She Has A Name; Acts:16-34

 

Rev. George Miller

May 8, 2022

Acts 16:16-34

 

Last week I was blessed with the chance to spend time on the east coast, visiting Jack and Donna, seeing Eli, meeting with Neal Watkins from the FL Conference.

 

One morning, I sat outside on the balcony of the hotel, which offered a view of the Fort Pierce inlet. 

 

The balcony had a railing around it, keeping me safe, but the posts blocked the full panoramic splendor. 

 

The only way to fully appreciate and see what was before me was to stand up or to walk to the shore.

 

All those rails set in place to ensure I was safe, yet unable to fully see.

 

I mention this, because today we celebrate Mother’s Day with a question “Do we really see our Mothers and the women in our lives?”

 

Sure, our eyes may see, but do we really see them?

 

Throughout history we have seen mothers play many roles, keeping family and children safe, secure.

 

Medic, teacher, gardener.  Financial planner, household manager, travel agent, and dating consultant.

 

Mom’s have been seen as chef, chauffeur, and cheerleader.

 

When chaos erupts in the family, Mom can be the judge, jury, defendant and prosecutor, all at the same time.

 

But when is Mom ever seen as…. Carol, Anna or Margie? 

 

When are all those rails removed, and Mom is seen as Harriet, Grace, and Maureen?

 

As Moms are busy momm-ing, when do they just get to be Diane, Nancy, Carnide, and Roxie?

 

We love to romanticize Moms and motherhood, but when do we actually see the panoramic view of the whole person-

 

Their weaknesses, their strengths, their quirks, their hopes, desires, passions, and future possibilities?

 

There is always a danger when we remove a name or only use a title, because it can detract from seeing the fullness of the person before us.

 

Case in point- today’s reading.  We have Paul and Silas in Philippi.  One day a girl who is enslaved follows them, shouting and crying out.

 

This enslaved female has the gift of fortune telling, which her owners use as an opportunity to make lots of cash. 

 

After a few days of this young person shouting, following the men, Paul is annoyed, turns to the girl and says to the spirit within her “Enough!  I order you in the name of Jesus to come out.”

 

And the spirit does.  Great news, we can think.  Just like the blind man made to see, a healing has come upon this enslaved individual.

 

Surely this is a sign worth celebrating, a glorious feat to recall and share with our daughters’ daughters.

 

But…did you notice something?  Once the spirit leaves the girl, we never hear from her or about her again.

 

Poof!  It’s like she vanished.  We have no scene of her giving thanks or sharing the good news.  Unlike the men healed in John, we have no follow up to what she says or does.

 

She starts as a nameless female whose sole purpose is to serve, and not just to her owners, but to the author of Acts as well.

 

It breaks my heart to say this, but Acts treats her just as much as a prop as her owners do, so when she no longer serves the narrative, she’s dismissed.

 

I see this as a major flaw of Chapter 16.  All the focus is placed on Paul and Silas, but they are like the rails on the balcony, blocking a full look at what could’ve been a more beautiful view.

 

Who is this girl?  What is HER name?  Surely, she had a name.  What if the author had told us her name?

 

What if we were told her name was Mary Alice, Victoria, or Madeline?

 

Where did she and her people come from?  Ethiopia, Syria, Greece?

 

What were her dreams, aspirations?

 

What became of her after this life changing experience that took place in the name of Christ? Was it for the better, the worse? 

 

We will never know, because the truth is, that this enslaved girl was seen as a thing, an object, even by the author.

 

But we know she was not a thing. 

 

We know she was not an item, or a product you can purchase.

 

She was a person.  She IS a person.

 

And as a person, she is a living Child Of God.  As all of us are.

 

Here-in lies one of the big issues we are facing right now- the stripping of names, and seeing people only in terms of objects, things, groups.

 

When we call someone by their name, we give them individuality, personhood, full Citizenship in the Kingdom of God.

 

But what happens when we hate, or are scared, mad or full of fear?

 

We strip the person’s name and go right for the group, the title, the thing.

 

We see this in today’s discourse of democrats and republicans, with all the crass nicknames we create on social media for those we dislike.

 

We see this in the name of people seeking a home in America.  Legal, Illegal, documented, undocumented.

 

We see this in Florida’s Battle with Disney World.  All of a sudden, they are “the company from Burbank.”

 

We’ve seen this with folks being called a northerner, southerner, poor white trash, welfare queen or snowbird.

 

All these things create bars in which we no longer get a full view of who that person is, what’s their story or what is their name.

 

It’s harder to hate or hurt someone when you know their Momma gave them a name.

 

So in conclusion, we are going to leave the Biblical narrative right here. 

 

Paul and Silas are fine.  They’ll have many more adventures to be talked about.

 

But today, and for the next 4 weeks, let’s see if we can remove some of those bars, if we can better look at the people we encounter,

 

especially those who have no name, those who may be treated as an object, those who have been waiting for a second look.

 

The young girl, just like all our Mothers, just like all the women here today, has a story to be heard, and as a Child of God, hers is a story worth knowing.

 

Are we willing to pause, look, and to really, truly see?

 

Amen.