Scripture Reading: Acts 16:6-15 (NRSV, Updated Edition)
6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; 8 so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
11 We therefore set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14 A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 15 When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.
Sermon: “Not Every Door Opens”
I had a friend, years ago, who was very funny. She used to joke about what she would put on her tombstone after she died--just to give people walking around the cemetery something to smile about. Here’s a few of the phrases she considered:
1. I told you I was sick.
2. She always said her feet were killing her but no one believed her.
And my personal favorite:
3. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
It seemed like a good idea at the time. I could always relate to that statement. Not that I had many ideas that were actually dangerous, but I have, over the years, had ideas that seemed brilliant at the time, but when I got a ways down the road following my brilliant idea, a door closed in my face. I’m guessing that many of us may have had such an experience from time to time. Maybe we felt called to pursue a particular job or relationship or an idea for a ministry or mission that simply didn’t turn out the way we’d hoped or dreamed or prayed that it would.
If this has ever happened to you, you are in good company. It happened to the Apostle Paul in today’s scripture reading.
It’s really easy to get distracted by all the hard-to-pronounce names and places in our reading and miss what’s really going on, so let me take you through it. For the next few minutes, I am going to walk you through Paul’s journey, so that we can see how the Spirit leads by opening some doors and closing others. Then I’ll talk about what we might learn from Paul’s experience of the Spirit’s leadership.
First, some background. Earlier in the Book of Acts, the Apostle Paul, along with his colleague, Barnabus, have traveled extensively starting churches in various cities in the regions of Syria, Cyprus, and southern Asia Minor. https://www.conformingtojesus.com/charts-maps/en/paul's_first_journey_map.htm.
At the end of Chapter 15, Paul decides that he wants to return to the churches that he and Barnabus had started--to check on them and see how they were doing. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but in the process of making plans, Paul and Barnabus have a sharp disagreement and part company. In other words, the door that Paul had anticipated opening for him, ends up closing in his face. Barnabus sails for Cyprus, leaving Paul behind, and Paul has to alter his original idea. Paul finds a new traveling companion--a church leader named Silas, and with the blessing of the church, they head off in a different direction. They go through the regions of Syria and Cilicia, where Silas had already been working to strengthen the churches. (New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. X, p. 223.)
Now, for a while, things go really well. Doors are opening right and left, Praise be to God! Their ministry expands, and they pick up more traveling companions to help them in their work. They continue their travels, and Chapter 16, vs. 5 reports that “the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily.” Woohoo!
But just when everything seems to be coming up roses, another door slams shut. In the first verse of our reading for today--chapter 16, verse 6--we are told that Paul and his companions were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.” (Just to be clear, the Asia referred to here is a province in what is now Turkey.) We’re not told why or how the Spirit forbids them, only that she does, and so with this door closing on them, they are forced to change plans. Which they do. Sort of. Truth be told, they only alter their route a little bit, head slightly northeast, to Bithynia, a neighboring region, and try to go there.
But again the Spirit closes another door, does not allow them to enter. I picture the Holy Spirit--who in some ancient Jewish texts is referred to in the feminine gender--I picture her with her hands on her hips saying to Paul and his companions, “Are you even listening to me? What part of ‘I forbid you to speak the word in Asia’ do you not understand?”
At this point, after hitting a few dead ends, we might expect Paul to feel discouraged and frustrated--perhaps even angry at the Holy Spirit for leading him all the way out here only to close a bunch of doors in his face. In fact, I might not even blame Paul if he decided to call it a day, wrap up this mission and head back home. But he doesn’t. He keeps moving. Maybe he finally gets it that the Spirit forbid him to speak the word in Asia because she was calling him to go beyond Asia. Way beyond. So, he and his traveling companions head west--in the opposite direction from home--and travel quite a distance, ending up in a city on the coast of the Aegean Sea, where Paul has a vision, presumably, in the midst of prayer. In the vision, Paul sees a man pleading, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
Paul shares the vision with his companions--we know this because verse 10 reports that ALL of them become “convinced” that God has at last opened a new door and finally shown them the way forward. So they cross the Aegean Sea and move deeper into Europe--ending up in Philippi, a leading city in Macedonia, which is now part of modern day Greece.
I know this is a lot of detail--but bear with me. I’ll get to what it could mean in just a minute.
