![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/310\/2012\/05\/Screen-shot-2012-05-01-at-4.06.53-PM-150x150.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/br><\/p>\n
By Rev. Adam J. Copeland<\/a><\/p>\n Some people call them \u201cthin places,\u201d locations where the gulf between heaven and earth narrows and we fully sense God\u2019s presence. Many people find these thin places in nature. Others discover them in the familiarity of a favorite book, a worshiping community, or a touching song. Though these thin places are inherently unpredictable, we can aid in their creation. Like Philip in Acts 8<\/a>, we can run to join what the Spirit is already making possible.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n Taking a chance <\/strong><\/p>\n Philip did not know what to expect next. An angel of the Lord had told him to take a certain road, \u201ca wilderness road\u201d from Jerusalem to Gaza. Without protest, without questioning, Philip \u201cgot up and went\u201d (Acts 8:27<\/a>).<\/p>\n What did Philip expect to find on that wilderness road? He already had been involved in several unexpected Spirit-filled moments. In Samaria, when Philip preached about Jesus, people were miraculously healed of their diseases. Even a local magician, amazed at the great power of Peter\u2019s holy signs and miracles, asked to be baptized.<\/p>\n What holy surprise would be next for Philip? He did not know, but already he had been primed to expect new and wondrous works of God.<\/p>\n Walking down that wilderness road, we might imagine Philip\u2019s frame of mind to be similar to someone today anticipating a flash mob or Occupy protest. Often protests and other out of the ordinary events catch us off guard and cause us to reassess our world as it is. The comedy group Improv Everywhere <\/a>specializes in creating these novel spaces, glimpses of another way of seeing and living.<\/p>\n As Peter makes his way down the road contemplating what might be next, another character appeared, odd and surprising in his own right: the Ethiopian eunuch.<\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n What? A Eunuch!<\/strong><\/p>\n Bible commentators disagree as to which aspects of the Ethiopian eunuch\u2019s character are most noteworthy. Some argue that racial ethnic background would not have been an issue for Philip; it is only modern readers who assume race plays a major role. Others explain class would have functioned as a major distinguishing factor. The Ethiopian eunuch rode a chariot, was in charge of the queen\u2019s treasury, and had in his possession a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. This was not some peasant hoofing it home from a factory job, but a high government official riding in a Bentley.<\/p>\n So yes, he was from Ethiopia and wealthy, but we cannot forget that he was also a eunuch. In fact, Luke, the writer, calls him \u201cthe eunuch\u201d five times! <\/p>\n A eunuch is a human male who has been castrated. Most often, this happened before puberty. Because of their lack of testosterone, eunuchs were seen as fit for attending female royalty. At several points in the Old Testament, eunuchs are banned from entering the temple (Deut. 23:1<\/a>, Lev. 21:17-21<\/a>). Though he was wealthy and relatively powerful, due to his sexual situation, the Ethiopian eunuch was most certainly understood as an outsider. <\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n No excuses<\/strong><\/p>\n When prompted by the Spirit, Philip immediately ran to the eunuch\u2019s chariot. When he caught up to it, surely gasping for breath, Philip overheard the Ethiopian eunuch reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you understand what you are reading?\u201d Philip asked the eunuch? If you were Philip, at that point, what would you have done? He was on a wilderness road talking to a foreign rich guy with no testicles about complex Biblical exegesis. I surely would have done my best to avoid the conversation in the first place, but were I invited to start the Bible study, I would have tried to change the subject. Not Philip, though. He responded brilliantly.<\/p>\n Philip explained how he understood the Isaiah passage was connected to the story of Jesus. And when the Ethiopian eunuch understood and believed, Philip embraced a strange situation that was turning even stranger.<\/p>\n When he saw some water, the Ethiopian eunuch asked if there was anything that might prevent Philip from baptizing him. And, of course there was! They were in the middle of nowhere, the eunuch was not welcome in the temple, he had just heard about Jesus, he was from another country, he obviously needed help to understand scripture, and, oh yeah, he was a eunuch\u2014one of \u201cthose people.\u201d <\/p>\n But none of these reasons gave Philip any pause. He baptized the Ethiopian eunuch. Right then. Right there. And the Spirit, obviously pleased, came and took Philip away as \u201cthe eunuch went on his way rejoicing\u201d (8:39<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n Embracing the chance to be different<\/strong><\/p>\n A friend of mine gives away bumper stickers of a favorite phrase of his: \u201cKeep Church Weird.\u201d By that my friend means church\u2014or any gathering recognizing God\u2019s lovely, strange people\u2014is a place where we might break out of our ordinary expected un-weird culture and be, well, weird.<\/p>\n Those Improv Everywhere participants\u2014weird! Those Occupy protesters\u2014weird! Artists, community activists, and politicians who refuse to accept the status quo\u2014weird! Religious folks like those organizing the Wild Goose Festival 2012\u2014definitely weird!<\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n Watch the Video: Justice, Spirituality and the Arts: The Wild Goose Festival 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHow can I, unless someone guides me?\u201d he responded (Acts 8:31-32<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n