May I speak in the name of the living God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
I love baptisms. They are such joyful events. We celebrate as a church family with the individual baptised and with their family. It is truly a community event in which we remember God's grace offered to each one of us. Today we celebrate the baptism of Chimdalu Jesse Aduba. But we are also invited to remember the meaning of our own baptism. Even if we can't remember our baptism, we celebrate what it means. And that's precisely what the baptismal service helps us to do. We reflect on the meaning of baptism for our own lives and for the life of the Church.
Today we have a spectacular passage of Scripture to help us think about how significant baptism was in the early church and how it is still important for us today. Our passage is found in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 16, verses 9-15, which we have in our service leaflet. Before we have a look at this passage, here's a question for you: If you were offered to be included in the Bible, would you accept the offer? Maybe a whole Bible book about your life, or a chapter, or some verses? It depends, doesn't it? Because the Bible is very transparent about people's victories and failures. Well, a certain woman called Lydia gets all of two verses! If you were Lydia, what would you like people to know about your life? Let's see what Luke tells us about her.
While it is true that only two verses are specifically about Lydia, Luke, as a great storyteller, prepares us to appreciate how significant Lydia's role was in the early church. This episode takes place sometime around 50 AD, just 20 years after Jesus' death and resurrection.
First, we hear that Paul has received a vision during the night in which a man appears and pleads Paul to cross the sea, from Asia Minor to the region of Macedonia. This is a big step. The identity of the man in the vision is never revealed. It's probably not important. What is important is that God wants Paul and his missionary team to continue preaching the Gospel in Macedonia, a very big region. Then the focus sharpens, moving from the sea journey, to Neapolis then Philippi, which was a 'a leading city' and 'a Roman colony'. Very interesting! Once again, Paul's missionary journeys take him to strategic places where he meets key people. Indeed, Philippi is an important political and commercial crossroad. But Luke doesn't dwell on this, he is interested in some crucial events that happen during Paul's short stay there. And one of these was Lydia's conversion and baptism.
Paul's custom as a missionary is first to make contact with the Jewish community, so that he can proclaim the good news of the Messiah Jesus and then to take the message to the non-Jews. Almost always in that order. Verse 13 says that Paul and his team went to look for a place to worship near the river. Curiously, Luke mentions nothing about Paul meeting the synagogue leaders. Rather, we hear that there was a 'place of prayer' ('a place where people customarily met to pray') and that Paul spoke to a group of women there. Luke is rather vague about whether this 'place of prayer' was another way of saying a 'Jewish synagogue'. (There is some debate about this question.) Paul's night vision had shown him a man, but Luke writes that Paul met a group of women. This is where Lydia enters the scene. The important thing is not whether it was a man or a woman, but that the Gospel had reached Macedonia. And this seems to have begun with a Gentile woman. Again, we see that God's logic is not always what we would expect, given the culture of the ancient world. This story is not just about Lydia but about an amazing God who orchestrates this divine encounter between Paul, his team, and Lydia.
So, what's so special about Lydia? The key is the main phrase: 'she was listening'.
Lydia was a pious woman and ready to receive the Gospel. The Lord opened her heart to listen to Paul's message. And she did an important thing to confirm her faith in Jesus: she publicly received baptism. We can imagine Paul or Silas saying, 'Lydia, I baptise you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit', followed by songs and prayers of joy on the banks of the river.
Lydia's faith was not something she kept to herself. She lived out her baptism. She wanted to be a blessing to others. Not only was Lydia baptised, but her whole household was also baptised. Luke doesn't tell us who was in her household, possibly her husband, children, relatives, and servants, but we see the impact of her faith on others. She offers hospitality to Paul and his missionary team. She wants to be a blessing to them and support them in their ministry through her generosity. We get a glimpse of her humble character when she says: 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.' Paul and his friends accept her kindness.
Now, Luke tells us in the next passage that Paul and Silas encountered fierce opposition to their ministry and were unlawfully imprisoned. When they were released and decided to leave Philippi, Paul and Silas went back to see Lydia and her family, and they encouraged the brothers there (16:40). This detail tells us that there is the beginning of a Christian group in Philippi. As in many other places, they met as a 'house church' rather than in a specific church building. Lydia offered her home for the church to grow. This is confirmed by Paul's letter to the Philippians, a developed Christian congregation, who were known to be very supportive of Paul through their financial gifts (Phil 4:15-17).
What can we learn from the story of Lydia and her baptism? Stories from the past come in all kinds of languages and writings. They tell of great and small people. But only time will tell who is really great and who is really small from God's perspective. Are we not already surrounded by different kinds of heroes and heroines whose lives, like Lydia's life, deserve to be told to future generations? Over the years, during our missionary service, Lilian and I have seen the importance of women praying together in Niger, Italy, and Switzerland. They have prayed, and continue to pray, for their families, churches, and friends. They also serve in so many ways, both in leadership and in supporting ministries, and churches have grown. I am reminded today not to underestimate what God can do through people, men, women, and children. We pray that God will use Jesse powerfully, in his own unique way, to be a blessing to his family, friends, and many others. As the saying goes, 'Great oaks from little acorns grow'.
Take time today to reflect on your baptism. Whether you were baptised as a child or as an adult, your baptism counts. It is a testimony of God's grace: we were buried with Christ in his death and raised with him in his resurrection, 'so we too might walk in newness of life' (Rm 6:3-4). This is what our great God offers to each one of us.
So, let us be inspired by Lydia's life. Thanks to her faithfulness the church in Philippi was founded and grew... and the same can be said of many individuals, women and men, in the history of St Ursula's Church Berne! Amen.
Revd James Morgan