So, after the vision, we might expect all doors to be fully open and the path to be perfectly clear--but, still, it isn’t. Paul and his companions find their plans thwarted again! Up to this point, Paul’s general way of proclaiming the good news was to visit the local synagogue and be a guest speaker. But, being now in very foreign territory, having traveled all the way to Europe, Paul discovers that there is no synagogue in Philippi! Another dead end! If I were Paul, I might just throw in the towel. But he doesn’t. Verse 12 reports that they remain in the city for some days. And on the sabbath, they use their powers of reasoning and discover a group of gentile worshippers--all Women--praying outside the city gates, down by the river.
Now, foreign, female worshippers are not their usual audience, but, by this time, Paul finally realizes that the Spirit opens doors he doesn’t expect, so he just goes with the flow. He sits down, which, in those days, was the posture of a rabbi who was about to teach. And the person listening most intently is a wealthy, successful businesswoman named Lydia. Verse 14 says the Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly. Long story short, Lydia becomes the first leader of the church in Philippi. In fact, she even becomes the main sponsor of the church, providing her home for its worship space.
So, what can we learn from all this about the Spirit’s leadership and how we might respond to it in our lives?
Let me suggest 8 things. FYI: 8 is a lot. You don’t have to memorize these points. I’ve provided a sheet in the narthex for you to take home--and I will ask Michele to post a link to this sheet on the church’s facebook page tomorrow.
1. Even the most devout Christians run into obstacles, despite sincere hearts and fervent prayers. So, when doors are closed in our faces and our plans are thwarted, don’t give up. Keep praying.
2. Paul didn’t travel on his own. He traveled with others on his journey of faith. So, we need to enlist others to pray for us and with us, particularly when we hit the inevitable closed doors along the way.
3. Prayer involves listening, not just talking. And one way we can hear the Spirit is by listening to what our fellow travelers on the journey of faith have to say. Paul received the vision of the man in Macedonia but he didn’t move ahead until he shared the vision with his companions and they were all “convinced” of the way.
4. If you set out on a new endeavor--a relationship, a job, a mission--and hit a closed door, AND, if you try altering your plans only a little bit (like Paul did at first), and it still doesn’t work, be open to the idea that the Spirit may be calling you to move beyond where you thought you were going and beyond where you feel comfortable. In other words, sometimes the Spirit stretches us.
5. Even if you’re not sure of the way, keep moving, and trust that the Spirit will guide you. Not every door opens, but some will. But we need to keep moving to find them. It’s like if you’re in a hallway and you try one door and it doesn’t work. You don’t just stand there staring at it, you move on and try the next one. Trust the Spirit.
6. Use your reasoning, build off your previous strategies, but, if they don’t work, be open to going with the flow. If Paul had not been able to switch gears--if he kept looking for a synagogue led by men within the city walls, he would never have found one. (In fact, modern archeological work backs up the fact that there were no synagogues in ancient Philippi. New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Vol. X, p. 230) Instead, because Paul was open to the Spirit, he found an open air worship center outside the city led by women. Who knew? (The Spirit, that’s who.) Adaptability is key. We need to be willing to let go of our preconceived notions. Have you ever been in a meeting and heard the words, “We’ve never done it that way before.” The implication being “And we’re not going to try it that way now.” That’s a death knell to ministry. The Spirit loves to show us new ways that work even better than the old!
7. The Spirit brings people into our lives to work as partners with us who are sometimes very different than we might expect. In the patriarchal culture in which Paul operated, he probably wasn’t expecting that the Spirit would choose a wealthy, foreign, business woman to work with him to start a church. So, we need to ask ourselves: Who is God bringing into our lives to work with us on this journey of life and faith? We need to be open to the fact that the people God calls to work with us may be completely different than those whom we have previously envisioned. In our world today, where racial and ethnic tensions can so sadly lead to violence like we saw in Buffalo this week, it is vitally important to remember that we are all God’s children and God calls us to build bridges between people, not cause divisions.
8. Paul always kept his primary Vision and Purpose in mind in the midst of his travels. He knew he was called by God to proclaim the good news and strengthen the faith of the churches. So, God calls us, as individuals and as a church community, to stick to the Vision and Purpose that God has given us. The particular methods by which achieve our Purpose and Vision may change, but the Purpose and Vision remain constant.
So, my friends, let us trust God to open the right doors for us on our journey of faith--as individuals and as a congregation. Let us help each other to see the doors when they open--and let us have the courage to walk through them together. Let us pray…
Rev. Dr. Marlayna Schmidt
Franklin Federated Church
Franklin, MA
And let us be filled with joy as ad enthusiasm as we move into God’s beautiful future.