This weekend marks the official start of summer for many Americans. Cookouts and time spent on the lake or in the backyard are the order of the day. School may have a few more hours for some, but on the whole children in our area this week are crying “freeedommm!” from studies. It’s a season marked by relaxation and recreation, and this weekend is often seen as a kick-off of such fun. In the first church I served, just outside of Philadelphia, I had a bit of a learning curve on what summer weekend life could look like when I first began in ministry. Almost every week from June until August, I heard people ask, “What are you doing this weekend?” “Going down the shore.” Down the shore. It took me a while to register the phrase that seemed odd to my Southern earns. It’s how those in the northeast, particularly those near enough to the coastline between New York and Delaware describe going to the beach. And the road from Philadelphia to the Jersey Shore, be it Ocean City or Cape May, was bumper to bumper every Friday afternoon. “Down the shore” was more than just about a destination, I learned. It was a way to describe getting away from it all to enjoy a time of rest or to let loose and breathe a little. For those who were living crazy busy lives in the city, it brought relief and much needed balance.

In today’s scripture reading, we have a story of going “down the shore.” Paul and his companions, Silas and Timothy, are on what we might call a European vacation, journeying throughout Roman colonies like Galatia and the district of Macedonia. We know from the text that they are following a vision from God, and have settled in the city for at least a few days to accomplish it. And then, the sabbath day comes, and they take a pause. They go to the river to pray, and find many kindred spirits present.

This part of Paul’s journey brings him into connection with a woman named Lydia. We are introduced to her as a “dealer in purple cloth,” which signifies that she is a businesswoman. And likely a successful one, as she is in charge of her own household. Her business dealings were with an extravagant material, reserved usually just for the elite class of Philippi. The very fact that she is named at all is significant to her place within the community and the story; and more she is presented with honor and recognition.

Lydia, on this day, has gone “down the shore.” We presume she is taking a break from her negotiations and is engaging in a time of prayer on the sabbath day. More than just a place to splash in the water or take a nap, the banks of a river are known throughout scriptures to be a place of nourishment and refreshment spiritually as well.  We know Lydia is a worshiper of God, distinguishing her from other Gentiles in the area, but at the start her motivations are unclear. As Ronald Cole-Turner offers:

She came to the riverside, to a secluded place of prayer. Perhaps she expected to meet other women, Jewish worshipers or Gentile seekers, for prayer together. Perhaps she came regularly. What she did not know was that on this particularly day outside the city gates, she would be met by Paul and his companions, missionaries looking for anyone who was seeking God in this hidden place of prayer. There at the riverside, Lydia found the God who was finding her

. . .

Here is the center of the story, the moment of intersection between human obedience and divine initiative. Longing and grace meet there on the bank of the river. The longing heart of a faithful woman is opened by the gracious impulse of a faith-giving God in an action that, like the incarnation itself, is at once fully human and fully divine[i].

This seeming “chance meeting” is only possible because both Lydia and Paul dared to take time to go “down the shore.” They move outside the city, changing the pace and rhythm of their lives in a way that enables them to embrace a new vision from God. What a fitting text on this weekend that is the launch of a new season. Perhaps, as we make our summer plans, we might also consider in what ways we are opening ourselves spiritually to grow and encounter God in times of prayer.

Throughout my life, one of my favorite places to go is Montreat, North Carolina. In fact, I can’t wait to spend some time there in just a few weeks. The past few summers, I’ve accompanied our youth group to the high school youth conference there. And for at least a few minutes each day, I’ve found myself setting up “my office” for a time of reading and reflection next to either Lake Susan or one of the creeks that babble as ice cold water tumbles over smooth rocks. It is particularly peaceful, and offers a perfect backdrop for thinking and praying. There’s something about that environment that sets up the possibility of profound moments in faith, or at least a few moments for good deep breathing. And while it’s true, I can find those moments here in Georgia, it seems that sometimes I have to physically move myself to some new location in order to see what God is really up to in my life. I wonder if it was the same for Lydia.

We read in verse 14 that “the Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.” She was hungry for some words of hope. No doubt he and his missionary companions spoke about the wonders of the resurrection and the joy of the living Christ. Here, though, we don’t get a lengthy account of Paul’s sermon. Perhaps, and I say this both anxiously and aware of the irony, what exactly Paul said wasn’t the point. What was most meaningful is that Lydia and others, were in a posture to receive the good news that was presented to them.

Where in your life are you in the best posture to receive God’s good news? Is it here in this Sanctuary? With a cup of coffee on your patio with your favorite devotional book? Watching the waves lap against the shoreline with your toes in the sand? Our text prompts us to carve out sacred spaces in our lives and engage in prayer that can be life-changing.

If you aren’t paying attention, you’ll almost miss what happens next. Lydia, and her household, were baptized, and she moves from opening her heart to God to opening her home to God’s missionaries. We imagine her to embark on a ministry of hospitality, worship and learning, becoming a model of leadership in the early church. Following their release from prison in verse 40 of this chapter, Paul and Silas will return to her house to encourage what appears to be a growing community of believers. The story of Lydia is sometimes characterized as evidence of the first European converts to Christianity. It is also seen as a powerful example of female leadership in the early church. But as inspiring as these two attributes are, I am most compelled by the fact that all of this was brought about by a willingness to set aside time for prayer and reflection. I read this text as an invitation to us today, to go “down the shore.” Or, as the gospel song goes, “down to the river to pray.”

In the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou, this song interrupts the 3 convicts trying to plan their next steps, as countless church-going singers in white robes descend on the river banks to be baptized. At the river, they find renewal and emerge refreshed for the journey of faith before them. One of the convicts is so swept up in the moment that he races into the water and emerges ecstatic that he has been forgiven. He calls to his friends “come on in boys, the water’s fine!” and one of them responds with an ear to ear grin. That is what it looks and feels like to be swept up in the gospel.

This morning, I’m not going to ask you to come be baptized; that’s not how Presbyterians work. But I am going to ask you to have a “baptismal moment” alongside Lydia and Paul on the banks of the river and consider what God might be calling you to this summer.  Ask yourself how your might be nudged by the Spirit out of your comfort zone, out of the city gates if you will, and into a spirit of prayer that opens you to the possibilities for God’s transforming grace and radical good news to speak to you and through you into the building up of God’s community here on earth. Will your heart be opened, as Lydia’s was, to the gospel? Take a few moments, right here, right now, to go “down the shore” and find out.

As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown
Good Lord, show me the way!

 O sisters, let’s go down,
Let’s go down, come on down
O sisters, let’s go down
Down in the river to pray

 As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way!

 O brothers, let’s go down
Let’s go down, come on down
Come on, brothers, let’s go down
Down in the river to pray

 As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown
Good Lord, show me the way!

Amen.

 

sermon preached by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford

Heritage Presbyterian Church, May 26, 2019

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[i] Ronald Cole-Turner, “Acts 16:9-15: Theological Perspective,” Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 2, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).