Acts 16:9 – 15 / Psalm 67 / Revelation 21:10, 22 – 22:5 / John 14:23 – 29
This is the homily
given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, May
22, 2022.
“WHICH COMES FIRST?”
(Homily
text: Acts 16:9 – 15)
It
isn’t often that we choose to focus in on one of the readings other than the
appointed gospel reading for a Sunday. But today, I am struck by the comment in
our reading from the book of Acts about Lydia, where Luke (the author of Acts)
tells us that the “Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by
Paul”.
Today’s
passage tells us about Lydia’s conversion process. In her case, it’s clear that
the Lord had a hand, a direct one, apparently, in her ability to hear and to
receive the Good News (Gospel) that Paul was proclaiming.
It
we look at the various accounts of people’s coming to faith in Holy Scripture,
it seems clear that there isn’t one, specific pattern that pertains to all of
those accounts. There are, however, some commonalities.
Before
we look at some examples of various people’s conversion experiences, let’s
remind ourselves just a bit about Lydia and her situation.
Lydia
was a “seller of purple cloth”, Luke tells us. That might not mean much to us
today, but in ancient times, purple cloth was worn only by noble persons, or by
persons of considerable wealth. The reason for that lay in the way in which the
cloth was dyed. It used a small snail as the source of the dye, snails that had
to be harvested from the sea by divers.[1]
It’s
safe to assume, therefore, that Lydia was fairly well-off, financially. It’s
also possible that she was the head of her household.
Now,
let’s look at Lydia’s situation a bit more closely.
We
see, first of all, that she was a “God-worshipper”. Most likely, that meant
that she was a Gentile woman who worshipped the God of Abraham. A
“God-worshipper”, a person who’s mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels, was one
who didn’t fully convert to Judaism.
What
we see in Lydia’s situation is, therefore, an awareness of the God of Abraham,
and an openness to prayer and worship, for she came, on the Sabbath day,
(Saturday) to the riverside, a “place of prayer”, Luke tells us.
It
seems likely that God was working on Lydia’s heart and mind before her
encounter with Paul. That’s often the case, it seems like, for God is often at
work in a person for a length of time before they are aware of God’s moving and
acting. The process of coming to faith, or conversion, isn’t always an
instantaneous thing.
I
think we can see some evidence for baptismal practices that go beyond what is
generally known as “believer’s baptism”[2], for
Luke tells us that Lydia’s household was also baptized at the same time
(presumably) that she was. Lydia’s household would have included servants or
slaves, quite likely, but it also may have included children. (We don’t know
for sure.) It’s possible, then, that the younger members of the household were
also baptized. [3]
At
times, a person’s conversion experience is almost instantaneous. Consider St.
Paul’s conversion[4],
as an example: He was met on the road to Damascus by the risen Lord, who asks
him, “Saul, Saul[5],
why are you persecuting me?” In Paul’s situation, the Lord comes crashing in on
Paul.
We
might contrast Paul’s experience with that of most of the original band of
disciples. It surely seems like their conversion experience took a good while
to accomplish, beginning with their response to the Lord’s invitation to follow
Him, until Easter Day, when the reality of the Lord’s resurrection enabled them
to come to faith, and to exclaim, along with Thomas, “My Lord and my God!”.
Then
there is the fascinating account of Nicodemus, the one who came to see Jesus
during the night (see John, chapter three). After Jesus’ death, Nicodemus came,
along with Joseph of Arimathea, to anoint Jesus’ body. Is it possible that
Nicodemus had become a believer? Maybe.
Joseph
of Arimathea is named as a disciple of the Lord, but “secretly, for fear of the
Jews” (John 19:38). He was the one who asked Pilate to give him Jesus’ body for
burial. It seems clear that he had become a believer. John’s gospel account
makes no judgment of his discipleship being a quiet one.
A
common thread running through these and other accounts, is the one that
demonstrates that God is at work, in dramatic, or in quiet ways, to bring a
person to faith. Absent God’s movement and doing, no one of us is able to come
to faith. We are, then, dependent on God’s acting, no matter what form that
acting might take. Our response might be instantaneous, and especially so if
God comes crashing in on us like He did with Paul. Or, our response might take
awhile, like those first disciples-soon-to-become-apostles. The common thread
that binds these varying paths to faith together is the necessity of accepting
God’s truth and God’s love, of making a conscious decision to follow the Lord.
Thanks
be to God!
AMEN.
[1] These days, different means are used to dye purple cloth, but it hasn’t been too many years, apparently, since current means of dying purple cloth has been available.
[2] Believer’s baptism is the concept that baptism ought to be administered only to persons who are old enough to make their own faith decision, sometimes called the “age of accountability”.
[3] There is further evidence, perhaps, of children and persons of younger years being baptized later on in this same chapter of Acts, when the Philippian jailer and his entire household were baptized. This is a text we will hear next Sunday.
[4] Observed in our Church Year on January 25th.
[5] Saul was Paul’s original name.
