May 22 "The Weakest Link"

Readings: Psalm 67, Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5, John 14:23-29, Acts 16:9-15
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, May 22, 2022

Do any of you know a show on television, began a few years back, around 2002, called “The Weakest Link?” The original series made a star of its presenter Anne Robinson, but the 2021 incarnation was hosted on NBC by Jane Lynch.

The format featured nine contestants, who (in no particular order) took turns answering general knowledge questions. The objective of every round was to create a chain of nine correct answers in a row and earn an increasing amount of money within a time limit. One wrong answer broke the chain and lost any money earned.

I was never a regular watcher but recall one show that I saw, had a contestant who was asked a biblical question. "Matthew, Mark, Luke and... please give the name of the fourth gospel."

The contestant answered "Job." Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Job? Now, I love the book of Job, but he was the guy tempted by Satan to give upon God, but not the much-loved disciple and companion of Jesus after whom the fourth Gospel is named.

Biblical knowledge, then and now is "The Weakest Link" in many people’s lives. This is unwelcome news for our society. We are told that as we have grown more materialistic, then our hunger for spirituality has increased. But people are turning to other places than the Christian scriptures to fill their spiritual wells.

The reading we heard today from the book of Acts gave the history of Paul’s outreach to Macedonia and the account of Lydia and her household becoming Christians. At first glance it seems nothing more than one of those “Someone preaches, somebody gets saved, the gospel spreads, yadda. yadda, yadda, heard it all before” accounts. But there’s more to it than that.

Think about the struggle the early Jewish Church had in reaching out to the Gentiles. It was an action that went against everything their Jewish heritage taught them. It was 'unclean.'  There were Jews and there were Gentiles. That's the way it was meant to be.

“Not anymore” Jesus had showed them. They struggled to comprehend what it meant to go into the entire world and make disciples. They became reliant on the action of God's Holy Spirit directing and leading them. They developed a proven system of doing things. They would set out on their journeys. When the opportunity arose, usually on the Sabbath, they would go to the synagogue and there in the synagogue relate the message that Jesus, the Messiah had come. Go to town. Go to synagogue. Preach the Good News.

Then Paul has a dream, of a man pleading "Come to Macedonia." It's one of those striking moments of insight that gets his soul bubbling. He just knows it's the right thing to do and convinces those with him to be a part of it. "C'mon guys, let's go!"

So, they head for Macedonia and to the capital city, Phillipi. They had not visited Phillipi before, but they knew the drill. Go to the city. Go to the synagogue. Preach. But Phillipi was not like other places they had been. Phillipi was a little slice of Rome beyond Rome.

The people who lived there were Roman through and through. Like many ex-patriot communities, the Romans in Phillipi were more entranced with Rome than the Romans who lived in Rome. In fact, they were so Roman, they didn't even have a synagogue in the whole city. Lots of other temples to other gods, but no synagogue. Claudius, the emperor at that time, didn't particularly like the Jews, so in this Roman city beyond Rome, you could forget the synagogue.

I don't know if Paul was aware of that. You can almost picture him and those with him, getting into town. They’re wandering around and around. Of course, being guys, the last thing they are going to do is stop and ask for directions. "We'll get there, we'll find it, God's on our side." Eventually, in their frustration they stop a bystander... "Hey, Buddy, how about some directions to the synagogue."

The man just laughs. "Synagogue? You must be joking! Where you are guys from? A Philippian Synagogue! Hey, That's a good one. You guys!! What next? A woman emperor? 'gods save the queen' As if!"

So, there they are. “We go. We go to the town. We go to the synagogue. We preach. Lord, there's no synagogue here. Now what do we do?” What they do, as the Sabbath comes around is head down to the riverside. Sometimes a little walk by the river and a prayer can do wonders for the soul.

When they get there all they find is a bunch of women, who were probably washing clothes. Gentiles, remember, didn’t observe the Jewish Sabbath. For them it was just another day to get things done.

Later in his life Paul would write that in Christ male and female were one. But this Paul down by the river carried with him an upbringing and prejudice that made him see women as second-class citizens. Maybe it was one of these women that changed his views.

The disciples sit on the grass nearby and engage the ladies in conversation. One of them, by the name of Lydia, starts showing a real interest. This Lydia, far from being unimportant, is a prominent citizen within Phillipi’s community, a dealer in purple cloth, a trade which would bring in a significant income. Women in Roman society were not restricted in the same ways as those in Judaism.

