I spent last week up at Lutherlyn for Confirmation camp with two of our students, and students, pastors, and leaders from Scenery Hill, Erie, Warren, Latrobe, Butler, Mars, and the North Hills. This is my tenth (!) year participating, and it’s always a joy to spend time with campers and colleagues, sing around the campfire, be immersed in God’s glorious creation, and experience Bible stories together in new ways.
Our theme for this year was the story of the Exodus and the ten commandments. Each day we heard a different part of the story and highlighted a few of the commandments that related to that section. We explored how each commandment helps us care for our relationships, both with God and with one another.
My teaching day on Thursday covered the story of God providing manna in the wilderness. All those years of wandering taught God’s people some important lessons: about God’s provision and trustworthiness, God’s guidance and care, and God’s intentions for them (and us!) around work, rest, and harmony with God, one another, and creation.
Our reflections on this story of a long-ago wilderness - and our own time in the wilderness of camp - came to mind as I read through today’s story from Acts, for it, too, draws us out into the wilderness.
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| A "burning bush" we made during Confirmation Camp |
The story begins with Philip, who we remember from last Sunday's story was commissioned as a leader along with six others. These deacons were tasked with caring for people on the margins: widows, the poor, and others in need. Having preached in Samaria, Philip is sent by the Holy Spirit out to a wilderness road. He is not told what to expect, but it turns out that the encounter he has is very much in line with his usual work of caring for people on the margins, and sharing with them about the love of Jesus through words and actions.
As Philip traveled on the wilderness road, a chariot approached from the direction of Jerusalem. In the chariot was an Ethiopian man, and as Philip, instructed by the Holy Spirit, ran to join it, he heard something strange - the words of the prophet Isaiah, being read aloud!
Now, the exchange that they have, Philip and this Ethiopian man, is one of my very favorites in Scripture. Philip asks, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And the Ethiopian man replies, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”
I love this exchange for a few reasons. First, Philip asks, rather than assumes. Perhaps the man does understand, and might offer new insights about it to Philip! And second, the man tells the truth about his understanding, and is therefore enriched by the conversation that follows.
How often do we, when asked if we understand, nod along so as not to be embarrassed by what we do not know or understand, and miss the opportunity to learn and grow? But here, the Ethiopian man says it plainly - I do not understand, and will not, unless someone explains it to me.
So, Philip comes alongside the Ethiopian man, and they share in a time of conversation and discovery. Climbing up into the chariot, Philip listens to the man’s questions, then uses the text he was reading from Isaiah about the “suffering servant” as a springboard to share the good news of Jesus.
As they ride along, the man listens, asks follow-up questions, and absorbs the message so deeply and completely that he then asks, “Here is water - what is to prevent me from being baptized?” Philip can't think of any barriers - not the man's extremely new introduction to Jesus, nor his vocation, or homeland, or marginalized identity. So they stop the chariot, and right there - in the wilderness, along the road - the man is baptized. Coming up out of the water, Philip is whisked away by the Holy Spirit and the man goes on his way rejoicing.
There is just something about the wilderness that makes it a great place to ask questions and learn new things. It is a place of discomfort and disorientation, so we are forced to explore, ask questions, and try out new things. It is a place removed from the regular rhythms and constant distractions of life, so we have time to sit, think, and wonder.
At camp this week, the students used their wilderness time to listen, ask questions, and wonder about faith and life. We reflected together on the Small Catechism, and particularly Luther’s repeated question - “What does this mean?” The students pushed themselves to try new things and interact in new ways, and the questions and reflections they shared were deep and meaningful - is God really with me? How can I make it through hard things? Who am I? What’s next for me?
Perhaps you wonder about these things, too. Perhaps you find yourself in a time of wilderness, where the way forward is uncertain, the terrain unfamiliar, and the comforts of home are stripped away.
Yes, you may find yourself in a wilderness, but as these stories and experiences remind us, we do not journey there alone. Instead, God’s Spirit is present and active, sending people to our wilderness places - companions for the journey - who listen, share in our wonderings, and help us understand. There aren’t always clear answers, of course, but we are blessed by the gift of being together along the way.
If you feel alone in your wilderness wanderings, look around! Here are people who can accompany you on the journey, asking and answering questions together. Here is a meal that nourishes and sustains; provided by God, enough for the day. Then, empowered and called by the Holy Spirit, perhaps you, too, are being sent, like Philip, to guide and accompany someone else along the road.
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