Christ is risen!
One of the best business writers out there now is a man named Simon Synek. His book “Start With Why” revolutionized my thinking about how to motivate people and how to have the stamina to stay consistent and focused in achieving goals. One of my favorite quotes from Synek is “There is a difference between giving directions and giving direction.”
Of course, younger people don’t remember the days when we needed paper maps to get directions in unfamiliar places. And I can tell you, I am a typical man who hated asking for directions. You simply can’t know the joy I feel now in having GPS where I don’t have to ask for directions or read a map!
But the truth is we all need help in getting the direction for our lives. Going it all alone only means you never avail yourself of wisdom learned the hard way. And we weren’t meant to get the ultimate direction for our lives by ourselves. We are saved in Community and in the midst of a place where we have spiritual Fathers and Mothers to help us avoid the pitfalls of our own blind egos. We could ignore this humble reality and try to “do it yourself” but that’s how we got 40,000 different Christian denominations and all the confusion about the Faith we struggle with today!
How do we avoid this dead-end “Lone Ranger” mindset?
Look at our lesson today in Acts 8:26-39:
IN THOSE DAYS, an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert road. And he rose and went. And behold, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a minister of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless some one guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this: “As a sheep led to the slaughter or a lamb before its shearer is dumb, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken up from the earth.” And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, pray, does the prophet say this, about himself or about some one else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture he told him the good news of Jesus. And as they went along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What is to prevent my being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
It seems our dear St. Philip is a busy apostle traveling and preaching the message of the Kingdom of God. He was just in Samaria and dealing with Simon and now we see the Lord sending him South towards Gaza. On the road, he comes across an Ethiopian eunuch. Eunuchs were part of the ancient world’s system of either slaves or servants who carried out specific tasks for a ruler as trusted advisors because they had no family of their own and no extended in-law relations since they were celibate. Eunuchs were usually highly trusted and important servants to the kings and queens of the ancient world. So, when Philip comes across this eunuch from the Ethiopian court reading from the Book of Isaiah, he begins to understand why the Lord sent him there.
Notice three important insights about this story that informs us how to live today. First, sensitivity to the Voice of the Spirit only comes when you are serious about your relationship with God. How many opportunities have I missed or troubles have I stumbled into by not having a close relationship with God so I can hear His Voice? Second, obedience opens doors of opportunity. St. Philip’s obedience to the Spirit’s Voice meant he was in a perfect spot not only to help this eunuch understand God’s word and receive baptism but that eunuch went back to Ethiopia with his newfound faith and evangelized a whole nation! Finally, we can’t and won’t understand God’s Message by ourselves. “How can I, unless someone guides me?” This man was humble and wise enough to realize that the passage he was reading was going to forever be beyond his ability to appreciate without a guide. This same humility and courage is an absolute must if you and I are ever going to fully appreciate the Message of Christ. Everybody (and I mean everybody) needs a guide!
St. Theodore, the Abbott of the Kyiv Caves Lavra, was born in 1009 and raised near Kursk. As a young man many, including his own mother, tried to influence Theodore to take on the behaviors of a noble man but Theodore longed for the spiritual life. So he fled under the cover of darkness to St. Anthony’s monastery in Kyiv and there became a monk. in 1057, St. Theodore became the Abbott of the monastery and taught the cenobitic (living in community) of the Monastery of Studium in Constantinople. St. Theodore saw monasticism grow through the Slavic lands under his teachings and many came to humble themselves so they could receive the spiritual direction that enriched and strengthened their lives in their relationship with Christ and His Church.
Today, are you trying to “go it alone” in your spiritual life? Without a humble and courageous heart, you will never develop the sensitivity to God’s Voice or the beauty of communion with all the Church you truly need to be Orthodox on Purpose!
P.S. Raising yourself aloft upon virtue and having loved the monastic life from your youth, you did valiantly attain your desire. You did settle in a cave, and while adorning your life with fasting and purity, you didst persevere in prayers like one of the bodiless. And since you have shone forth in the Russian land as a brilliant lamp, O Father Theodosius, pray Christ God that our souls be saved.
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