When we meet the apostle Philip in our story from the Book of Acts, he had just finished the world's most major Confirmation Class. He didn't take the two year version; his class lasted for three years! And while the class menu didn't include Krispy Kremes, Girl Scout cookies, and frequent trips to the soda machine, they did have a miraculous supply of bread and fish. And like the Confirmation Class here, they had lots of fun, lots of time to learn, lots of opportunity for doubt, lots of chances to pray, to serve, to stumble, to fall, and to get back up again. And think about this: Philip and the other disciples didn't learn about Jesus - they learned from Jesus! We sometimes sing a hymn called "O Master Let Me Walk with Thee" - well, Philip, and Peter and James and John, and all the others walked with Jesus every day. They watched him heal people, and give sight back to blind people, and on at least a couple of occasions raise people from the dead. They didn't have a class on Communion; they were there when Communion started. They didn't learn about the church; they were the church - not a building, not a people, but a movement sharing God's love with the world.
But then there was Good Friday - although if you were there it was Bad Friday - no, it was Awful Friday. Jesus was murdered (Philip and the other felt so guilty - because while they didn't hammer the nails, or stab his side, they did run away - maybe they couldn't have stopped the soldiers, maybe they couldn't have prevented the terrible torture, but at least they could have slowed the process down - at least they could have stood with the best friend they had ever known). But Jesus was dead and class was dismissed. Or so Philip thought. Three days later, the teacher returned for 40 more days of class. The disciples had received the teaching but they hadn't understood what it ultimately meant - not at least until Jesus came back - not as a ghost, not as a spirit, but in the body. Before Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God being like a lost sheep being found, or a Samaritan helping his enemy a Jew by the side of the road. Now they had confirmation of what the Kingdom of God really like - death could not separate us from God - we are set free to be with God and to do God's work. A pretty amazing last class for Confirmation. Ten days after the teacher taught his last session, they had a total blow out for Confirmation Sunday - we know it as Pentecost - the Holy Spirit came, the wind of God blew in new directions, the fire of God purified the people, and they were sent out - out to the be the disciples that Jesus had called them to be.
So what was life like for Philip after this most unusual Confirmation class and that wild Confirmation Sunday? How did his life change now that he moved from a learning mode to a ministry mode (this is not to say that learning ends with Confirmation - learning and growing in the faith is a lifelong process - but with Confirmation we confirm (get it?) that we believe that Jesus is our Savior and the Savior of the world and we dedicate ourselves to serving him in the world). And what a world Philip was called to serve in and what places God sent him. The first time we meet Philip out on his own in the Book of Acts he is preaching in Samaria. Samaria was a rough place for a Jew like Philip to preach. Samaritans and Jews had bad blood between them - they had for centuries - but that is where Philip was sent. It was a hard place to be sent, but Philip was ready for it - because he had been through Confirmation - he had been prepared.
But Samaria was nothing to where we see Philip in our story today. After being in Samaria for awhile, Philip was sent the road that connected Jerusalem to Gaza. If Jerusalem were downtown St. Louis, Gaza was way beyond West County; it was the outer extreme of Palestine. Go beyond Gaza and you were in another country. So Philip is instructed by an angel to go to the road that leads away from everything safe and familiar. And then the writer of Acts adds one more little, but important detail. He says "This is a wilderness road." Not only is the road leading away from everything familiar, it is dangerous. There are no towns, no water, no safety. Everything will be different. And all of this just a short time after the end of Confirmation class! So this is where Philip is sent. And if the surroundings didn't feel strange to Philip (after all this is a guy who spent lots of time with Jesus in remote and desolate places), the person he was to meet would shake Philip to his core. While waiting on the side of the wilderness road, Philip saw a wilderness sight. An Ethiopian eunuch who was a high-ranking official in the queen's court driving by in a chariot - which would be the fancy Beemer of the day. Let's unpack who this man was: Ethiopian - this means the man is not only a different nationality from Philip, but a different race. He is a dark skinned African with different physical features from the Middle Eastern Philip. Even at first sight, Philip had to wonder what he had in common with this man. Eunuch - this means his sex organs had been removed - which is not only strange to think about, but meant, at least according to the Old Testament, that he was an outsider - not a full participant in God's plan. Official in the queen's court - he was not a commoner like the disciples but of the same class that put Jesus to death. Everything about this man said wilderness. Surely this was a passerby and Philip was to wait for another. But no, the Spirit of God spoke to Philip and said, "Go up to him. Talk to him. See what is going on." Philip must have thought: "What have I gotten myself into? Sure, Jesus used to go up to people like this - he did it all the time; but I am alone - out in the wilderness - everything is unfamiliar and strange. Why can't I be somewhere else? Why do I have to be here?"
Today I can promise you confirmands many things. I can promise you a lifetime of learning, of growing, and of loving the Lord. I promise that you will have moments in your life, and not always at the happy times, when the power of the resurrection is so real you can touch it and taste it - when you don't just know, but you know what it means that Jesus died and now lives forever. You will have moments when you know what God wants you to do and your life will make sense in a way that it hasn't before. You will have times when God is so close, when you feel God's presence so intimately that your life will be different forever. But I also promise you there will be times when, like Philip, because of your faith you will find yourself out on the wilderness road - far away from safely, far away from the familiar, encountering people who have nothing in common with you - nothing but a hunger to know God more fully. This is what confirmation means - it is what it meant for Philip, it is what it means for all of us, it is what it means for you. God sends us where God needs us - whether we are comfortable with it or not, whether we feel ready or not.
We know what happened to Philip when he was out on the wilderness road. He followed God's instructions and went up to the eunuch. He told him about Jesus, he shared his own faith, his own hopes - he shared himself. And the eunuch believed. He got so excited about Jesus that he wanted to be baptized right there and then. And so he was and his life was changed forever. A great ending - a joyful conclusion to a dangerous beginning.
But my question is: how did Philip do it? How was he able to overcome his fear and do what God wanted him to do. As it turned out, he did it with the same three resources that you all have. First, Philip could go to the wilderness road and he could share his faith on the wilderness road because he knew Jesus. Philip knew that his life was defined, not by his surroundings, not by his fears, but by the one who lived with him, not only the past, but forever. Philip knew that he didn't walk alone - that even the most unfamiliar wilderness was made familiar with the presence of his Lord and Savior. Second, Philip was part of a community. Even though Philip was alone on the wilderness road, he was part of something bigger. Others were praying for him. Others cared about him. Others were ministering in other places in the name of Jesus Christ. That is why on the day when you confirm your baptism, you also join the church. Faith is lived out, not in isolation, but in a community of believers. And you will have that for the rest of you life. And third, Philip had the continuing gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit brought Philip to the wilderness road and the Spirit brought Philip to the next place. And all throughout, the Spirit was reassuring Philip, the Spirit was strengthening Philip, the Spirit was giving Philip peace so he could focus on the ministry and not on the strangeness out on the wilderness road.
Today, confirmands, you will confirm your faith in Jesus Christ, you will become an official part of the community of faith, and you will receive the gift of Holy Spirit in a new way. Like Philip you will be sent to strange and wonderful places and meet strange and wonderful people to share the good news of Jesus Christ. You will at times find yourself out of place, away from the familiar, out on the wilderness road. And like Philip, you will be able to share your faith, to give yourself, to change the world because you know Jesus, you are a part of a community that loves you and prays for you, and because the Holy Spirit gives you power and peace. May God be with you always!