The people you meet
by Reid Matthias
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Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked (Acts 8:30).
Read Acts 8:29–35
Unfortunately, the context from this passage is not included in our reading today; however, Philip has been told by an angel of the Lord. No other directions, only ‘Go south to the desert road …’
It’s interesting how we meet the most wonderful people when we travel along paths that seem deserted. While on recent travels in a different country, I happened to be wearing a Fremantle Dockers cap. As we were walking outside the Vatican, a man eyed me curiously. As we passed each other on the street, he said to me, ‘Go the Pies.’ Of course, I wasn’t ready for someone who knew AFL; however, we had a brief conversation that ultimately resulted in another surprise.
We were on the same cruise ship. And we met each other again by the pool.
For 10 days, I met and re-met this man and his wife, and each time we did, we talked about deeper things. He found out I was a pastor in Australia, which, while he hadn’t had a positive experience with religion, he found the eventual conversation about faith fascinating and not at all what he expected.
Now, in likening my story with Philip’s story in the Bible, I did not eventually baptise him in the ship’s swimming pool. But the other similarities bear a resemblance. Philip was minding his own business when an angel directed him to go a certain way. When he did, he encountered a startling man – an important official, a eunuch, who was in charge of the treasury of Queen Candace in Ethiopia.
It would have been very easy for Philip to disregard this man. Certainly, this foreigner, this Gentile, and a disgraced one at that, could have been seen as outside the boundaries of grace. Philip’s response to the official’s question of faith was one of connection and faith. After the passage was explained to him, the official asked to be baptised, and what history tells us is that this Ethiopian official took the Christian faith back to Africa, where some of the oldest churches in history, older even than those in Europe, were started.
This was because of God’s hope of saving faith through Jesus for all people. God used Philip and his obedience simply to ‘Go south to the road – the desert road.’
On which deserted road might God be calling you? Can you imagine the interesting people you might meet and share the saving grace of Jesus with?
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for speaking to me, giving me guidance along the way. Open my eyes to the wonderful opportunities to share your love. Amen.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, and together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine and Greta, they have created a Spotify channel (A 13) where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist. You can find all of his novels and music links at www.reidmatthias.com
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