2022 05 22 Sermon

Sermon for May 22, 2022 Easter 6 C House of Prayer Lutheran Church

Acts 16:6-15 Lydia and Paul Rev. Karl-John N. Stone

I love these stories from the Acts of the Apostles that we’ve been hearing in the Easter season. They not only tell us about famous apostles like Peter and Paul, but also of lesser-known disciples and believers, and how God was at work in their lives. Today’s reading from Acts 16 is a great example: we hear of Paul’s missionary journey, and get introduced to Lydia.

Lydia lived in Philippi, which was a main city of Macedonia, in present-day Greece. But her hometown was the city of Thyatira (which is in modern-day Turkey). It was a trading center at a major crossroads in Asia Minor. We know from the study of history that Thyatira was famous for making clothing dye, particularly for purple cloth. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyatira] There was even a guild of dyers in Thyatira, along with guilds devoted to wool workers, linen workers, and makers of outer garments—all of which would have benefited from being close to each other. Lydia herself was part of this industry—Acts 16 tells us that she was “a dealer in purple cloth”, so presumably, as a businesswoman, she left her hometown in Thyatira to expand the business over in Philippi.

We also learn from Acts that Lydia was “a worshiper of God”, who met with other women at a “place of prayer” down by the river just outside the city gate. Since the city of Philippi was a Roman colony, people were only allowed to worship the Roman gods inside the city limits. That’s why Lydia and her friends needed to find a spot outside the city to worship the one God. Paul found them there, outside the city gates, down by the river. He told them the story of Jesus, and Lydia’s heart was opened; she decided to have herself and her household baptized, and she even invited Paul to stay with them a while. Since she was from Thyatira, this makes Lydia one of the very first people from Asia to become a Christian. And since she lived in Philippi, this also makes her one of the very first people in Europe to become a Christian.

It’s interesting how Paul himself ended up in Philippi to meet Lydia. Paul and his assistant, Silas, were on a missionary journey and they had lots of big plans. They wanted to go to Asia—that was their plan—but “the Holy Spirit forbid them to speak the word in Asia”. Then they wanted to go to Bithynia (close by) but “the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” to go there either. You can just imagine how frustrated they must have been. They had plans, energy, enthusiasm; they worked hard, they did their best; and even so, they could not accomplish what they set out to do. I think many people today have had a similar feeling at one time or another over the past two years, as we’ve all had plans that have had to be re-worked, hopes that couldn’t be fulfilled, new and unexpected directions we’ve had to take.

We learn from Paul and Silas that making plans is important. Plans give you focus and energy—even when they don’t lead to what you hoped to accomplish! We also learn from Paul and Silas that even when your plans get foiled, if you keep your soul open to God, and listen for God’s direction, then the Holy Spirit can lead you to something else instead—and that that may be where God really needs you to be in the first place! This is exactly what we see in Acts 16. Paul had a vision in the night, a dream of a man in Macedonia pleading and saying “Come over and help us.” This vision led them to the city of Philippi where they didn’t meet the man in the vision; but they met Lydia instead. Even though God didn’t let Paul and Silas go to Asia, God sent them to a place where they met an Asian person, and they developed a friendship with her and her household.

As with most stories in the book of Acts, it doesn’t give us an exact description of how everything will go for us when live as followers of Christ—after all, we live in a different time, different culture, different place—but we do get patterns to look for and attitudes to emulate in our own journey of faith. There are four that I see in today’s story.

First is that Paul had humility. When he met Lydia and the other women, he sat down to speak with them. He did not talk down to them, or talk over their heads. Even as he told them the good news of Jesus (which they were hearing for the very first time), he did not try to convince them that they had to see things his way, he didn’t argue with the way they understood things. He just invited them to hear and talk. He sat down, to be on the same level as them, a sign of their equality before God. He prayed with them, worshiped with them, respected them, so they could all listen to one another.

Second is that Paul had curiosity. He didn’t just find a place to set himself down in Philippi and wait for the people to come to him; instead he went to where the people were. Paul and Silas ventured outside the city gate, down by the river, where there was a place of prayer. And when he met Lydia and the others who were there, he took an interest in them as people. He didn’t just preach the Word, presume to know it all, and move on; he accepted the invitation to stay at Lydia’s home for a while, where he could get to know her and her family.

Third is openness. Paul kept an open heart and mind. When things did not go according to his plans, Paul waited and paid attention until he finally understood where God wanted to lead him instead. Paul learned that following Jesus doesn’t mean simply making a plan and then asking God to bless it; it is about looking and listening for what God is blessing, and then following Jesus in doing that. Like Paul, we can make plans, and we should make plans—but we should also hold them lightly. Keeping an open heart and mind makes us able to pivot when God shuts one door, but then opens another.

And the fourth thing is building relationships. For God to transform us into being more Christ-like people, it always begins when we connect with other people, so that the Holy Spirit can be at work in the space between us. This is why we—at House of Prayer—often use a little phrase in our communications, like in the postcards we mail from time to time, that says, “Connect with God in faith and community.” That’s because our faith has the best chance to grow when we build relationships, friendships, connections, community; when we offer our time and our availability to God and to each other. Building relationships cannot be rushed into growing—but the connections will last forever, because they become part of the life of the risen Christ, who by his cross and resurrection has defeated death forever.

What does living a Christ-like life look like, anyway? To start, look at Jesus’ signature sayings and actions. There’s the New Commandment, which we heard in last Sunday’s gospel: “Love one another, just as I have loved you.” There’s a treasure trove of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, and the Sermon on the Plain. Things like: “Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy. Judge not, lest you be judged; forgive, and you will be forgiven. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” We know these teachings were so important to Jesus because he lived them so completely. For us to live Jesus’ teaching in our own lives may seem difficult sometimes, but we have a God who keeps on reaching out to us through the love and mercy of Jesus, and who keeps sending the Holy Spirit to give us inspiration and faith. When God asks us to make a pivot from our plans, he’s asking us to trust that it’s not about knowing everything or having it all figured out; it’s not about us being perfect, or being better or worse than anyone else. It is about seeking humility, curiosity, openness, and the building of relationships, so that God will lead us where God needs us to be. Amen.