Surely it is God who saves me, I will trust in him and not be afraid
Ecce, Deus
This is the biblical Philip who baptized the Ethiopian eunuch in charge of the treasury of Candace, Queen of Ethiopia. (Acts 8:26-40) A “wilderness road” may not have been Philip’s obvious choice, but he listened to “the little voice” and went that way and so he had the encounter which resulted in the Ethiopian’s instruction in the faith and his baptism. Then, instead of being able to enjoy the man’s hospitality and the comfort of his chariot, and to further instruct him. Philip was “snatched away” by the Spirit” and the Ethiopian “saw him no more.” Bill Mahedy once said in a sermon that all we get in this life is a taste and a sip. Our ideas of what we need are not always (read: seldom!) God’s ideas. The man had had a life changing experience and we have to assume that he was one of those thousands of men and women who, touched and changed by the Good News, went out “and turned the whole world upside down” as the hymn says.
One of the innumerable host of heaven, I long to hear his story: “what happened then?!” We don’t even know man’s name - only his ethnicity and his disability. He is forever ”the Ethiopian eunuch” The same is true in the Gospel story for today (Luke 8:26-39) of the “Gerasene demoniac,” the man who tells Jesus that his name is “Legion.” Jesus sends the demons away and heals him and the people find him ”sitting at Jesus feet, clothed and in his right mind.” This has got to be one of my all time favorite quotes from Scripture - one that I have often used of myself and others to describe in a phrase what would otherwise take forever to explain. The “demoniac,” who we should note is no longer a demoniac, but it's his story: "what we were like, what happened, and what we are like now." He begs Jesus to let him go with him, but Jesus’ reply is unequivocal, even harsh, I have always felt, “ “Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.”
There is much work to do, and we seem to be sent out only half formed. But the work is done by those who , like us, know they are broken and only redeemed by a love which has rescued them and will not let them go - dry sticks and erstwhile demoniacs, prostitutes, tax collectors. People often say to members of AA, “you shouldn't still call yourself an alcoholic. It’s so negative! “ when in fact it is the most precious identity that we have! We know who we are, we know who has saved us, and here we are, unaccountably clothed and in our right minds. And there is work to do.
“Holy God, no one is excluded from your love, and your truth transforms the minds of all who seek you (or are sought by you!) ... give us all the grace to be heralds of the Gospel” wherever we may find ourselves, “proclaiming your love... now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for Philip)
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