Look! Here is water!

Acts 8:26-40; John 15:1-8

We are not required to know a lot about vines to understand the Gospel image for Jesus. Some us try hard to get vine weeds out of our gardens, while others intentionally grow vines that bear fruit. Of course, Jesus was talking about wines that bear grapes, that are pressed and fermented into wine.

Carefully pruned each year, and tended during the growing season, grape vines grow fine fruit. When vines are allowed to grow beyond the vineyard fence, they expand exponentially. Jesus wants us to be careful to stay connected to his vine, instead of any other vines. It’s through his vine that we receive the blessing of his presence abiding within and among us. Jesus doesn’t mention it here, but it will be the expansion of his vine that will grow the small family of disciples and followers into a world-wide community of believers.

… It’s because the earliest believers spread out around the Mediterranean Sea and East into India that such growth was possible. The Acts of the Apostles gives us some of the stories, such as the one we read today. This story of Philip and the Ethiopian has always fascinated me.

Philip is not the Apostle Philip who has been with Jesus since the beginning, but another guy. He was one of the seven men appointed, anointed, as deacons to help with the food distribution to hungry widows. Early on, he gained the reputation as a preacher.

He spent some time preaching and bringing Samaritans into the Christian fold. Samaritans were originally Jews living in the Northern Kingdom, but scattered after they were conquered by Assyria. As a result, they practiced a mixture of Jewish and Gentile beliefs. The Jews of Jesus’ time did not consider the Samaritans to be Jewish enough, and tended to avoid having anything to do with them. Jesus, however, intentionally included them, and Philip had great success evangelizing among them.

Philip was traveling in Gaza – that same strip of land that is suffering today – when he was told by the Holy Spirit to talk to the man in the luxurious chariot. The man was the Secretary of the Treasury for the Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia. As a man who works closely with the Queen, his body has been altered; he is a eunuch. He is not named, but let’s call him “Gamal.”

He had traveled to Jerusalem to worship, and was on his way home and reading aloud from the Isaiah scroll, Chapter 53. Philip and Gamal have a bit of conversation, and soon they are riding along as Philip explains how the passage describes Jesus, who has been raised from the dead.

As it happens, there is a body of water nearby – a small lake or river perhaps – and Gamal says, “Look, here is water. I’d like to be baptized right now!”  Philip doesn’t quiz him on the Catechism, he doesn’t question his sexuality, he just agrees to baptize him. Then Gamal continues home, spreading the good news to the people of Ethiopia. Perhaps they are the ancestors of the folks we now know as the Coptic Christians.  

Because of Philip’s evangelism, branches of Jesus’ vine went to Samaria, and to Gaza, and to Ethiopia. And a strong branch is established in Caesarea, where Philip and his wife raised four daughters, all of whom were also preachers, according to legend.

… The Book of Acts tells the story of how the disciples and early believers interpreted what Jesus’ resurrection meant for them. Fairly quickly, and sometimes painfully, the community of believers grew to include people beyond the Jewish sect.

·       This story of the inclusion of a eunuch is important in several ways. First, his altered sexuality barred him from full participation in Jewish rituals, including entry to the temple. … Second, he is a Gentile – not just Samaritan, but fully other than Jewish. Gamal is probably a follower of a blend of Greek and Egyptian deities. In a world of many gods, it’s possible that Gamal also worshiped the Jewish God. … Third, he doesn’t stay in Israel/Judah – he goes home to Ethiopia where he tells the story of Jesus to others.

·      Several stories in Acts detail the struggle to include Gentile men without forcing them to be circumcised. Peter waffles on it, while Paul – the Pharisee-trained- know-it-all – says it’s essential for the spread of the Jesus vine into non-Jewish territory. I suspect that for many men, this would be a deal-breaker for becoming an active believer. 

·       There are many stories in Acts about multitudes being baptized in one day. They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and that was enough for the disciples. So, the new believers heard the story, wanted to be part of it, were baptized, and received training afterwards as churches were established and letters written.

… The book of Acts is full of the faith stories of Peter and Paul and many others. Decades ago, I was part of a program called Word and Witness. We studied the Bible and learned that we each have faith stories. Then we practiced telling our faith stories to others, and hearing their own faith stories. We used a Venn diagram – my story, your story, and God’s story – to describe the process. In the middle, between us, was holy ground.

The telling of stories is an essential Christian practice. That’s why I tell my own stories, and why I encourage you to discover and know your own stories. It’s why after-church gatherings are so important, because it’s a safe place to share how God has been with us in our daily lives. After-church snack time in the Kaiser Center is holy ground.  

But, we can’t just keep these stories between us. We are called and sent as children of God to tell our faith stories to those we meet elsewhere. In the grocery store parking lot, as we help someone load her sacks into the trunk. In line at Lowes, as we share projects at church with the person ahead of us working on their home. In the doctor’s waiting room, where we have an opportunity to offer to pray for someone else. At the street corner, or in our garden, we give with love when we hand a blessing bag to a poor person.

When we share our stories, we extend the Jesus vine a bit, even as we learn to trust that God will provide the courage and the words we need in the encounter.

Since Easter, using the Thanksgiving for Baptism at the beginning of worship, I have been struck each time I say the words, “Look, here is water!” Gamal took the initiative and asked to be baptized, and then Philip talked to the disciples about the opportunity he had to tell Gamal about Jesus.

Let’s not let opportunities to tell stories pass us by.