Where is Lydia? Acts 16.9-15

Acts 16:9-15

On Mothers’ Day, the Día de Madre, its appropriate that our Bible reading is about a famous woman from the New Testament. Acts 16 has three conversion stories, examples of a larger number of converts in Philippi. As well as Lydia, the trader in purple cloth, we meet the slave girl and the jailer. It is a diverse group of characters, which in itself shows how God breaks down barriers and unites people in Christ. But why focus our attention on Lydia, who is only mentioned in three verses in the Bible?

·         She is the first recorded convert to Christianity in the first church to be planted in Europe.

·         She was the hostess and perhaps the leader of that church.

·         Her journey to faith may give clues which will help us reach the Lydias of today with the good news of Jesus.

I’d like us to think about Finding Lydia, Saving Lydia and Including Lydia.

Finding Lydia

You may remember that St Paul had sailed to the region of Macedonia in response to a vision of a man pleading with him to “Come and help us”. Now when Paul and his fellow missionaries arrived in a new place, his usual plan was to start at the local synagogue and try to convince the Jewish people about Jesus. That doesn’t seem to have happened in Philippi, and one theory is that there was no synagogue because there weren’t enough Jewish men in the town to have one.

So, having stayed there a few days looking around, Paul goes outside the city walls, on the Sabbath day, to a place by the river where it is rumoured that women gather to pray. There he meets Lydia’s group and joins in conversation with them. It is probably a very mixed group including Jews and non-Jews, with various levels of belief and interest in God, at least some inclination to pray, at least some courage to join in with this subversive activity, but as yet no knowledge about Jesus.

We notice then how in answering God’s call, following the Holy Spirit’s leading, Paul steps outside his comfort zone, looks for these people, meets them on their familiar ground and talks to them about Jesus.

My first question for us is simply this; Where do today’s Lydias gather, and how good are we at getting alongside them and gossiping the gospel?

Coming to church services may not be a priority for most people, but I believe there are many women and men in our society who have an interest in spiritual matters, who sometimes have an urge to pray but no idea who to pray to. Where are they? In the bars, shopping malls (the new cathedrals!), at the gym, on the beach, looking for work or cheap food and clothing, chatting online with strangers.

Think about this for yourself – where is Lydia? And who is doing something about finding her and helping her discover the Lord who longs to meet her? Is this your job, or mine, or somebody else’s? Can we become a church which is good at finding and contacting Lydia?

One thing is certain: God wants Lydia to be found.

Saving Lydia

Verse 14 tells us that one of the women listening to what Paul, Silas and Luke were saying was Lydia, a dealer in expensive cloth, from Thyatira, who was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message and she and her whole household were baptised.

Now we’d all love to know what Paul’s words were – the wonderful persuasive words which immediately convinced this woman and others about Jesus. But his words are not recorded, even though Luke, the writer of Acts, was an eyewitness. This is frustrating!

Which reminds me of when I was a shy and awkward teenager, discovering the attraction of girls but having no success at all in getting to know any. I always believed that my more confident and successful friends had some amazing ‘chat up lines’, guaranteed to win the affection of the loveliest girl. If only I could discover these magic words, this formula, I too would enjoy romantic success with girls!

Of course there is no catchall formula for romance, nor indeed for evangelism. We know from our Bibles that Paul, like Jesus himself, treated each person as an individual, with respect for their culture and their circumstances. He knew that he owed his life to the undeserved grace of God, and he never treated others as conquests to be gained.

What is interesting is how God works with Paul in a kind of partnership. It is Paul who speaks, his voice that is heard by Lydia, yet it is God who opens her heart to listen eagerly and enables her to understand and receive Jesus. God is the one who initiates the contact. Paul obeys and seeks, finds and speaks to Lydia, and God reaches her through Paul’s words.

I think we sometimes forget that God always operates in this way, working in partnership with obedient people who will take his love and the good news of Jesus to others.

Question: Do we speak to others about Jesus? And do we believe that when we speak about Jesus God will open people’s hearts to believe? Or are we too polite or too shy to do this? Do we think it is best to stay quiet about our faith and not take the risk? Are we a church that is good at finding Lydia but not so good at helping her find salvation?

Another thing to notice is God’s priority to reach outsiders, people who are different from us. Lydia was an outsider in a number of ways – a female head of household in a very male dominated society, she was also a successful businesswoman and an immigrant from Asia making her way in Europe.

Question: Who will be God’s mission partner in reaching female heads of household, Asian immigrants, business people? What about homeless people, drug users, mentally and physically handicapped people, prisoners and other minority groups? Who will reach them and how?

God seeks mission partners to reach all kinds of people because he wants the Lydias to be found and to be saved.

Including Lydia

The baptism of Lydia – and noticeably of her whole household is a sacramental act confirming their acceptance and inclusion in Christ and in the church. Equally important is the way in which Lydia opens her house, in response to God opening her heart, and her hospitality and generosity are accepted by Paul and his companions, after some persuasion.

Lydia’s gifts and abilities are recognised, affirmed and included by Paul and these qualities of hospitality and generosity become characterisic of the Philippian church (see Phil 4:15-17). The final verse of Acts 16 shows that Lydia’s home became the meeting place of the church and hints that she was its first leader. Being host or leader was a brave thing to do in a place that could be suspicious and hostile towards new religious ideas.

Question: How good are we at fully including those who have been found and saved in the life of the church? How good are we are at making space for them to use their gifts, especially in the case of people who don’t fit the usual pattern or type?

From my own experience and from talking to other church leaders I would say that many of the Lydias ‘out there’ are people who have been part of churches but have become disillusioned and fallen away. They were found and saved but never really felt included. Many others keep on coming in hope or out of loyalty, but actually feel unvalued, unloved, unrecognised and excluded. If that sounds like you, come and see me!

Conclusion

Finding Lydia, Saving Lydia and Including Lydia were all vital steps in the founding of the Philippian church and the spread of Christianity into Europe. God wants today’s Lydias to be found and saved and included in his church and he calls Christians to be his mission partners in finding and saving and including them. Who will answer God’s call?