Surprises on the Winding Path

Acts 16: 9-15

Roger Lynn

May 1, 2016

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

Both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts (written by the same author) have something of a travelogue quality about them. And that is not accidental. The idea of faith as journey is woven into the very fabric of the narrative. We learn something important about what it means to be people of faith when we pay attention to the movement which is described in these writings. In today’s reading from Acts, for example, we find a powerful illustration of what can happen when we stay open to the leading of God’s Spirit. When the journey is the destination, it is not always possible to predict where we’ll end up. It is, therefore, absolutely essential that we pay attention along the way, because there are always surprises just waiting to be discovered.

The Apostle Paul and those traveling with him had some ideas about where they wanted to go in their ongoing quest to spread the good news message of their faith. But somehow things weren’t working out the way they thought they would. Something kept getting in the way. Then Paul had a dream in which he perceived a call to come to Macedonia. It is not always possible to say with any certainty what a dream means, and it almost always involves reading into it a bit of where we think it is pointing us. But however it happened, Paul decided that the dream was a message with divine inspiration and contained travel instructions, so off they went to Macedonia. If we stopped there, however, we would be missing much of what this story has to teach us. The writer of Acts begins this section of travel narrative by saying, “We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace...” (Acts 16:11) And as it turns out, that is the last time anything about this journey can be described in terms of a straight course. Even after finally reaching the city of Philippi it takes them several days before their “big break” comes, and when it does, it comes from a completely unexpected direction. During the time when the writer of Acts says, “We remained in this city for some days” (Acts 16:12) they were most likely spending time with the Jewish men of the city. And apparently nothing much happened. So finally, on the Sabbath they tried something new. They went outside the walls of the city. Sometimes we have to go beyond our walls to find what it is we are seeking. In the words of Jaimie Lee Curtis, “Everything you want in the world is just right outside your comfort zone.” They went outside the walls and looked for a place where people might be gathering to pray. It was by the river, so it is easy to imagine all sorts of activities that would have been taking place – over here a group doing laundry, over there some folks enjoying the sun, and down the way a bit a group engaged in a heated discussion about the local politics. And it was there, in that eclectic, cosmopolitan mix, that they found what they were looking for, sort of. At the end of this long and twisting path which led them from Troas to Philippi, there by the river in the shadow of the city, they finally find a group of people who are receptive to their message, and it turns out to be a group of women. Not the men, but the women. In a culture that was strongly patriarchal, this is not who they might have expected to be talking with. But it is who was interested in what they had to offer. And so it was that a businesswoman named Lydia overheard them talking and found the path of faith she had been looking for. 

It was not where Paul expected to be. It was not who he thought he would be talking with. It was not where Lydia expected to find meaning for her life. And it all became possible because they were open to the ways in which God’s Spirit was moving them beyond their expectations, beyond the apparent dead-ends, and out into the wild, unpredictable, uncharted territory of abundant life. There is a saying that “life is what happens to us while we’re waiting for something else to come along.” The trick is to pay attention so we’ll notice when it does. Paul could have continued trying to make headway into Asia. He could have insisted on talking only with the men of the city. He could have been annoyed that someone was eavesdropping on his conversation. Instead he saw the leading of God’s Spirit even in the everyday, ordinary, unexpected twists and turns along the way. And lives were enriched and transformed as a result.

What surprises are waiting for you to discover? What unexpected paths are waiting for you to follow? What new direction is God seeking to lead you, if only you will notice? Several years ago, after I had resigned from my position at the church in Moscow, I accepted a call to become the interim pastor at First Christian Church in Hamilton, Montana. To be honest, I went because I needed the job. For the first several weeks a recurring question was, “What am I doing in Montana?” But what I could not have known until I got there was that I would discover a community of folks engaged in Dances of Universal Peace, and that connection changed my life. This spiritual practice of singing and dancing songs of the heart has become for me a powerful way of experiencing God’s presence in remarkably intimate ways. And it all became possible because I stepped out in faith and went to Montana.

Here in this congregation we find ourselves preparing to do some visioning and dreaming about who God might be calling us to become. When we are open to the leading of God’s Spirit on this winding, twisting path we call life, there will always be surprising opportunities to experience abundant life. Listen to your dreams. It doesn’t matter if they are sensible or practical. It doesn’t matter if it’s never been done like that before. What wild visions do you have for the life and mission of this congregation? Follow your heart. The path will not always be smooth or easy, but it will always be true. Dare to move beyond your walls. We think our walls keep us safe. What they really do is keep us trapped. Stay open to the unexpected. This life is full of possibilities, far beyond our ability to predict or anticipate. Be prepared to be surprised. It really is how God works best.