God speaks to Lydia through Paul’s words. This Jesus he spoke of was, not so much the weakest link, but certainly the missing link in her spiritual journey. Lydia was no lame brain in the things of religion. But her beliefs, (and we don’t know exactly what they were) could not give her the life which Paul was explaining to her.

She accepts, along with her household, Paul’s invitation to be baptized and then insists that Paul and his companions stay at her house, as her guest. Their mission now has a center from which to expand.

The significance of this incident?

Lydia and her household were the first Europeans to accept the gospel message. From this incident Christianity would grow to become the official religion of Rome and after the fall of Rome, the European continent. Many years later, some Christian folk undergoing persecution were motivated to settle in a New Land where they could express their beliefs freely. Their faith was the driving factor. Such were the first Europeans to settle in North America.

It might never have happened had not one lady, Lydia, accepted Christ as her Savior and welcomed one of Christ’s servants in her home. Had Paul put his vision of a Macedonian calling out for help being the result of too much cheese for supper, the message would not have spread in the way it would do in the centuries that followed. This story of Lydia is one of the links in the chain that forms our history and our heritage.

The passage also teaches us about the way that God can direct our lives by the Holy Spirit. If you read the verses before our text, you’ll see that Paul has been having a challenging time. He’s set out on his mission with great enthusiasm and success, but right then, rather than opening before him, doors were closing wherever he went.

They wanted to go to Asia, but, as the scripture puts it, “The Holy Spirit forbade them.” They decide to go to Bithynia, “But the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them.” It’s as though they are waiting at the traffic light, it changes to green, they put their foot on the gas, then it jumps back to red again before they have a chance to move.

I remember going through that torturous process of seeking where God might be leading us that culminated in our family emigrating to this land. For a while I really didn’t know where we headed. I did know we weren’t meant to stay where we were.

I’d applied to a church down in Louisiana. Things were looking good. They flew me over for an interview. From the moment I stepped off the plane I bonded with them like they were family. The visit went well. A couple of them even sent letters appreciating the enjoyable time we had.

For about two weeks afterward it seemed every time I turned on the T.V. or radio or picked up something to read it had to do with Louisiana. Turn on the radio, “Now here’s some Cajun music, from a Louisiana band called…. Here’s Louisiana’s rock and roller Jerry Lee Lewis.” I put on the T.V. “Now the travel program, today we go to Mardi Gras.” No! Dallas comes on. There’s someone calling J.R. “J.R. we got a problem with one of our wells over the border in Louisiana.” It was weird. We even gave our dog Lucy the second name, Anna, just so we could shout down the road, “C’mon Lucy-Anna.”

“Lord,” I’d smile,  “I guess we know where you’re leading us.”

Then one night the phone rang. It was Louisiana. “We’re sorry. You didn’t get the job.” Boy, were my navigation systems out of line? Wham. That door crashed to a close. I didn’t understand. Everything was falling into place then; “SLAM.” I went to bed thinking “Well, maybe I’m just restless. Maybe it is God’s way of saying I should stay in Wales.”

A few nights later I had a most vivid dream. If I shut my eyes, I can still see it. It was of a minister, belonging to my old denomination, (one who had been instrumental in founding the church that had brought me into the faith.) He had a picture on his wall... of America. He pointed to it and said, “You’re not going to back out now, are you?” It was only a dream, but it remains more vivid in my mind than some real-life experiences I’ve had.

It was after that I sent off a couple more letters, and ended up in the unlikely setting of Fayetteville, West Virginia. Since then, as a family, we have experienced many other adventures and wonderful places and people. To have given up after receiving a “Don't go there” phone call about Louisiana would have created a huge missing link in our life journey. We certainly would not be here in this beautiful place.

So, I urge you, don’t let the things of God and your response to God’s love and leadings be the weakest link in your life. You can go and pursue your dreams, rise to the top of your chosen career, lay on your death bed as a millionaire, and remain completely outside the will of God.

The link you don’t want to miss, is linking your life to the love of God. Jesus has made that link possible through His death on the Cross. His Holy Spirit can guide you; His Word can direct your path. But you must embrace it and allow yourself to be embraced by God.

A lady called Lydia became the first Christian in Europe and through her actions became a link to the expansion of the faith throughout the known world. Paul was faithful to the dream God planted in his soul. Inspired by such examples, may faith never become the weakest link in our hearts and our lives.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.