For our honeymoon (ten years ago next month!), Daniel and I went on a Caribbean cruise. We departed from Ft. Lauderdale on a Saturday, with an itinerary that included Key West, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. On Sunday morning, we were woken up by an announcement from the captain: “If you’ve looked out the window, you’ve seen that we are not, in fact, in Key West.” We opened the curtains in our stateroom and, sure enough, there was just the ocean, for miles and miles.
Apparently there had been a storm around Key West, making it unsafe for us to try to dock there. So, the captain called an audible, and switched the itinerary. We’d unfortunately be skipping Key West, which was disappointing, but instead we were headed to Cozumel, Mexico. It was not what we’d planned for, but the drizzly hike through Mayan ruins and our lunch in a beachside restaurant complete with mariachi band were certainly memorable.
I imagine that we have all experienced detours, canceled flights, and surprises while traveling. Sometimes, we have the flexibility to quickly pivot and change plans, and at other times we’re just stuck, at the mercy of the weather or the traffic or the airline schedule. And while these experiences are often very stressful, there can be moments where the disruption ends up being a blessing.
In today’s first reading from the books of Acts, we drop in on an episode of Paul’s missionary journeys. Earlier in chapter 16, Paul chose a young disciple named Timothy to join him and Silas in ministry. Together they traveled through Asia and around the Aegean Sea, visiting churches to encourage the faithful and to provide updates from the church in Jerusalem.
 |
| A map of Paul's missionary journeys, from the Lutheran Study Bible - today's readings follow the green line |
As we pick up the story this morning, Paul and the others find themselves in a place of uncertainty. At each place they try to stop, the group is instead nudged forward, having been “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.” At first, they have no clear instructions of where they are to go - just “not here”. But finally, during the night Paul has a vision - he sees a man of Macedonia standing and pleading, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Hearing this, the group discerns that God is calling them to proclaim the good news in the region of Macedonia.
So, they set sail across the Aegean, and once they land, continue onward through Neapolis to Philippi. Apparently there were so few Jewish people in Philippi that there was no synagogue, so on the Sabbath day, Paul, Silas, and Timothy venture beyond the city gate to the river, where it appeared that some women were gathered for prayer. It is there that they meet Lydia. Lydia is a Gentile - not Jewish - and she is a faithful seeker of God, eager to hear and learn more about who God is and what God has done. The Holy Spirit is with her, opening her heart to listen and receive the good news that Paul is preaching that day. Lydia and her whole household are baptized, and then she graciously welcomes Paul, Silas, and Timothy into her home.
The guidance of the Holy Spirit is a throughline in this story, and indeed throughout the book of Acts. A colleague joked this week that Acts of the Apostles is perhaps more accurately called the “Acts of the Holy Spirit that the Early Church Eventually Catches On To.” Through the Spirit’s leading, Paul, Silas, and Timothy end up right where they need to be to share the good news of God’s love and grace with Lydia and her household. Through the Spirit’s leading, Lydia finds herself along the river on the Sabbath day, ready to receive and act on God’s good news.
This weekend in worship we are delighted to be celebrating with our graduating high school seniors. As a congregation, you have watched them grow and learn, and now we celebrate with them as they venture forward into the next part of their journeys. Graduates, we are excited to hear your plans and ambitions for the years ahead. And, we are eager to see how the Spirit will continue to call and lead you, perhaps (or, probably!) to places or careers or experiences you cannot even fathom at this moment in time.
While we all are certainly enlivened and blessed by the Spirit’s presence with us, it’s also true that it is not a comfortable thing to be open to the movement of the Spirit. We love to make plans and projections. We love to be in control (or at least have the illusion of control) over our own destiny. Where the Spirit is involved, however, we find that truly anything is possible. By the Spirit’s leading, we will find ourselves in unexpected places, sharing and receiving God’s good news. By the Spirit’s leading, we will receive hospitality and grace from unexpected people.
Still, it can be frustrating and upsetting to hear “no” when we’re convinced we’re headed in the right direction. It can be hard to discern which way to go, especially when the road ahead is not clear. It can be hard to be patient when God’s answer to our pleas sounds like “not yet” or “not this” or “not here.” And yet, still we trust that the Spirit continues to be present, even in the midst of uncertainty.
Through it all, we are reminded that we do not journey alone. We have the gift of the Spirit’s presence. We have the assurance of God’s forgiveness, and grace, and peace. We have the gift of one another, members of the Body of Christ joined in the waters of baptism. As the Church, we support and encourage one another, extend and receive hospitality, and gather together in times of uncertainty and grief, and in times of celebration and gratitude.
I’ll close with this prayer from our hymnal (one of my favorites!):
O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through joys and perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment