Acts 8:26-39 (NRSV)
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:
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.
- "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."
John 4:31-38 (NRSV)
The disciples were urging Jesus, "Rabbi, eat something." But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." So the disciples said to one another, "Surely no one has brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, `Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, `One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."
Blog Reflection
The Psalm for today's commemoration is Psalm 86 found on page 710 in The Book of Common Prayer. It begins with verse 11.
Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
knit my heart to you that I may fear your name.
When we ask God to teach us God's way, what exactly are we requesting? Are we asking that God show us the way in which we think is the way of God? Or, are we open to being shown a new what God's way might be?
As I read with interest the short biography of Bishop James Theodore Holly as I am also reflecting on what is going on around us with regards to racism, I think we would all do well to reflect on the question I have asked above. Particularly during Lent.
Over this past week, a grave injustice has taken place with the horrendous rhetoric spoken by certain mindless individuals, about the Late Professor Derrick Bell of Harvard University. Last night on the Ed Show, his wife Janet Dewart Bell was interviewed. She was courageous in her comments. She defended the legacy of her husband as an American who served his country in so many ways. She remarked that if Professor Derrick Bell were alive today, he would be standing with Sandra Fluke and women on the issue of contraception and their reproductive rights.
Bishop James Theodore Holly was an individual who faced the lions jaws of racism in the Church and society. He was the first African American Bishop to be ordained to the office in the Episcopal Church. He was the first Bishop of Haiti. He served as one, who in the face of prejudice and violence towards people of color, with the witness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by his courage and dedication as an Apostle to the people of Haiti. He had the privilege of participating in the Lambeth Conference as the first Black Bishop to do so. He also preached at Westminster Abbey in the year 1878. A difficult and dangerous time, but he accomplished these things as one open to the movement of God's grace in his heart and life.
Our reading from Acts today is a story about Philip's encounter with the eunuch in Ethiopia. Eunuch's were the gay men of the Biblical times. Notice here, that Philip made no attempt to convert him away from being gay. He just baptized him and made him part of God's holy people. The most important part of the relationship between Philip and the eunuch was how the Christian Faith came to live between these two individuals. Looking beyond time and culture, Philip led the eunuch as he was into the community of God's family.
Jesus invites and calls on all of us to be part of the work of laboring for the reign of God. He reminds us in today's Gospel that we often reap from what we ourselves did not sow. We benefit from what others have done before us. Those who took the step of Faith to challenge the status quo with regards to people's perceptions of people who were different from themselves, are those who today remind us that this is part of the Gospel call to discipleship and evangelization.
The Gospel moves our hearts and minds to love others as Christ loved us, and gave himself for us. We must be willing to extend our hands of friendship through hospitality and the ministry of reconciliation among those who are oppressed and violated from the stand point of who they are. Children of God, created in God's image and likeness with the hope of God's redemption through Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection. It is by our openness to the movement of the Holy Spirit who continues to "lead us into all truth" (John 16: 13), that we will receive that grace that guides us out of the darkness of our own prejudices, into the authentic light of holy and life-giving relationships with others.
Lent still has three weeks left as we journey towards Holy Week and Easter Day. In our prayers, fasting and acts of self-denial, we are seeking God's movement in our hearts and minds. With all the noise of the world around us, in politics, news, and the rush of day in and day out activities, we are asked to pause and reflect on God's will for our lives. How are we responding to God's gracious invitation to be open to the Holy Spirit's movement with in our souls? What are we willing to do, to show our gratitude to Almighty God as we journey towards the resurrection?
God is challenging us to do more than adjust our attitudes and thinking. The Holy Spirit of God is moving upon us to reach out beyond ourselves, beyond our fears and issues, to become instruments of God's healing and mercy in a world where violence and hate are all too much of a reality of life. We are being inspired to be the change that we so often pray for. By going to the Cross and dying to our selfishness and sinfulness, and rising anew on Easter Day as people who have not only read about the resurrection, but are actively living it's meaning in our every day lives.
Prayers
Most gracious God, by the calling of your servant James Theodore Holly you gave us our first bishop of African American heritage. In his quest for life and freedom, he led your people from bondage into a new land and established the Church in Haiti. Grant that, inspired by his testimony, we may overcome our prejudice and honor those whom you call from every family, language, people, and nation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for James Theodore Holly. Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, p. 271).
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have
made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and
make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily
lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission
and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen. (Collect for Ash Wednesday. Book of Common Prayer, p. 217)
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family. Book of Common Prayer, p. 815).
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