Was Lydia, the seller of purple, Paul's "man" in Macedonia?

I love to come home from church on Sunday and ponder something I heard in the sermon. Back in the "olden days" that was basically all we had to do on a Sunday afternoon. Stores were closed, there were hardly any shows on TV during the weekend, we didn't really go anywhere, and it was basically a parent-imposed day of rest. Strange notion, huh?

When we would visit our grandparents in the South (my Dad was in the Air Force, so we lived all around) there would always be a big Sunday dinner after church. There would be so many dishes on the table that some never even made it out of the kitchen. As we shared this meal, the sermon would always be the first topic. I remember very clearly being kicked under the table when I waxed long on the preacher's message that divorced people would "burn in hell" in front of my divorcee aunt. However controversial, the day's message was always dissected.

We don't do that much today...facebook, instagram, sports, and shopping have all intruded into the former sanctity of Sunday afternoon. I still like to take the time to digest a good sermon. My apologies to Rev. Todd Watson of Main Street United Methodist Church if I missed the point, but I've enjoyed looking at Acts 16:9-15 from Todd's point of view.

Paul was beckoned by a man in a dream to come to Macedonia. Paul and his entourage complied, and were met on the riverbank, outside the gates of the city, by Lydia, a seller of purple. Lydia was an independent Gentile woman in a world run by men. What were the chances of Paul and Lydia meeting? The Holy Spirit had lead the Jerusalem counsel to continue to allow Paul's outreach to the Gentiles. The Holy Spirit had lead Lydia to a God who had been looking for her. Their paths crossed on a trajectory that originated outside the boundaries of our human experience. The notions of work and worship find fusion in Lydia. Lydia and her household were baptized, and she became the first European convert to Christianity.

There is no record that Paul ever encounters the dream-man who called him to Macedonia. Could Lydia have been his stand-in? Would Paul have dropped everything he was doing to respond to a mere woman? When Paul and Lydia met by the river, longing and grace met, and everything changed in a moment that was both human and divine. All the participants worked together to respond to God's gentle nudge.

What nudges are we answering or ignoring? If we continue with our normal day-to-day obsession with self, can we hear the needs of others? Are we available enough to God to feel a nudge? These instantances may not be as dramatic as Paul's dream, but they are there, nonetheless.

This text is often preached to launch missions and evangelization. Our nudges need not take us to Macedonia, or the other side of the world. God's nudges can be local, coming at any time of the day or night. Our mission can be to the person sitting next to us at home, on our job, or out in our community. God opened Lydia's heart because she allowed it. May each of us be open enough to be nudged by God, to the point that we can fully rest in God's grace.