Chetwynd Shared Ministry
April 29, 2018
Scripture: Acts 8:26-40
I’ve spent some time
thinking back this week, on my first Sunday here at Chetwynd Shared Ministry 8
months ago. I remember standing right
here on the first Sunday in September, only knowing a handful of your names, and
only knowing a few bits and pieces of the story of Chetwynd Shared
Ministry. I think that I confessed to
you how nervous I was – nervous that you might not like my style of preaching;
nervous about whether the Holy Spirit would give me words to preach week after
week; nervous because what an awesome responsibility it to preach the good news
of Jesus Christ.
And here we are, 8
months later. Fortunately the Holy
Spirit showed up most weeks to give me the words to string together into a
sermon. We have shared countless cups
and pots of tea and coffee in the hall here at the church, in your homes, and
in various restaurants around town. I
have felt honoured to be invited into your lives for this short period of time;
and it has been a privilege to be entrusted with your stories. We have laughed together, cried together,
encouraged one another, learned from each other, and helped one another
out. We have broken bread together as
companions on this journey; and now we have come to the end of this stage of
the journey.
I was glad when I saw
the reading from the Acts of the Apostles that is assigned to this Sunday – the
story of Philip and the nameless Ethiopian eunuch. This is the story about two people who are
brought together for a specific purpose, for a specific period of time. Both of them were changed by the encounter;
and after journeying together for a certain period, they parted ways, each to
continue in their assigned ministry in their own location.
Now Philip is an
interesting character. His primary
calling was as a Deacon – a ministry of service – of feeding the poor and
serving the community of disciples. But
God knew that he was the one who was needed to preach to the Ethiopian
eunuch. And so God sent a messenger, an
angel, to Philip, telling him where to go.
Now fortunately Philip listened to the message he was given, and he
headed south from Jerusalem. He got up
and went, as the reading tells us.
Now when Philip
arrived at the appointed place, there was a carriage traveling along – a
carriage from the Ethiopian court, carrying the official who was in charge of
the entire Ethiopian treasury. In modern
terms, here is one of the top cabinet ministers in the Ethiopian
government. And what does Philip
do? He runs up along side the carriage,
and starts up a conversation.
When I try to imagine
the scene, I usually end up somewhere close to laughter. Here is the fancy carriage, with the high-up
official; and alongside it, Philip is running – the street preacher from the
back country.
And yet, despite the
obvious difference in status, the Ethiopian court official invites Philip to
join him in the carriage. Then as they
travel along, Philip tells the Ethiopian about the good news of Jesus Christ,
who was crucified and then rose from the dead.
The Ethiopian comes to believe in, to put his trust in Jesus Christ; and
he asks to be baptized. And there, in a
small pool of water in the middle of the desert wilderness, Philip baptizes the
Ethiopian, and he is reborn in Jesus Christ.
And if you were to
look closely, you would see that both of them were changed by the
encounter. The Ethiopian’s conversion
experience is maybe more obvious. He
comes to find new life in Jesus Christ through his baptism. But you might need to look deeper to see how
Philip is changed. In the world in which
Philip lived, a eunuch was someone who would normally be excluded from
worshipping God. Because of the genital
mutilation, a eunuch couldn’t be a part of the covenant that was marked by
circumcision; and a eunuch was not allowed to worship with the others.
And yet Philip was
able to see this man’s faith. Philip was
able to see how this man, who, in Philip’s world view should have been excluded
from faith, was actually in possession of a very deep faith. And so when the eunuch asked Philip to
baptize him, they both went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. Philip’s understanding of God’s love, and who
was included in God’s love was expanded that day there in the wilderness.
Now I see a very
strong connection between this story, and our time journeying together here at
Chetwynd Shared Ministry. I do believe
that the Holy Spirit acts through our denominations and meetings and
committees; and so I believe that the Holy Spirit was acting at the meeting
last June when I was matched up with Chetwynd Shared Ministry for this 8-month
internship. God knew that we needed to
be brought together for this specific period of time, and for a specific
purpose – namely for me to learn about how to be a Minister, and to provide
leadership for the ministry of Chetwynd Shared Ministry.
Now I can’t speak for
all of you, but I know that I have been changed by this encounter. I have learned what it means for a church to
really BE the church – holding each other up, and making Christ present here in
Chetwynd. I have learned what it is, not
just to do ministry but to BE a Minister.
I have been changed and transformed by all of the worship services,
celebrations, and study sessions that we have shared together; and I have been
changed by conversations with the Lay Supervision Team, and with Marilyn, my supervisor. And I hope and I
pray that some of you might have experienced some sort of transformation too,
in our time together.
But then we come to
the end of the story from Acts that we read this morning. We read that “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 trough the region, he
proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.”
Even though it had
been a very powerful and transformative interaction, these two didn’t stay
together. They each went their own way,
and continued their ministry where they found themselves.
Now I don’t think that
the Spirit of the Lord is going to snatch me away on Tuesday, the day after my
internship here is over. I fully expect
to have to drive all the way across Canada again, over many days. But our time together here has come to an
end. I am going to be leaving, and I
will be continuing my ministry with the people of Two Rivers Pastoral Charge in
New Brunswick; but I will take comfort in knowing that you all will be
continuing your ministry as Chetwynd Shared Ministry. You will continue to be a part of the Body of
Christ, continuing with God’s mission right here.
And we can all take
comfort in knowing that wherever we are, and whatever our ministry looks like,
God is with us. God is always guiding
us, and always transforming us, through the Holy Spirit, into the image and
likeness of Christ. And so let us, like
the Ethiopian Eunuch, go on our way rejoicing!
“God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.”[1]
Let us pray:
God of all times and
all places,
and of this time and this place;
We know that you are
present in our beginnings,
and in our endings,
and in our new beginnings.
Help us to celebrate
this period of time that we have shared
as we have journeyed together;
and comfort us by
knowing that you are present,
and that we can continue to be your
people
in this moment of new
beginnings.
We pray this in the
name of Jesus Christ,
in whose resurrection we find our
hope
for all new beginnings.
Amen.
[1] “A New Creed,” The United Church of
Canada, http://www.united-church.ca/community-faith/welcome-united-church-canada/new-creed.
(The Stained Glass door in the church building - a witness to the
mission of Chetwynd Shared Ministry in this community.)
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