African church tradition maintains that this Ethiopian eunuch, named Bachos according to Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo tradition, was the first Christian missionary to share the Gospel in Africa. What sticks out the most to me, as I read this passage, is the question Bachos asks Philip. “What can stand in the way of me being baptized?” Is he expecting rejection? He has almost certainly faced exclusion at the temple in Jerusalem. Does he expect Christianity to be the same? Unwelcoming to minorities, both racially and sexually?
What is astounding is Philip’s non-answer. In that space of silence, nothing is found to prevent Bachos from being baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ. He comes as he is, and is welcomed into the body of Christ. No temple is needed to worship, no priests are required, simply an evangelist, the scriptures, and an inquiring heart and mind. God is already at work in reaching out to Bachos through the scriptures when Philip arrives. We can learn a valuable lesson from this passage. Rather than thinking we can “take Jesus” places, might our efforts be more fruitful if we trained our eyes to see where God is already at work, and joining that work? Might we be a better example of the Kingdom reality in the midst of the current systems of the world if we stopped excluding people from our fellowship because they (in our arrogant opinion) don’t have it all together?
Brothers and sisters, it is through Christ’s finished work upon the cross and his resurrection that anyone can be welcomed into the body of Christ. We join by being baptized into his death and resurrection. Here we see an opening of the doors. This man who would have faced exclusion from the religious folks in Jerusalem finds welcome at the feet of Jesus. May we never be so arrogant as to decide anyone is unworthy of that welcome.