6th Sunday of Easter

 

Act 16:9-16, John 14:23-29

Our journey in Acts continues this week, and much like the book of Acts itself we have been alternating back and forth between stories about Peter and stories about Paul.  So this week we turn our attention back to Paul.  And he has come a very long way since we last encountered him on the road to Damascus.  Several years have passed and he has spent time and learned alongside the other disciples in Antioch and Jerusalem and had quite a bit of success traveling among the synagogues of Syria and Turkey and founding churches there.

And then in today’s episode, Paul suddenly has a vision for spreading his mission into mainland Greece, so he and a couple of his friends head out and set sail to the city of Philippi.  Now this may seem pretty normal to us, but in reality, sailing off to Philippi was a pretty radical choice.  Philippi was nothing like the Greek cities in Syria and Turkey where Paul had recently been founding churches.  This was a full on Roman Imperial colony that was occupied almost exclusively with high ranking retired Roman soldiers.  They spoke Latin and were governed by Roman Imperial law.  And most importantly, there were few if any other Jewish people and no synagogue to first visit to start his work and in fact it was illegal to try to convert Romans like those in Phillipi to foreign religions (like Judaism or Christianity).  So generally speaking, on paper, it was a pretty poor initial choice for a mission start.

But Paul follows his vision and goes anyway.  And since he can’t go to the synagogue on the sabbath because there isn’t one, he instead happens on this place of prayer outside the city and decides to talk to some random women.  And there you have it.  The first recorded moment of the Good News of Jesus being proclaimed in Europe.  And perhaps by now it should stop coming as a surprise to us this good news, like the first news of the resurrection comes to a woman.  To Lydia, and her friends.  To the most unlikely people in the most unlikely place.  With Paul taking this huge risk and speaking out even when facing what appeared to be little to no probability of success.  But those long odds didn’t matter at all because God is the one who does the work.  And the Bible tells us that “The Lord had already opened her heart” and so when Lydia hears Paul, she immediately believes and then and there this new church is born.  The first church Europe, founded by a woman, comes to be first and foremost through the work of the Holy Spirit. 

And that is what is really important to hear this day.  That God does the work in the hard and unexpected places, that the Holy Spirit is living and present among strangers and unlikely friends.  That Jesus seeks out and welcomes those that others won’t.  And that anyone, anywhere at any time could be that next person whose heart the Lord has opened.  That is why 80% of Evangelism is just showing up.  Is being willing to go to the places we are called to go and to be present with people when the Holy Spirit arrives.  The Holy Spirit is the one doing the work.  God is the one changing lives.  We just have to show up and let it happen.

I think this is really what Jesus is getting at in our gospel from John today too. Jesus tells his disciples that “Those who love me will keep my word.”  And as we remember from last week, keeping Jesus’s word primarily means loving one another.  And he tells us that when we do this, the Father will love us and he will send the Holy Spirit.  And the Holy Spirit gives us everything we need.  In fact, it says the Spirit “will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.” So we don’t have to be smart and slick.  You don’t need a theology degree; you don’t need prepared speeches and slick marketing materials.  Because you have the Holy Spirit and that is what matters.

As a Pastor, I often get the privilege of hearing people tell their faith stories, and everyone has a different story and walks different paths, but one thing often stands out to me.  In nearly every story there comes a point where God has broken their heart open and at that moment, someone shows up, and brings the love of Jesus.  It may be receiving a welcome at a new congregation, or help in times of crisis, or a place at the table where you were once excluded.  But I bet if you look back in your own faith story, on the journey that sustained you and brought you here today, you would find people who showed up with the love of Jesus at just the right time.

I know it in did mine.  When I was 12 and my Dad was dying, our brand new associate pastor showed up in his hospital room with us.  He loved us and prayed with us and taught us how to laugh and find joy in the midst of all that pain.  He changed my life.  He is the reason I decided to become a pastor.  But it was also just an ordinary Tuesday for him.  He just showed up on a routine hospital visit, like he had dozens of times before and no doubt hundreds of times since.  But this was my moment, the one where God had opened my heart to receive Jesus’s love in a new way. 

And that’s the thing about Lydia’s story, about how this whole Holy Spirit thing works, you just never know when the you are going to get to be that person who shows up, who brings Jesus’s love, who changes someone’s life, who changes the world.

So we have to just keep showing up.  And that is something I have always admired about this congregation, this is a church that knows how to show up.  That knows how to welcome a visitor like they are already a member of the family, who is always ready to man the soup kitchen or contribute to our outreach ministries.  And this is a church that really knows how to care for our people, to show up for our folks who are sick or homebound or hurting in so many ways.  And you do so not just in our congregation but in your whole lives as well.

And that’s the thing.  You just never know when you are going to get to be someone’s Paul in their Lydia story.  When you are the one who shows up when their heart has been broken open.  When someone gets to tell the story years later about how you changed their life.  And you may never even know it happened.  Because you never know when God has created that moment, has opened that heart to hear the good news.

And so Jesus tells his disciples “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”  Don’t be afraid to take weird risks in ministry, Because Jesus’s got you, because even when you can’t see him, the Holy Spirit is always going be there and they are going do the work.  God is going to do the work of saving the world.  That is not on you.  They just need you to show up, to love your neighbor, everything else is covered.  God is breaking open people’s hearts right now to hear the good news that Jesus loves them.  Will you be the one to show up with them?  Amen.

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