More of the Story: No questions asked

Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
    and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
        so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
    Who can describe his generation?
        For his life is taken away from the earth.”
The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. ~ Acts 8:26-38

The church is God saying: I'm throwing a banquet, and all these mismatched, messed-up people are invited. Here, have some wine." ~ Rachel Held Evans


Here's what we know:
On Pentecost, Ethiopia was not one of the named cities or countries present.
And being from Ethiopia, this man was black. The first thing we are told about him is the fact that he is culturally and racially different and from a place not initially viewed as part of the spreading of the Holy Spirit.
Now, there is nothing to suggest that Phillip would have had an issue with the man's race.
But the next thing we learn about this man is that he is a eunuch. This WOULD have been problematic for Phillip, because as a eunuch, he would have been banned from the temple.
And yet...
This eunuch, this sexual outlier, nevertheless wanted to go to Jerusalem to learn and be part of this big tent that sought to exclude him.
The third thing we learn about this man is that he was in a position of power for the Candace, or the Queen of Ethiopia - a woman herself who by gender and religious background would have not been part of the big tent.
So this inquiring man is an outsider in multiple ways.
And yet Phillip immediately proclaimed the good news to him and baptized him - no questions asked.
So...what do we do with the outsiders asking to be part of our big tent?

Prayer: Lord, helps me, rather than question the outsiders asking to come in, open up my arms in hospitality, love, and welcome. Amen

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