him for the sake of squeezing out a few more hours of productivity….related to the story.

And that’s just it, isn’t it? It is the capacity to say, “Me too.” I understand that these are politically charged words today but, regardless of that particular set of conflicts, they are also sacred words because they communicate empathy, a true spiritual virtue. Our particular perspective is always shaped by our own experiences, expectations, and beliefs about the worth of self and others. Our perspective is always richer when we recognize what we hold in common.

Set it all aside and hear this: Jesus cares about the broken-hearted, the disenfranchised, the people that others in society are able to bully. God is the running Father who creates space at the table for all people, without distinctions.

You are on the team and you have a part to play

In this next parable, we read about how an angel of the Lord gives a mere mortal instructions, strange instructions, and Philip, the mortal follows the angel’s lead.

26-28 Later God’s angel spoke to Philip: “At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza.” He got up and went. He met an Ethiopian eunuch coming down the road. The eunuch had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia, where he was minister in charge of all the finances of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was riding in a chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah. Acts 8:26-28 MSG

Back in the day, men were castrated under the misguided and brutal assumption that they would be more attentive servants. “Candice” was historically the traditional title of the queen mother, responsible for performing the secular duties of the reigning king - who was thought to be too sacred for such activities.

Please reread that last paragraph. Breathe. Think about what was just said there. If you have the stomach to proceed and you have stopped laughing or crying, depending upon your personality, at the utter ridiculousness of those two historical perspectives, I will continue.

My point is this: look at what effort God is making to reach out to the eunuch. A man of shame, a man who literally has had his manhood removed. Imagine all he has lost, and yet he is valued by God. Notice also that the angel goes to Philip and asks him to participate as an emissary in the “running of the father” toward the eunuch.

Many times we expect to receive a strange call like this from God via angels or texts, burning bushes or according to a new tv show - by God friending us on facebook. We fret over knowing and doing the will of the Father - as we should. But this kind of movement across the heavens to earth with an incredible specific request needs to be seen for what it is - unusual. Not everyone will be summoned in such a direct manner. Most of us will be expected to make obvious choices that sit right in front of us concerning God’s will. Like be kind to each other; pay our bills on time; try not to gossip; do our best not to judge self or others. Stuff like that which is neither grand nor sexy, but is as important as anything God asked Philip to do.

God has a team. We are part of his team. That’s quite lovely. Are you participating or sitting on the sidelines? Are you willing and able to take small next right steps? As obvious and simple as they may seem, sometimes those are quite difficult to accomplish.

God provides

In a couple days, I will post about yet another parable. But before we get to that, here is a bit of a refresher course on the role of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is talking...

4-7 “I didn’t tell you this earlier because I was with you every day. But now I am on my way to the One who sent me. Not one of you has asked, ‘Where are you going?’ Instead, the longer I’ve talked, the sadder you’ve become. So let me say it again, this truth: It’s better for you that I leave. If I don’t leave, the Friend won’t come. But if I go, I’ll send him to you.

8-11 “When he comes, he’ll expose the error of the godless world’s view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He’ll show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to trial and convicted.

12-15 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’ John 16:4-15 MSG

So here we have it. We have the eager running father, the knowing and loving and willing to travel to a hostile land Jesus, and now the Holy Spirit. “...the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is…”

Look at this! Jesus again reveals how much he KNOWS about his disciples; he provides for what they need. This is amazing. Why wouldn’t we assume he is also doing the same for us?

God. Jesus. The Holy Spirit. For us. What will be our response?

Having problems is not necessarily a problem

31 In the meantime, the disciples pressed him, “Rabbi, eat. Aren’t you going to eat?”

32 He told them, “I have food to eat you know nothing about.”

33 The disciples were puzzled. “Who could have brought him food?”

34-35 Jesus said, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time!

36-38 “The Harvester isn’t waiting. He’s taking his pay, gathering in this grain that’s ripe for eternal life. Now the Sower is arm in arm with the Harvester, triumphant. That’s the truth of the saying, ‘This one sows, that one harvests.’ I sent you to harvest a field you never worked. Without lifting a finger, you have walked in on a field worked long and hard by others.”

39-42 Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world!” John 4:31-42 MSG

We leave this parable and I invite you to allow these words to sink in and soak in the deepest regions of your heart. I challenge you to consider that the decisions you make are bigger than your personal preferences, your individual needs, your wounds or even your hurt feelings.

God is not waiting. He is a running father, aggressive in his seeing and loving. Jesus as the Son of God sees and knows us intimately. Tomorrow we will learn more about how God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit work for our good. But know this: God’s plan waits for no man. He is the Savior of the World and it seems we are all in desperate need of salvation as we continue to live with a competitive, fearful spirit. We continue to live in the us versus them mentality that has plagued insecure, freaked out humanity from the beginning of time (think Cain and Abel). What are we going to do about this?

Changes in seeing lead to changes in living

27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.

28-30 The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot. Back in the village she told the people, “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?” And they went out to see for themselves. John 4:27-30 MSG

A recent retreat was literally and spiritually mountain top experience for me and others. Coming home was a bit of a culture shock. It is easy to appreciate spiritual disciplines and a sense of community with God and others in an beautiful but artificial setting. Coming back into life on life’s terms can feel like a bumpy reentry.

But this is where we live and breathe. The key, I think, to understanding if our spiritual encounters with God have been absorbed by us is what happens AFTER the retreat. What changes for us?

In this story, the woman has just had this amazing and intimate encounter with Jesus and that is immediately disrupted by the typical and culturally expected responses of those darn disciples (we are all doing the best we can but sheesh!). In her confusion, which I imagine is a lot like coming out of the snow covered Colorado mountains and returning home to hot and humid Richmond (metaphorically speaking), she forgets her water pot (this is a big faux pax) AND she does something wild and crazy and radically different.

She speaks up. She shares what she knows. She invites others into her experience. She even asks them their opinion, allowing them to consider the situation and make their own decisions.

I have had a series of spiritual experiences that I can either hoard or share. But what I cannot do is coerce others to agree with me. What I will not do is stand silently by without at least inviting others to think about this amazing thing: Jesus sees us and knows us, even the least among us. He is showing up for us. Will we inquire about this mysterious, God-showing-up-for-us or will we just trudge along living life according to our past experiences, our prejudices, our comforting, self-soothing compulsions? Are we willing to CHANGE in the hopes of experiencing transformation? Jesus SEES and KNOWS and without blame, shame or condemnation, invites others to join him in this “gushing fountains of living life”. If this isn’t your life today, then maybe consider making some changes.