\\u201cBaptizing Eunuchs and Blowing Open the Door\\u201d<\\/h2>\\n The mention of Ethiopia always stirs my imagination. Perhaps a Sunday school teacher had a thing for Ethiopia and went on and on about it in my youth. Maybe it was my mama insisting I eat all my food, because as she would say, \\u201cThere are children starving in Ethiopia that would gladly eat all that good food.\\u201d Then, there\\u2019s this OT text: \\u201cZerah the\\u00a0Ethiopia<\\/strong>n<\\/a> came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots and came as far as Mareshah.\\u201d<\\/p>\\n Then the\\u00a0Lord\\u00a0said, \\u201cJust as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot<\\/a> for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and\\u00a0Ethiopia.\\u201d (Is. 20:3). An army of a million men, a naked prophet as a sign against Ethiopia, a eunuch from Ethiopia. This seems on the edge of a violent, X-rated movie. Violence and sex \\u2013 the two main ingredients in American entertainment.<\\/p>\\n Did you hear about evangelicals having a conference to build \\u201cstronger men\\u201d and the event started with a sword-swallowing pole dancer with no shirt?<\\/p>\\n

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\u201cBaptizing Eunuchs and Blowing Open the Door\u201d<\/h2>\n The mention of Ethiopia always stirs my imagination. Perhaps a Sunday school teacher had a thing for Ethiopia and went on and on about it in my youth. Maybe it was my mama insisting I eat all my food, because as she would say, \u201cThere are children starving in Ethiopia that would gladly eat all that good food.\u201d Then, there\u2019s this OT text: \u201cZerah the\u00a0Ethiopia<\/strong>n<\/a> came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots and came as far as Mareshah.\u201d<\/p>\n Then the\u00a0Lord\u00a0said, \u201cJust as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot<\/a> for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and\u00a0Ethiopia.\u201d (Is. 20:3). An army of a million men, a naked prophet as a sign against Ethiopia, a eunuch from Ethiopia. This seems on the edge of a violent, X-rated movie. Violence and sex \u2013 the two main ingredients in American entertainment.<\/p>\n Did you hear about evangelicals having a conference to build \u201cstronger men\u201d and the event started with a sword-swallowing pole dancer with no shirt?<\/p>\n

A word about eunuchs <\/strong><\/h3>\n The law made clear that eunuchs were outsiders to God\u2019s grace. Deut. 23:1ff reads, \u201cNo one whose testicles are crushed<\/a> or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the\u00a0Lord.\u201d\u00a0Leviticus 21:16 \u2013 21<\/a> reads, \u201cNo one of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the food of his God \u2026. no one who has crushed testicles.\u201d\u00a0I understand that no one shows up for church thinking this would be a good Sunday to talk about Ethiopians and eunuchs, but there\u2019s a lot going on between the lines that ask for our attention.<\/p>\n The Ethiopian eunuch admits a lack of understanding<\/strong><\/h3>\n The Ethiopian eunuch does a most un-American thing \u2013 he admits that he doesn\u2019t understand what he is reading. American Christianity has a reductive tendency, a kind of \u201cWeight Watchers\u201d approach to Scripture. There\u2019s an entire tribe of Bible-crushing reductionists among us. Damage has been done to the gospel with the words \u201csimple\u201d and \u201ceasy\u201d. We have been telling people that Christianity is easy for so many decades that folks are now convinced that all they have to do is believe.<\/p>\n Ethiopian eunuch as professor<\/strong><\/h3>\n Phillip asks: \u201cDo you understand what you are reading?\u201d The eunuch responds: How can I unless someone guides me?\u201d This conversation justifies the development of highly skilled guides.<\/p>\n Preachers can be ineffective interpreters of Scripture. While the Bible is neither an impossible book nor an impenetrable book, it does not give its treasures to just any old hack who claims to be a preacher. Hard work, discernment, prayer, the Holy Spirit, a community of faith, questions, and openness are all required for the work of reading and most often, an interpreter skilled in the understanding of the Bible needs to be present.<\/p>\n Can you believe it? Phillip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch.<\/strong><\/h3>\n Baptism Photo by Abel Alemseged<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Philip, having baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, changed everything, but it has taken the church centuries to grasp. Here is one of those seminal moments when the barn door has been left open, and nobody knows it yet.<\/p>\n Baptism kicks the door wide open. Holiness is now reconfigured as the power to reach out to the strangers, the different ones, the outsiders. Sometimes I think we haven\u2019t paid enough attention to what happens when we baptize someone. From the outset, the nature of the church is to be welcoming. They become part of the family of God.<\/p>\n Baptism opens the door for \u201chere comes everyone.\u201d All the restrictions are dropped before they can even start. Women ordained. Gays ordained. Aliens welcomed. LGBTQ included. Diversity, inclusion, openness, and commensality.<\/p>\n Jesus slowly, step by step, person by person, prepared his followers for the kingdom. Unclean lepers welcomed. Zealots included in the inner circle. Samaritans. Prostitutes. Foreigners. Immigrants. Women.<\/p>\n ****How has it come to pass so many Christians have attempted to make the Christian experience of ministry a male fraternity? Why are Christians restrictive when Jesus is open? I am reminded of my Louisiana hometown Baptist church. We were a missionary culture. We sent missionaries to Africa. Then one Sunday, some of the missionary converts from Africa visited our church. The deacons wouldn\u2019t let them in the front door of the church because they were Black. How long will we resist the open will of God?<\/p>\n Jesus has been teaching us all along, \u201cWhat God has made clean, you must not call profane\u201d<\/em> <\/a>(Acts 10:15). Luke tells us these words were repeated three times. Repetition indicates teaching material. The lessons have to be repeated. And so we repeat again: All are welcome. Hospitality is extended. There are no outsiders, no categories of \u201cunclean.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cBaptizing Eunuchs and Blowing Open the Door\u201d The mention of Ethiopia always stirs my imagination. Perhaps a Sunday school teacher had a thing for Ethiopia and went on and on about it in my youth. Maybe it was my mama insisting I eat all my food, because as she would say, \u201cThere are children starving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5186,"featured_media":1892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBaptizing Eunuchs and Blowing Open the Door<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The law made clear that eunuchs were outsiders to God\u2019s grace. 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