Acts 16:9-15 could in one way be titled, “Paul’s missionary trip to Europe,” and that seems fitting for two pastors coming to Europe after receiving a call from God to come and minister here in Hannover, Germany. But as we read the passage together, it is more than that. This passage could also be called, “The hospitality of Lydia.” She is someone the church celebrates as a proclaimer of the gospel and host to Paul and his missionary friends. This passage is not just about those who are sent out, but also those who receive them, with hands of curiosity and hospitality.
Scripture: Acts 16:9-15
During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
My husband, Jeff, and I did not receive a vision to come to Germany in the middle of the night. There was no dream of Phillip or Paul or Brigit saying, “Come over to Hannover and help us!” But the reality is that Paul went to Macedonia looking for one thing he thought was calling him, and then found something different. And Lydia didn’t go down to the river to have her household baptized or invite this large group of travelers into her home. Both set out from their home to do one thing; the work of the Holy Spirit led them to do another.
A Spirit-led connection
Honestly, if you think about it, the chances of Paul and Lydia meeting are rather slim. Paul came from far away and experienced many twists and turns in his travels. Think of all the various arguments that had happened between Paul and other apostles as they shared the gospel with Gentiles. And Paul wanted to go to Bithynia, and he and his companions happened to go down to that river right at the time that Lydia was there. Lydia, based on what little we know about her, was a busy woman—selling expensive goods and being active in her religious life already. She is like Mary and Martha melded into one. No, this meeting would never have happened had one side or the other not been willing to listen and be led by the Holy Spirit.
And so, by the power of the Holy Spirit, they are brought together. Paul shares the gospel, and Lydia responds with faith through the act of receiving baptism. This intersection we see of God’s goodness and faithfulness with the human act of willingness to listen is beautiful. As one commentator says, “The longing heart of a faithful woman is opened by the gracious impulse of a faith-giving God in an act that, like the incarnation itself, is at once fully human and fully divine. Like Lydia we are astonished when, looking back, we can say only that our steps were guided and our hearts opened.”
Acting with open hearts
Each one of us here today is being called to act out of an open heart to what the Lord will do in our lives. Whether this is the church home you were baptized into as a baby, or you come from Namibia and have been here for ten years, or you started attending last month after coming from any number of countries, we are called to be people with hospitable, open hearts. Because that is the other beautiful thing Lydia does here. As soon as God opens her heart, she immediately opens her home. Her direct action after receiving the good news is to open her arms with hospitality.
Related Bible study: Lydia of Thyatira: courageous hospitality
This congregation—RELISH (the Reformed English Language International Service in Hannover)—is something beautiful: a bringing together of people who have been here since before World Wars happened together and people who come from every nation and tongue. Yes, RELISH has been worshiping here for almost ten years, but we come together again today and say, “Yes, and we want to do this life of ministry together.” I say beautiful, and I also mean brave. It is brave to stand next to each other in true hospitality because that means there are times when we are going to feel uncomfortable with each other. Music, movements, laughter in services, traditions, foods, smells, everything can feel different than what we are used to. It is brave to be curious enough to try new things. It is brave to step out of our chartered courses and say, “I love and value you. I want to learn. Living together is more important to me than staying comfortable.” That is following the prompting of the same Holy Spirit who worked in the hearts of Paul and Lydia.
In both of my home countries right now, both here in Germany and in the U.S., there are lots of voices saying that this hospitality is unnecessary. Somehow people are even saying that it may be unbiblical—that we should stay in our own little groups and protect what has been given to us. Like the servant who buried his talent in the parable Jesus tells in Matthew 25, instead of using what God has given us to do good works for him, voices in society are telling us that we should be fearful of using our gifts for those around us. If you reread that parable, you will notice that the servant who was told he was wicked and lazy says, “I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground.” Rather than being driven by curiosity, hospitality, and faith, the servant is driven by fear, which is exactly the rhetoric we hear today.
But right here, looking around, we are witnessing an entrusting of what God has given and being faithful with it. We are saying, “I know I have a building, I know I have space, I know I have two years here in Hannover, and I want to use what I have been given to glorify you, Jesus.” And like Lydia and the good and faithful servants in the parable, we are going out in faith and hospitality.
Related: How did people practice hospitality in the Bible, and what does hospitality look like today?
Three lessons for us today from Paul and Lydia
After this service of welcome and induction, after we have had cake, and moved into a new week or month, what does this passage mean for us? Let’s keep in mind three things.
First, like Paul, we listen to the Holy Spirit when the Spirit calls. We step out into the uncomfortable norms and are willing to try something new, serving beside one another as Paul did with his group of missionaries.
Second, like Lydia, we need to be faithful in our gospel hospitality. We must invite one another in. For some here, that means the German congregation inviting RELISH people into various services they already do in the community. That means RELISH people inviting German members into new ideas we are dreaming about.
Related: Low-cost and no-cost ways of showing hospitality in the church
And third, like both Lydia and Paul, we stand counter to the voices around us and proclaim goodness, mercy, and kindness. We show others outside of this group what it actually means to be the beloved body of Christ by the way we interact with one another and those we do not yet know.
Beloved, we are called just as Paul and Lydia. We are Christ’s co-heirs, held close to the heart of God. We have been given a gift here in this place with these people. And we get to be faithful. I’m so excited to see what God is going to do. Let’s witness, and like Lydia, we will be astonished when, looking back, we can say only that our steps were guided and our hearts opened.
This sermon was originally preached by Chelsea Lampen on February 23, 2025, at the worship service where she and her husband, Jeff, were installed as co-pastors of RELISH (the Reformed English Language International Service in Hannover) in Hannover, Germany. It has been lightly edited and posted with permission.
Rev. Chelsea Lampen
Rev.Chelsea Lampen is an ordained minister of Word and sacrament in the Reformed Church in America. She co-pastors with her husband, Jeff, for RELISH (the Reformed English Language International Service in Hannover) in Hannover, Germany.Learn more and support their ministry. Chelsea also serves as the World Communion of Reformed Churches staff liaison for the CANAAC (the Caribbean and North American Area Council) Region.
