Wednesday Wisdom: Somebody BE Phil
There's this show I'm kind of obsessed with lately called "Somebody Feed Phil." You've heard me talk about it. It's mostly about traveling and eating out. Two of my favorite things, that I kind of can't do right now. Because stupid 'Rona. I have said that turning on this Netflix binge-worthy show instantly lowers my blood pressure. When I sit down, commandeer the TV remote and turn on "Somebody Feed Phil" my family knows that the homework is too much, the Facebook is too mean, and the world is too broken for me to fix by myself in that moment. And I just need to watch somebody eat hummus.
But, beyond all the pretty food and exciting places, this show stars Phil Rosenthal, an actor, writer, and producer, best known for co-producing Everybody Loves Raymond. And from everything I can tell, he's a delight. His personality is a little Bob-Goff-esque, as he approaches life with that enthusiastic childlike wonder that takes nothing for granted. I just want to hug him!
But there's a certain underlying narrative of inclusiveness and shalom in each episode, even if you have to look for it a little. The backstory is that Phil was born to a Jewish family in Queens, New York. So, when Phil visits Marakeet in Morocco and breaks bread in the home of a Muslim family, I see it as something more significant than a lighthearted lesson on the proper way to eat couscous. When Phil visits Israel, there is a similar open-mind and open-heart innocence in his interactions with the variety of people he meets. Then, when he visits Chicago, he sits at the table in the basement of the famed Ebeneezer Baptist church in Chicago, eating breakfast with their now much smaller congregation before the service. He sits at a table with a few of the clergy, sharing his story of growing up in a Jewish home but being drawn to some of the catchy black spiritual songs he would hear. So, a little while later, he tears up singing right along with them, and he talks about what a moving experience it was for him. Rarely does Phil get serious. But this got pretty serious. And then they had ice cream.
I have been learning about another Phil. We first meet this man, Phillip the Evangelist in Acts 6. I can't help but imagine him a little bit like Phil Rosenthal, embracing the world with open arms. According to Acts 6, as the early church grew, "The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food." The Apostles knew they needed to appoint a committee of seven of the right people to fix this. Phillip was one of those seven. And, I believe he had an understanding of equity and a heart for making room at the table for everyone. This theme seems to continue in his story.
The next time I see Phillip he's heading to Samaria. It's important to know that the Jewish people hated the Samaritans. They had descended from the Joseph tribes from the Southern kingdom of Israel. You can read more about this here https://bible.org/illustration/hatred-between-jews-and-samaritans. But one thing that really stood out to me from this article was "It is not the person from the radically different culture on the other side of the world that is hardest to love, but the nearby neighbor whose skin color, language, rituals, values, ancestry, history, and customs are different from one’s own." There's a good chance that Phillip may have grown up hearing degrading jokes about the Samaritans just down the road. He may have been warned against associating with them. And, heaven forbid he bring one home to meet his mother! Who knows...but it's likely. Yet, he seems to think nothing of heading there. He doesn't pat himself on the back for his progressiveness either. He just does it. But, as we read this story in the beginning of Acts 8, we should probably ask ourselves who our Samaritans are. And, have we opened ourself up to the work of the Holy Spirit to rid us of these prejudices in a way that positions us to be used by God as Phillip was? I think there's a reason that God sent this same man who made room at the table for the widows in his church who spoke a different language than the others. God, who sees deep inside us knew it would take a Phil.
Finally, and maybe most significantly to me personally, is the story of Phillip in Acts 8, starting at verse 26. An important official from Ethiopia was on his way back home after a business trip. He sat in his chariot reading the prophesies of Isaiah, and feeling a little puzzled. The God who sees sent him Phillip. This was the same Phillip who kept the Greek-speaking widows equally cared for, and went to hang out and share Jesus with the Samaritans. Phillip the bridge builder. He meets up with the Ethiopian, humbly shares what he knows, and when the Ethiopian man reaches out and grabs that gift from God and is baptized, Phillip doesn't follow him to Ethiopia to make sure he gets this all right. Because he is confident that the very same Spirit that was with him was now also with this Ethiopian official. And, I believe, in part because of the gospel that he brought home, all of Ethiopia has benefited from this man's conversion. Dan has a friend who is an Ethiopian immigrant who is also his brother in Christ, perhaps in part, as a result of the brief friendship shared between Phillip and the man he met on the road back home.
