THINGS THAT ARE WRAPPED IN PURPLE

Recently, Michael Canale, co-author of this blog, and I were discussing sacred objects in the Church and in God’s world, in general, when he so auspiciously said, “I guess that there are just some very divine “things that are wrapped in purple.” Thus, the title and theme of this blog.

Certainly, most Church attendees, particularly Roman Catholics, but, also, some Protestants, are familiar with items on the altar which fall into this category. Well-known examples of this are the chalice and the ciborium used in the Catholic Church during the celebration of the Eucharist. (Thank you Michael’s longtime friend and my new friend, Palma Vincenti for your great assistance with this aspect of our blog). There is also the purple stole worn around the priest’s neck during Confession. A pivotal statement may be made about such items: They are ordinary objects rendered extraordinary by their sacred purpose and use. As such, they are transformed. It is this nexus between the ordinary and the sacred that is something ultimately wrapped in purple, as Michael said. Two passages in Scripture provide compelling evidence of this concept.

The first example is the heart of a sermon preached last Sunday by Mariner’s Church Pastor Steve Lee at Rock Harbor Church, Costa Mesa. He said that we long for the extraordinary in life, wanting to change the world and be at the center of where the action is spiritually. Such was surely the case of the Apostle John. He described himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” (John 13:23) He was often reclining right next to Jesus at meals and was the only disciple at the crucifixion of Jesus. He was special and ambitious to be so.

At the cross, Jesus said to his Mother,

“Woman, here is your son.’ Then, to the disciple, (John) ‘Here is your mother.’ From that moment, the disciple accepted her as his own mother.” (John 18:27) The Message

The NIV states,

“ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” (John 19:27)

Jesus, who was in agony on the cross and was there to save all the world, was concerned about his Mother and the practical details of who would take care of her. He modeled what he was asking John to do and that, under the excruciating conditions of the cross. To John’s everlasting credit, he obeyed Jesus.

Pastor Lee set forth in his sermon two seminal facts:
1) John didn’t expect to take home a Mom, but he did it.
2)John was completely missing from the Biblical scene for the next fifteen years. Nothing more is known about him during this extended period of time.
As the pastor preached, John, a star in the disciples’ world, was busy taking care of Jesus’ Mom. When he left the place where the evangelical action was, the extraordinary, the most reasonable inference is that he was deeply ensconced in the ordinary. For fifteen years! Pastor Lee went on, “ God must do something ordinary in us before He can do the extraordinary. What may, at first blush, appear to slow us down, makes us more patient, more serving…and is a platform for greatness.”

Pastor Lee points out the denouement for John – after the fifteen years, he penned enormous portions of Scripture. Michael says that John’s care of Mary and his authored Books in the Bible are “ things that are wrapped in purple.”

The second example of this same idea is recorded in Acts 7-8. Here, Philip, (not the apostle Philip, but rather Philip the Evangelist or Philip the Deacon) had been preaching in Samaria due to the persecution that scattered the Church. Just as the disciples were able to return to Jerusalem, the place where Philip wanted to be and, once again, the area where it was perceived that the evangelistic action was, the following encounter occurred:

“Later, God’s angel spoke to Philip, ‘At noon today, I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza.” (Acts 7:26) The Message

Finally, he was back in Jerusalem and now God was sending him to a desolate desert road! His disappointment must have been visceral. Even Samaria probably looked good in comparison. Like John, Philip was, from the initial appearance, being plunged into the ordinary and away from the glory of all he wanted to accomplish for God in Jerusalem. Like John, he obeyed, following what he must have thought was the road to obscurity. Unlike John’s case, his vision of what God was doing did not take fifteen years.

“So he started out, and on his way, he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake.”(Which means ‘Queen of the Ethiopians’)

While we do not know what occasioned his becoming a eunuch, the next few verses explain much about him.

“This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.” (Acts 8:27-28) NIV

Based on these clearly defined circumstances, there can be little doubt that this Ethiopian official was a seeker of monumental proportions. He had traveled in a chariot from Africa to Jerusalem to try to know God. The story continues:

“The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” (Acts 8:29) NIV

NOW, Philip’s interest must have been increasing and his second thoughts about leaving Jerusalem for the hinterlands, decreasing. Putting two and two together, he surely recognized that the angel of God told him to travel to this place and the Holy Spirit directed him to go to and stay near the Ethiopian, all of which suggested a more substantial evangelistic opportunity than existed elsewhere, even in Jerusalem. His next action is Exhibit A for his growing enthusiasm:

“Then Philip RAN ( emphasis added) up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you’re reading?’ Philip asked.
‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ So, he invited Philip to come and sit with him.” (Acts 8:30-31) NIV

The verses from Isaiah spoke prophetically of Jesus and his substitutionary death on the cross for the sins of mankind:

“Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the Good News about Jesus.
As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?’ And he gave orders to stop the chariot.” (Acts 8:35-38) The Message

Philip baptized him on the spot and without further preliminaries. Why, we might ask, did this Ethiopian not receive similar spiritual counsel and assistance while he was in Jerusalem where he had gone to worship? In a lecture on Acts, N.T. Wright opined that, most likely, he had been refused baptism there. As a eunuch, he could not be circumcised. But now he could be baptized, God having sent Philip personally to perform this baptism.

“When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.” (Acts 7;39) NIV

Both Philip and the Ethiopian had a mountaintop experience which could only have increased their faith exponentially.

What an amazing story, one might say. God took pity on the rebuffed eunuch and sent Philip on a goodwill mission for a single man. This would be remarkable on its own merits, we agree. But this is a blog about “things that are wrapped in purple “ – sacred things of enormous importance  Would this simple scenario be adequate for such a glorious wrapping? Maybe not. What then, qualifies the story for the extraordinary, the sacred? Here is the answer:

N.T. Wright said that, centuries later, when the missionaries arrived in Africa, Christianity was already there. There had been this Ethiopian eunuch who had brought it with him and it had spread through the continent like Good News will, under the sway of the Holy Spirit, himself…

Do you ever feel like God has you on an ordinary journey when you have FOMO for the place where the action is or that you are being sent to a desolate region when you were hoping for a crowd? If so, remember John and Jesus’ Mother, Mary. Remember Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Remember sacred things of God, Michael’s image of “things that are wrapped in purple” – that thing would be you, God’s witness beyond where we can even imagine, ripples extending out, even into eternity!