Fifth Sunday of Easter (Acts 16:11-15)

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ  (Php 1:2).  Amen.

There is usually a big splash when a business like a new supermarket begins selling food in town.  Perhaps there are promotions in the mail or even advertisements on the internet.  It is a huge deal.  There may even be a grand opening, complete with a ribbon cutting.  (I wonder where they get those huge scissors from.)
What happened in Philippi might not have been newsworthy, but it is still noteworthy.  There is a grand opening there, not for groceries, but by grace—an open heart and an open home.  We read from …

Acts 16:11-15

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, connected to him and kept by him,
I don’t know what goes into selecting a location for a business.  (And I don’t have to.)  My guess is that there is some kind of investigation as well as some kind of exploration.  A company wants to make sure that people will stop there and shop there.  They want to turn a profit.
It was not market research, but a man’s request that ultimately brought Paul and his companions to Philippi.  Luke records it this way:  “During the night Paul had a vision of a man in Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’”  (Acts 16:9).  Paul concluded that God had commanded him to preach the gospel there—the good news about Jesus.  So they took off from Asia Minor and crossed into Europe.  That led to a significant event.

There is a Grand Opening in Philippi
1.  An open heart  (11-15)
2.  An open home  (15)

1.  An open heart  (11-15)
We often speak of the heart being the center of our thoughts and seat of our emotions—like hurt or happiness—either end of the spectrum.  But it is also the place we think of where our conviction or confidence is.  We typically refer to that as faith.  There is a grand opening in Philippi—an open heart.
It is a pretty straightforward travelogue like if you are relating how you get from St. Paul to St Louis.  “From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis”  (Acts 16:11).  My geography is not that good  (let alone my pronunciation).  Samothrace is an island in the Aegean Sea.  Neapolis is the harbor for Philippi, a town located about 10 miles away to the north.
Luke continues:  “From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia”  (Acts 16:12).  That means that Philippi was a piece of Rome on foreign soil.  They people were Roman citizens and some were veteran soldiers who received land grants as their retirement package.  “And we stayed there several days”  (Acts 16:12).
That was a pretty simple start to an important incident.  It was a Saturday.  According to the Old Testament, the 7th day of the week was a day of rest—physical and spiritual  (Ex 20:8-10).  There was to be no work.  But there was to be worship.  It was a chance to concentrate on and focus on the rest for the soul that the Messiah would bring—forgiveness of sins  (Mt 11:28).
It doesn’t appear that there was a synagogue in Philippi.  (We might call that a church.  That was where there the people would sing psalms and a person would explain Scripture.  It is similar to the blessing and benefit of what we do here on Sundays.)  That is where Paul usually began his work in a new location.
So Paul decided on a different approach.  “On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer”  (Acts 16:13).  There is mention of what they did and who was present.  “We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there”  (Acts 16:13).  It wasn’t about the weather.
That is when we are introduced to one lady in particular.  “One of those listening was a woman named Lydia”  (Acts 16:14).  She was giving Paul her careful and close attention.  Luke gives us some interesting biographical info:
 “a dealer in purple cloth”  (Acts 16:14).  The dye was a hot item in Philippi.  (It was for a different reason than for some here in Minnesota.)  It was because the Romans liked royal purple in their togas.  It was a symbol of status.  Lydia probably was a well-to-do businesswoman.
 “from the city of Thyatira”  (Acts 16:14).  That city was known for its violet hue.  So Lydia was a transplant to Philippi, probably receiving product from where she grew up.
 “who was a worshiper of God”  (Acts 16:14).  That is code for a Gentile convert to Judaism.  She was aware of the One who was to come.  Now she heard from Paul that One had come.  Jesus was the Promised Savior who paid for sin, enduring God’s anger on the cross and exiting the grave on the third day.  He carried out God’s plan and conveys God’s peace.
And it all comes down to what Luke writes next:  “The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message”  (Acts 16:14).  That is something that only God can and does do—bring people to faith.  Through the spoken word, Lydia turned to and trusted in Jesus.  She is part of the spiritual harvest that the psalmist had us sing about and pray for  (Ps 67:6):  “May all the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you”  (Ps 67:3,5).  And as a seal of faith, “she and the members of her household were baptized”  (Acts 16:15).  More branches connected to the Vine  (Jn 15:5).  There is a grand opening in Philippi—an open heart.
That was Lydia’s story.  What is yours?  Maybe it doesn’t seem as dramatic because it is not documented in the Bible.  That is true.  But it is also not true.  It makes no difference if the Holy Spirit created faith in your heart as the Word of God was announced to you as God accepts you as his own or the water of baptism was applied to you as God adopts you as his own.  We call Jesus “Lord”  (1 Co 12:3; Jn 20:28)—Son of God and Savior of all.  We “believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ”  (1 Jn 3:23).  We are grafted into the Vine as a branch.  From Jesus we receive life—cleansed from sin  (Jn 15:3).
And he keeps us alive, remaining in us as we remain in him  (Jn 15:4).  Even if, or when, our hearts condemn us, Jesus comforts us  (1 Jn 3:20).  His blood purifies us from all sin  (1 Jn 1:7).  We are and continue to be his children  (1 Jn 3:18).  There is a grand opening for you too—an open heart of faith.
2.  An opened home  (15)
If you examine your own heart, you know this is true:  what is in the heart comes out in actions.  If you are excited about exercise, you will do it.  Faith in the heart exerts itself too.  There is a grand opening in Philippi—an open home.
After the beautiful message and mass baptism, Lydia looked for a way to demonstrate her faith.  “She invited us to her home.  ‘If you consider me a believer in the Lord,’ she said, ‘come and stay at my house’”  (Acts 16:15).  That was part of the grand opening in Philippi.  An open heart extended the offer of an open home.  It was her way of expressing her appreciation for Paul’s preaching.  “And she persuaded us”  (Acts 16:15).  Paul and his friends accepted.
That was a great benefit to the traveling missionaries.  Her home served as a base of operations in the city.  They could devote themselves entirely to the work without having to search for lodging or employment.  Paul, as a tradesman, didn’t have to make tents.  Luke, as a physician, didn’t have to write prescriptions.  They could preach and proclaim Jesus fulltime.
Lydia helps us understand that faith is active, not idle.  Or to use Jesus’ picture, when a branch is attached to the vine, there will be results.  That is why we often call them “fruits of faith.”  It is natural and it is normal.  Grape vines yield grapes.  You and I produce good works because of our association with Jesus.  “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”  (Jn 15:5).  In that way, like Lydia, we follow the apostle John’s encouragement:  “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth”  (1 Jn 3:18).  That is a grand opening for you too—not necessarily your home, but your hands in effort.  Love for God motivates us to see opportunities around us, not obligations from us.
It is nice when there is a new grocery store nearby—even if you don’t attend the grand opening.  But even better the grand opening in Philippi with Lydia.  An open heart leads to an open home.  We have the same narrative.  The Lord has opened our hearts, shared in the word or shown in baptism.  And we open our homes in the sense that we live our faith.  All for the glory of God and the good of others as we love them  (Jn 15:8; 1 Jn 3:23).  We are now open, not for business to make a dollar, but for busyness to serve the Lord.  Amen.

The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus  (Php 4:7).  Amen.


April 29, 2018