Reflection -- “ What is to prevent me from being baptized?"

In this strange story God acted through a series of highly unusual events.  Philip, one of the earliest evangelists, received divine instructions to travel along a wilderness road.  There he encountered an Ethiopian court official of “the Candace” (a title, meaning the queen or queen mother).  This man from northern Africa had apparently been converted to Judaism at some time in his life, for he had made the very long journey from his home to Jerusalem to worship.  We can only wonder how that initial conversion may have happened.

The Holy Spirit ordered Philip to go up to the eunuch, who “just happened” to be reading one of the “suffering servant songs” from the book of Isaiah, passages Christians had come to understand as being prophecies foretelling the life and ministry of Jesus.  The eunuch asked about the passage and Philip proceeded to take advantage of this tailor-made opportunity to tell him about Jesus.  The eunuch responded with a request to be baptized.  Philip granted the request and was then whisked away by the Spirit.  The eunuch, one of the earliest Gentile converts, went on his way rejoicing!

The Holy Spirit went to a great deal of trouble to arrange this meeting.  How many strange and unlikely coincidences had to come together to make it happen!  We can only imagine what impact this encounter on the wilderness road may have had in spreading the gospel to Northern Africa through this powerful official of ancient Ethiopia.  But then again, how may times is “coincidence” just another name for the Holy Spirit?

There is something else going on in this story that was radical at the time and should not be missed.  This passage fairly shouts the inclusiveness of God's reign!  These events occurred at a place and time when the dominant faith viewed foreigners, let alone a person of color, with suspicion.  Gentiles were afforded lesser rights than Jews when they visited the temple. Not only that, eunuchs (castrated males) were specifically excluded from the religious assembly of the people in ancient Judaism.  (See Deuteronomy 23:1.)  Humans, in their weakness and ignorance, may attempt to build up walls to keep others out, but God tears them down!

It would be nice if we could say that religious establishment discrimination against sexual minorities and people of other races and cultures is a thing of the ancient past, but we know all too well that is not the case.  The Christian church of the twenty-first century still must be continually pushed and prodded by the Holy Spirit to tear down her exclusionary walls and genuinely welcome in all of God’s children.

Fortunately, for every door that human ignorance closes, God opens others for God’s neglected people who still ask “What is to prevent me from being baptized?”  The real answer is still the one shown by Philip’s action in baptizing the eunuch, “nothing.”  The result of this realization is still the same too, rejoicing at the good news of God’s love for all revealed in the story of Jesus. 

Countless millions still need to know the real answer to the ancient question “What is to prevent me from being baptized?”  Few of us are called to be large-scale evangelists, but we can all tell our own stories of God's inclusive love one-on-one to those we encounter as we travel the wilderness road of daily modern life. 

revclay

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Acts 8:26-40

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.)  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 and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 

Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." 

So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah.  He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 

He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?"  And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 

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.  In his humiliation justice was denied him.  Who can describe his generation?  For his life is taken away from the earth." 

The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" 

Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 

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?" 

He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 

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.  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.

 [NRSV]