Phillip was headed south. He wasn’t given a destination. Or at least if there was a destination, we’re not told what it was. All we know from what is written is that he was to go south and that the road he was to travel was a “wilderness road.” Most of us don’t travel on “wilderness roads,” so for the sake of cohesive imagery, let’s picture driving on any of the major interstates in PA.
On the way South, along this wilderness road, Phillip came across a eunuch from Ethiopia…
…you know,.. like you do.
Now, if you’re like me and you come across an Ethiopian eunuch in a chariot, you don’t think too much of it. But in this case, something strange was afoot at the Ethiopian eunuch’s chariot. The Spirit of the LORD said to Phillip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
“…go to the chariot… stay near it…”
Not “go and plant a seed” or “go and deliver the message but don’t get involved.”
“Go and stay.”
This is not the language of agenda or strategy. This is the language of proximity; the language of incarnation.
Phillip ran to the chariot and upon reaching it, heard the man in it reading the words of sacred Scripture; words of the prophet Isaiah; words Philip was familiar with which foreshadowed the life and death of the One Phillip had come to know as the resurrected Jesus.
What a strange twist to the story: Phillip did not bring the Word of God to the chariot; It was there when he arrived. In an setting Phillip was unfamiliar with.
It was already there.
Pregnant with life.
Waiting.
Phillip asked the Ethiopian: “Do you understand what you are reading?” To which the man replied: “How can I, unless someone explains it to me.” And then the Ethiopian invited Phillip into his chariot.
Go. Stay. Get in.
To be in the chariot is to for Phillip to no longer have control. His feet off the ground, his “destination” was now wherever this man was heading; Phillip’s journey was now linked with the journey of this stranger; his story now intercepted and invaded by this stranger’s story.
And it is in that setting, unfamiliar and uncontrolled, that the conversation turned to the Story that is both their stories; the Story that is our story as well. A story so deeply ingrained in this world and in our hearts that every story ends up being some shade of it, leaving us only with the option, the adventure, the joy and responsibility of discovering it… where it already is.
What I am doing, in part, with this new project is asking my christian brothers and sisters to approach chariots they might be unfamiliar with; even perhaps suspicious or afraid of… and stay.
… to make a discipline of engaging, listening and seeing… much as we have made a discipline of dividing, discerning and judging.
…to be actively present instead of eager to leave…
…and in that discipline of being actively present, to recognize the story and song of the Divine where it already is rather than believe it only ends up where we take it…
…to know well enough the texts our neighbors are reading that we could ask, knowingly “Do you understand what you are reading?”…
…to get in and see the story from the seat our neighbors are sitting in and “explain” as best we can, as best we know, as thoroughly as possible.. Life. Death. Resurrection. Covenant. Kingdom. Glory. Hope. Loss. Victory… Trusting not to our wisdom or education but to the pervasiveness of the Story Itself and to the Sovereignty of the One whose Story it ultimately is.
You can purchase the album at my web store now.
You can also find it at iTunes.
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Like. Sounds like the way in which discipleship happens. The heart of Philip and the heart of the Eunich and how easy the willingness of one and the seeking desire of another create a “Kairos Moment” for both. Two hearts maturing even though at different places in their understanding of our risen Lord. May we all have such eyes to see and ears to hear.
Thanks, Justin. Much to let Jesus change in me through these words.
Good stuff!! Thanks for sharing.
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