There's some things I see about both of these Phils, then and now. I see these men who embrace what's different with love and not disgust. I see a passion for wanting others to enjoy what they have and love instead of keeping it only for themselves. I see community building around a table with food shared and hearts and stomachs filled. I see respect for other cultures instead of superiority. And I see bridge builders. If we only care for those just like us, we will never get anywhere. We need Phils, whose hearts are prepared to reach across the divides. We don't need more people who think that their faith is just about "needing to be fed." We need somebody ready to BE Phil.
But, beyond all the pretty food and exciting places, this show stars Phil Rosenthal, an actor, writer, and producer, best known for co-producing Everybody Loves Raymond. And from everything I can tell, he's a delight. His personality is a little Bob-Goff-esque, as he approaches life with that enthusiastic childlike wonder that takes nothing for granted. I just want to hug him!
But there's a certain underlying narrative of inclusiveness and shalom in each episode, even if you have to look for it a little. The backstory is that Phil was born to a Jewish family in Queens, New York. So, when Phil visits Marakeet in Morocco and breaks bread in the home of a Muslim family, I see it as something more significant than a lighthearted lesson on the proper way to eat couscous. When Phil visits Israel, there is a similar open-mind and open-heart innocence in his interactions with the variety of people he meets. Then, when he visits Chicago, he sits at the table in the basement of the famed Ebeneezer Baptist church in Chicago, eating breakfast with their now much smaller congregation before the service. He sits at a table with a few of the clergy, sharing his story of growing up in a Jewish home but being drawn to some of the catchy black spiritual songs he would hear. So, a little while later, he tears up singing right along with them, and he talks about what a moving experience it was for him. Rarely does Phil get serious. But this got pretty serious. And then they had ice cream.
I have been learning about another Phil. We first meet this man, Phillip the Evangelist in Acts 6. I can't help but imagine him a little bit like Phil Rosenthal, embracing the world with open arms. According to Acts 6, as the early church grew, "The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food." The Apostles knew they needed to appoint a committee of seven of the right people to fix this. Phillip was one of those seven. And, I believe he had an understanding of equity and a heart for making room at the table for everyone. This theme seems to continue in his story.
The next time I see Phillip he's heading to Samaria. It's important to know that the Jewish people hated the Samaritans. They had descended from the Joseph tribes from the Southern kingdom of Israel. You can read more about this here https://bible.org/illustration/hatred-between-jews-and-samaritans. But one thing that really stood out to me from this article was "It is not the person from the radically different culture on the other side of the world that is hardest to love, but the nearby neighbor whose skin color, language, rituals, values, ancestry, history, and customs are different from one’s own." There's a good chance that Phillip may have grown up hearing degrading jokes about the Samaritans just down the road. He may have been warned against associating with them. And, heaven forbid he bring one home to meet his mother! Who knows...but it's likely. Yet, he seems to think nothing of heading there. He doesn't pat himself on the back for his progressiveness either. He just does it. But, as we read this story in the beginning of Acts 8, we should probably ask ourselves who our Samaritans are. And, have we opened ourself up to the work of the Holy Spirit to rid us of these prejudices in a way that positions us to be used by God as Phillip was? I think there's a reason that God sent this same man who made room at the table for the widows in his church who spoke a different language than the others. God, who sees deep inside us knew it would take a Phil.
Finally, and maybe most significantly to me personally, is the story of Phillip in Acts 8, starting at verse 26. An important official from Ethiopia was on his way back home after a business trip. He sat in his chariot reading the prophesies of Isaiah, and feeling a little puzzled. The God who sees sent him Phillip. This was the same Phillip who kept the Greek-speaking widows equally cared for, and went to hang out and share Jesus with the Samaritans. Phillip the bridge builder. He meets up with the Ethiopian, humbly shares what he knows, and when the Ethiopian man reaches out and grabs that gift from God and is baptized, Phillip doesn't follow him to Ethiopia to make sure he gets this all right. Because he is confident that the very same Spirit that was with him was now also with this Ethiopian official. And, I believe, in part because of the gospel that he brought home, all of Ethiopia has benefited from this man's conversion. Dan has a friend who is an Ethiopian immigrant who is also his brother in Christ, perhaps in part, as a result of the brief friendship shared between Phillip and the man he met on the road back home.
There's some things I see about both of these Phils, then and now. I see these men who embrace what's different with love and not disgust. I see a passion for wanting others to enjoy what they have and love instead of keeping it only for themselves. I see community building around a table with food shared and hearts and stomachs filled. I see respect for other cultures instead of superiority. And I see bridge builders. If we only care for those just like us, we will never get anywhere. We need Phils, whose hearts are prepared to reach across the divides. We don't need more people who think that their faith is just about "needing to be fed." We need somebody ready to BE Phil.
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