A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year B)
May 2, 2021
Text: Acts 8:26-40
I speak to you in the name of our loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
From the Acts of the Apostles: “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.”
The story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch is one of my favorite stories from the Book of Acts. Every time I come across it, I’m inspired by Philip’s faithfulness in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus to a complete stranger, someone who had never heard the Gospel. It’s important to point out that the eunuch was on his way home from Jerusalem and reading from the prophet Isaiah, which means that he was probably a convert to the Jewish faith. Upon joining the man on his journey home, Philip took the time to help open up the Scriptures for him. I’m also inspired by Philip’s sense of urgency in the story. When this unnamed stranger from another land asks Philip, “What is to prevent me from being baptized,” Philip doesn’t hesitate. Upon seeing a body of water, the eunuch orders the chariot to stop, and Philip baptizes the man, right there on the spot.
I’ve read this story countless times, but as I was reading it this past week, I noticed a detail that I had never noticed before. The author of Acts makes it very clear that both of these men—Philip and the eunuch—go down in the water together. The author could’ve easily omitted this detail and simply wrote, “Philip got out of the chariot and baptized him.” But, no. This detail is too important to leave out. The author wants us to know that Philip didn’t just baptize the man. He went with him. He accompanied him, side by side, down into the water. Philip became a companion to someone who was brand new to the Christian faith, someone who needed guidance and compassion as he began his walk with Jesus. I imagine Philip taking the man’s hand in his own or wrapping his arm around the man’s shoulder as they both waded in the water until about waist-deep. I imagine Philip scooping up water with both hands and pouring it over the man’s head, saying the same words that so many of us have heard countless times: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
This story from Acts reminds me so much of my own experience of baptism, which I’m fortunate enough to remember since it happened when I was a student in college. It was the beginning of my senior year at Auburn. Chelsea and I had been attending St. Dunstan’s—the Episcopal campus ministry at Auburn—for about a year, where I served as a member of the student choir. About a week before the annual, Labor Day beach retreat to Fort Morgan, AL, Father Wells, the priest at St. Dunstan’s, discovered that I had never been baptized. So, he approached me one evening after worship and asked, “Would you like to be baptized at the beach retreat?” Without even thinking about it first, I said, “Yes. Yes, I would love to be baptized.”
As time approached for the beach retreat, I grew more and more excited. Not to sound overly dramatic, but it was almost as if something was awakening inside of me that I had never experienced before, as if I was coming alive for the first time in my life and discovering who I was truly created to be. If you’ve ever had an experience like this in your life, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about.
The day of my baptism finally arrived, and all I could feel was an overwhelming sense of anticipation and joy as I was surrounded by my new church family. It was a bright, sunny morning at the beach, not a cloud in sight. The sun reflected off the emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico. We began the service on the beach with only a small table for the bread and wine of Communion set up near the water. We sang songs. We listened to the Scriptures being read. And, when it came time for the Baptism, all of us waded out into the water together, carrying tattered, old copies of the Prayer Book. I was surrounded by love on every side with fellow church members forming a circle around me and Father Wells.
On that day, I was received into the Body of Christ and marked as Christ’s own forever, setting me on a path that I never could’ve imagined for myself. It’s been sixteen years since I received the sacrament of Baptism, and now I’m serving as a priest in the Episcopal Church. A lot of people have been with me and supported me in my journey with Christ up to this point, but I don’t think I would be standing here preaching to you today if it weren’t for Father Wells and the community at St. Dunstan’s. They’re the ones who first welcomed me into the Church, who spread their arms wide and embraced me and said, “You belong here.” They’re the ones who walked with me, side by side, down into the water all those years ago, and I’ll hold onto that sacred memory for as long as I live.
There are people in our lives we can point to who have served as spiritual companions in our journey with Christ, people who not only invited us in and welcomed us as one of their own, but people who also took the time to walk the journey with us, at least part of the way. We can look back in our lives and identify these people because they’re the ones who gave up their time to be with us and show us the path we’re being called to follow, the ones who listened when we needed someone to talk to, the ones who offered us a shoulder to cry on when we felt lost or afraid. They’re the people who didn’t leave us to figure things out on our own, the ones who took us by the hand and wrapped their arms around our shoulders and joined us in our walk with Jesus. These are the people who showed us what it truly means to live in community with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Can you point to people like that in your life? If you can, be thankful. Be thankful for those people who’ve crossed your path and shown you what the love of God looks like.
And, I want you to know, dear friends, that if you’re new or visiting our parish for the first time, you can find companionship here. Holy Spirit is a place where you can belong, a place where you’ll be loved and accepted for exactly who God created you to be.
As Christians, one of the greatest gifts we can give to another person is the gift of spiritual companionship—of not only telling them they’re loved by God and accepted for who they are but also taking the time to walk side by side with them and letting them know they’re not alone in their walk with Jesus. Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that this kind of love—the radical love and welcome of Jesus—is life-changing. Like Philip, in our lesson today from Acts, part of our call, as followers of Jesus, is to be ready for wherever the Spirit may lead us. We never know who will cross our path or for how long, but we can be assured that the Spirit is leading us somewhere—often to places and people we least expect. May we be ready and willing to listen for where the Spirit is leading us, and may we have the strength and courage to respond faithfully. Amen.
A video of this sermon is available below, beginning at the 16:56 mark.
The Rev. Eric Mancil 