Curious

I have been reading some articles recently about some research that was done that shows that GenZ and Millenials are coming back to church, or at least finding faith and looking for churches to find a place to learn more about God. One article pointed toward the pandemic as being a major shift for these generations moving toward a relationship with God. These tech and social media focused generations were stereotyped to be nihilistic, essentially viewing the world and life as ultimately pointless. Yet something in the pandemic and beyond has driven them to seek faith. Not all of it is Christian or can be defined in terms of specific world religions, but there is a trend that these young people are searching for something other than themselves.

Now this isn’t a revival and the trend seems to be favoring men more than women, but it is definitely something to take note of and to try and find ways to be connected to and reach out to these young people. When I read these articles I thought about our theme of Cross Connections and how we can use those ideas of community and faith and outreach to find ways to help these people find and develop their sense of faith and what it means for them. While some people may come to us to find out more about faith the best way to reach people is to go out to them and find ways to connect with them out in the world, and to not wait for them to walk in our doors. After all, how will they really be able to know about us if we aren’t out there showing them that we’re there for them and we care for them?

I also read an article along similar lines about how at one point it was almost taboo to mention that you were a person of faith in Silicon Valley. Talking about or admitting that you were a person of faith, regardless of religion, was a way to flag yourself as undesirable. There is now a shift, or a trend happening there as well where that is no longer the case, and that being open about what you believe is much more accepted and held up than it has in the past. So while I said that neither of these cases are seen as a revival, there seems to be murmurings that the Spirit is moving in the lives of people who feel there is more to this life than what they thought before.

This is exactly what I believe is at the heart of the scripture today. There is this Ethiopian eunuch who is leaving Jerusalem and heading back to his home. The whole reason he was in Jerusalem was to worship at the temple and now that he is on his way back from the temple he is reading the scroll of Isaiah trying to learn more about God. We don’t know anything really about this man’s faith except that he felt it was important to worship in Jerusalem and that was quite a far trip for him to make about a faith that is doubtful was in Ethiopia. So that fact that he was an Ethiopian, he was a eunuch, and possibly other things could have prevented him from being fully accepted into the life of faith. So while this man is seeking out faith he is caught in the stereotypes of his day and probably is trying to figure out where he belongs even though he has this desire to find faith.

Yes I see this eunuch like I see the reports of these GenZ and Millenials seeking faith. They may not be able to figure it all out but they are looking. That is where Philip comes in. An angel of the Lord sends Philip down the road and when he gets on the road he meets this eunuch. The Spirit then urges him to move up to the carriage and when he does he hears him reading from Isaiah. Through an angel and the Spirit Philip is sent out into the world to go and to engage with this man who seems to be desperately seeking faith. Philip discovers that no one has taken the time to help this man explore his faith with him. How is he supposed to understand what this all means if someone isn’t willing to guide him along the way?

Philip is able to help this man understand that the particular passage that he happens to be reading has to do exactly with Jesus. So Philip takes this divinely inspired encounter to share with this outsider, this faith seeking eunuch, all about the good news of Jesus. Sure it might be easier to go out into the world and talk to a specific person if both and angel and the Spirit tell you to do so, but the point is that there was someone who was searching for faith, and there was Philip who was willing to listen to a voice who upheld him in his faith. And in those intersecting moments Philip is able to bring in this seeker to a greater understanding of what the Bible is all about.

Obviously in this conversation Philip brings up the idea of baptism, and how baptism is a way to orient our lives toward God and to be a part of the family of God through Jesus commissioning of the disciples. And there was something in the words that Philip shared about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and Jesus’ command to baptize that really struck at the core of this eunuch. You have to know it hit the core of the eunuch because there seems to be no desire to wait any longer. This seeker has found what he had been looking for and in his mind there is nothing more important than showing God that he wants to reorient his life and to be a part of the family of God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

And what is equally as beautiful as the eunuch’s immediate desire to profess his faith through the waters of baptism, is Philip’s silent answer. The eunuch, who as I said before, is caught in the middle of so many worlds, yet not fully a part of any of them wants to know what would prevent him from being baptized, from being brought into the family of God. The answer Philip gives him is the answer of action. Philip and the eunuch go down to the water and Philip baptizes him. There are no more questions, there are no certifications, there are no tests or background checks. Philip doesn’t care that he’s Ethiopian, he doesn’t care that he’s a eunuch, Philip simply takes him to the water and welcomes him into the family of God.

Which is exactly what happened to each and every one of us. We were all baptized into the family of God. We have all felt the power of the Spirit at work in our lives and we know there have been people who have encouraged us along the way and who may have, had a Philip in their lives who opened up our eyes to the good news of Jesus Christ. Today we rejoice with the way the Ethiopian eunuch sought God and opened himself up to God’s work in the world and in him, and for the way that Philip answered the call to reach out to someone who was outside, who was different, and yet had the same core desire to know and be known by their creator. May we all open our hearts, our lives, and our ears to all the ways God is at work in and through us, so that we may welcome those who are just down the road who have the same desire as we to love and be loved by the one who created us all. Amen.