When Philip, one of the leaders of the early church tasked with caring for the Greek-speaking widows, and other early believers are chased out of Jerusalem by persecution, he goes north to Samaria where he begins to preach the gospel-the good news about Jesus Christ. He is far too powerful to be controlled by us. Here is the root of all idolatry-thinking we can handle God, that we can control him with our religious deeds, our prayers, our words. The people of Samaria think he has divine powers- “the Great Power of God,” like a mini Hercules or Perseus, sons of Zeus. He’s arrogant, prideful, and claims to be someone great. Micky Mouse isn’t dancing around wearing a big blue pointy hat with stars on it and waving his fingers at a broom. Simon’s sorcery is no The Magician’s Apprentice. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. They know enough to get themselves in trouble, which is perhaps why Simon is someone who has so much power.Ĩ Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria.
They share some beliefs and background with their Jewish neighbors, but this has only caused religious and ethnic division. Samaria is a land where the people are Jewish but not Jewish. This man lived in the town of Samaria, north of Jerusalem.
Maybe you’re wondering, “Who would ever try to buy the Holy Spirit?” Well, I’m glad you asked because a Sorcerer named Simon would. The Holy Spirit is a person, more like Charlotte. The Holy Spirit is not like the big brass pots or Navajo rug. The Holy Spirit is not something we can purchase or buy, not with money or good deeds. My hope and prayer is today’s sermon will make us more aware of the Holy Spirit’s power and how we sometimes attempt to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit. In today’s text one man has to learn the hard way… The Holy Spirit is not for sale. The legend goes that one time she was so still that someone thought she was a life-sized doll. Sometimes tourists tried to buy the little old lady, Charlotte, who had fallen asleep behind the counter, my boss. Occasionally tourists would try and buy this big beautiful Navajo rug we had hanging on our wall. Occasionally tourists would try to buy the big brass pots we had in the back of the store, but they were a decoration. Have you ever tried to buy something that’s not for sale? When I was a teenager, I worked at a tourist shop in the mountains of Colorado called Indian Village.
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