Acts 16:9-15
Intro
One of the first things that you pick up as you start to hear the passage for this morning is that you need a map. The Apostle Paul was Christianity’s first foreign missionary. However, the way that he evangelized to the communities that he entered was not by trying to stand out, but by trying to blend in. Once Paul finally lands in the city of Philippi, which was a port city on the northern coast of the Aegean Sea, in what is modern day Greece, he heads to where you would expect to find people getting together. For us here in Red Hook we might think of one of the grocery stores, or CVS, or in the warm weather, Holy Cow Ice Cream. In Paul’s case he heads to a portion of the city that is known to attract people who are looking for a place of contemplation, reflection, and prayer. For many of us that still may describe Holy Cow (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said to myself, and out loud, "thank God for Holy Cow"), but more realistically Poet’s Walk is probably a closer parallel.
I picture Paul going to this place, probably for several days in a row, listening and watching. He listened for what people were talking about, and watched how people conducted themselves. And then, after not too long, he began to get involved in some of the conversations, and begin to offer his answer to some of the questions that were being asked by the people who found this place to be one where they could reflect on their lives, and on the world. Then, as trust levels were established, he began to tell his story and how the person of Jesus entered into his life in such a way that he was forever changed.
In doing this, in being willing to have these conversations people not only listened, but they believed. Lydia was one of these people and according to Acts was the first European convert to Christianity. This newly directed belief (because she was already someone who believed in the God of the Jews) caused her to open her home to Paul and Silas so that they might have a place to stay. Paul’s example, and Lydia’s response is one of the Faith’s prime examples of what it means to evangelize, what it means to share the Word and love of God. The scripture reads this way.
Acts 16:9-15
9
During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.11
We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. 13 On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14 A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 15 When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home." And she prevailed upon us."The Shoes We Have Been Given – The Shoes We Must Wear"
As I tried to think of someone who fit into the mold of action that Paul had crafted in this morning’s passage, some of the first people that I thought of were my parents. Here’s why.
As a kid, one of the truths that I knew always existed was that friends were always welcome in my parents home. Now while I didn’t take a whole lot of advantage of that openness, my youngest brother Kyle, did. Compared to my introverted nature, Kyle is a flaming extrovert who was able to make friends with all sorts of classmates, and those classmates would, invariably, find their way over to my parents home, be it for dinner, or just to hang out.
Now my parent’s home is not one of those places where you walk in, look around at what is hanging on the walls and how the place is decorated and say, "Christians live here". However, as you spend time around my parents you quickly realize that they believe in God. It’s not overt, but its there. This was something that Kyle’s friends clearly picked up on. The reason that I know this is because of the description that both my mom and my brother gave in regards to the afternoon of September 11th, 2001.
The picture that they gave was that of a bunch of high schoolers who were, like most of us, in shock at the events that had taken place that morning. There was no way to put into context the horrors that were broadcast, and then rebroadcast again and again. It was in that sort of state that this group of friends realized that they could not be alone. Without any debate it was decided to head over to my parents home where they sat and watched the new reports through the tears that flowed far too freely.
When my mom got home from school she looked in through the sliding glass door and saw a group of young adults who were in pain, and in her Christian and motherly way, she gave those kids a person to pour out their pain and confusion to, and they did, not only because she had built a level of familiarity with them, but because they knew that her faith was something that they could lean upon in the midst of that frightening day. They talked with her, cried with her, and confided in her because she was, at least in a small way, a connection point to God, a connection point to the healing balm that they so desperately needed.
The reason that I tell this story is because when we hear the example of Paul, and how he went about evangelizing the Roman world, we have a tendency to say to ourselves, "I can’t do that. I can’t sit down with someone and start talking about God, or faith, or what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. I have a hard enough time trying to live the sort of life that I have been called to lead. Getting others to live that sort of life? Forget it. Those shoes are way to big for me."
I don’t blame you if you’re thinking that because I read these stories of Paul and I shake my head and wonder how he did it. Because even though I’ve got a piece of paper hanging on the wall of my office saying that I am a Minister of Word and Sacrament, I do not have the gift of evangelism that Paul was blessed with. I don’t have that.
But here’s the thing, that’s okay. God didn’t bless me with the gift of evangelism, at least as we understand it in Paul. He blessed folks like Ron Pastrana, my wife, and my daughter. These people can walk into just about any room and have people telling them their life story within 15 minutes. It’s amazing. They sit at a table in Stewarts, go up to a concert in Clifton Park, or head out to a school in Kalamazoo, MI and make friends, provide a listening ear, and ultimately offer council, a council that ultimately is of God. I also find it scary because I walk into that same room and I’m looking for a shadow that I can hide behind. The shoes that they wear are not ones that fit my feet.
At the same time, I know that I have been blessed in ways that I can share the Word of God, that I can evangelize, that they’re not as good at. What the story of Paul and Lydia shows us is not how all of us have to act: we’re not supposed to be or going to be cookie cutter Christians.
Instead, what the story of Paul and Lydia shows us is that the life of discipleship, the life that all of us have been called to lead, is one that also has to include sharing the faith with others, with our neighbors, with the world.
We can do that in a whole lot of different ways. If you have the ability to walk into a room and people just gravitate to you, then that is the gift of God, those are the shoes of evangelism that you should wear. I mentioned a few people in specific a couple of moments ago, but as I look out there I know that there are others.
Some of you may be the Martha type of evangelist, the sort of individual who works behind the scenes and digs in so that others might be welcomed, cared for, supported, loved, fill in the blank. I view my mom in that way in regards to September 11th with my brother and his friends.
On Maundy Thursday, the day when we recognize Jesus Last Supper with his disciples, we talk about how different all of these disciples were. In terms of their personalities and gifts, they were not cut of the same cloth, and yet all of them were called to go out into the world and proclaim the love of God. When you look at the broader picture of the Apostles, and that most definitely includes Paul, what we see is that who ever you are, and whatever gifts you have been blessed with, you can share the message of God.
You have been blessed with certain gifts. You’re not going to be able to do all things. None of us can. But you can do some things extremely well. Those are the areas that you need to put into practice.
Think of the gifts of God that you have received as a pair of shoes. I don’t know about you, but when I start to wear a new pair of shoes, they don’t feel all that comfortable. They’re awkward.
However, as I keep wearing them they start to feel like extensions of the rest of my body. But I’ve got to use them. I’ve got to break them in. Once I do that I’m not thinking about the shoes anymore – I’m just putting them to use!
The same is true with the gifts of God and how we can share the message of God’s love in the world. You’ve got to work at, you’ve got to put them to use, you’ve got to break in the gifts that God has given you. As you do this, you’re not going to be thinking about sharing the message of Jesus Christ, but instead just living your life because as you start to use the gifts that you have been given, they will become a part of who you are! And as they become part of who you are, you will begin to be, in your own way, in the way that God would have you be, you will begin to be like Paul as he spoke to Lydia so long ago. You will begin to open people’s hearts and minds to love and grace of God that is there for them.
You have been called to be an evangelist of the Living God. Put on your
particular shoes, use your particular gifts, and realize that you can share the love of God.
After Sermon Prayer
Holy God, we read the story of Paul and we are in awe of what he was able to do, both for Lydia in specific, and the Church in general. Each of us have been called to evangelize, called to share Your message in the world with others. We can do this, in our own ways, through the gifts that You have blessed us with. God, help us to put these gifts to use so that they become a part of who we are. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.