DS 011

Conscious Conversion

Acts 8:26-39

Some things in life take root slowly across a period of time in ways we may not perceive. Other things take place from one moment to the next. Most often, the processes of change we experience are actually a combination of the momentary and the gradual processes. Physical growth through childhood and adolescence at times seems almost visibly noticeable, and yet it is still part of a gradual process over time. A career decision might be made at a moment, but it also has a background of influences and experiences leading to that moment. When it comes to faith, the same mix of the sudden and the slow progression of experience and influence are just as likely to participate together in our transitions and growth changes.

At some point along the way, however, we make decisions, recognize new realities, and confront the impact of various experiences and new forms of understanding. While change may be very gradual, at some point we recognize a shift or the need for a shift in our lives on the basis of those processes of change at work in and around us. That is as true in today's passage as it is in our daily experiences.

This Eunuch in Acts 8 is an interesting character. We most often miss a lot of what he represents, as we are far removed from the historical and political realities of the world surrounding First Century Palestine. This man was a high official in the court of Candace, Queen of Ethiopia. In the days of Solomon, Ethiopia had been known as Sheba. It was from there that a queen had traveled to Israel to interview Solomon in regard to his renowned wisdom. Ethiopian tradition has it that she returned to Ethiopia as a convert to Yahwism. There is still a history of the worship of Yahweh in Ethiopia that appears to stem back to the days of Solomon. The tradition is such that it even includes claims to be the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, though what is there is more likely a replica.

It would seem this Eunuch was part of that Yahwistic faith tradition. He had traveled to Jerusalem to participate in one of the festivals of Judaism as a non-Jewish adherent to Yahwism. This was not the case of an individual with some mild curiosity about the Hebrew Scriptures leading him to read them to pass the time on his return trip to Ethiopia. There were no bookstores on the wilderness route, no second-hand copies available in the marketplace for the casual reader. A text such as that of Isaiah was prepared at great cost and simply not available to the average person. Rather than belonging to an individual, it was generally prepared by and for the use of a community.

This official was traveling with his retinue, having come from Ethiopia and now returning as an emissary of Queen Candace. He would return to report on his experience in Jerusalem, sharing what he had learned, and becoming yet another bridge between the faith community in Jerusalem and Ethiopia. While his specific title was that of treasurer, his journey would fulfill a greater purpose than simply the economic and administrative issues pertinent to his station.

Philip approached the chariot, listening to his words as he read from the scroll of Isaiah. It was customary to read out loud, as reading silently did not become a norm until relatively recently in human history. Upon hearing and recognizing the words of the passage, Philip addressed the official, asking him if he was understanding what he read. The Ethiopian official gave Philip an opening to explain the text and to whom it referred, so Philip joined him in his chariot to begin explaining the text's relevance to Jesus.

There is a lot we do not know about their conversation. We know only that Philip began sharing Jesus with this man in regard to this passage from Isaiah. Luke tells us this was the starting point, but he tells us nothing much about where the conversation led from there. Philip took some time to talk about the good news of Jesus. He shared what Jesus had taught, how he had lived, and something regarding the charges he had laid upon the disciples.

At some point in this discussion, whether after fifteen minutes or five hours, they came to a place with water. This would most likely have been a known watering hole used by travelers. More than an out of the way stream, it was more likely a public setting. Upon coming to the water, the Ethiopian official took the initiative to ask Philip if there were any impediment to his being baptized in conversion to his developing faith in Jesus. This was a decision taken at a specific moment in time. This decision was also part of the culmination of a life of faith, a journey of discovery.

The official understood baptism as a ritual designed to express religious conversion from one faith tradition to another. He understood there was something missing in his faith tradition that Jesus fulfilled. He made a decision to correct that missing element. This was just as much a conscious decision to which he arrived in a specific moment in time, as it was the culmination of a process.

He was already part of a community who worshipped Yahweh. He had made a significant journey of some 2500 miles, which likely would have taken him half a year. That journey had been in large part to worship and learn more about Yahweh from the Jewish community. This was apparently both a personal journey of faith for him, as well as involving some degree of official responsibility. He was traveling to help bridge the community of faith in Ethiopia with its origins in Jerusalem.

This was no haphazard event disconnected from the rest of his life. The decision to seek conversion to this new understanding of Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah was the culmination of a process that had begun some time before. It was a step forward in seeking to better understand Yahweh and the relationship between Yahweh and the Ethiopian faith community, himself included. This was the acceptance of an answer to his quest for understanding of the specific text he was reading in his chariot, his received traditions, and the unsettled aspects of his year-long journey to and from Jerusalem.

This official was taking a step forward in his personal journey of faith. He was continuing his life of search, discovery, and development. He was also representing the faith of his larger community, returning as an emissary of the Ethiopian government. In this official capacity, the decisions he made as an individual would have bearing upon the larger community of faith in Ethiopia.

As a moment of conversion, this baptism was the capstone of a journey of faith. It was not a final destination for that journey. It was a turning point in that journey, consistent with where he was, where he had been, and directing the progression of his faith journey going forward. It was an important marker, but it was only a marker along the path of a larger journey.

On returning to Ethiopia, this eunuch brought faith in Jesus to the first land to officially become a Christian nation. He is today celebrated among Christians in Ethiopia as responsible for first bringing the gospel of Christ Jesus to that nation. Had his encounter with Philip not been part of a larger tradition, that would likely not have happened. Had his journey not included this moment of thoughtful conversion, the same would have been true.

Faith is more than the result of a moment. It is more than the continuance of a tradition. It is both. It is more. It requires a conscious conversion, just as it requires a process of growth, change, and challenge. Faith transforms our lives, but to have its full effect, it must include a conscious decision as well as continued resulting action. This text speaks of a momentous step. That step was essential, and yet its significance was as a turning point along a larger journey.

—Pr. Christopher B. Harbin

© Copyright 2017 Christopher B. Harbin.