The Gospel According to a Sitcom Writer by James Cary

Author:James Cary
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SPCK
Published: 2021-04-23T09:45:22+00:00

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46 He’s been gathering a few in the first few chapters and doesn’t complete the set. Doesn’t seem that John’s a team player.

Philip, the angel and the eunuch

The Gospel accounts provide plenty of comic moments, but the Acts of the Apostles is also worth some attention. It contains some really big laughs, especially in scenes that involve angelic encounters and divine intervention. These often play out comically. Equivalent scenes in films would be hard to play entirely seriously because of the comic juxtaposition of the shining angelic messenger next to an apostle who had his own plans for the day.

The first curious incident I will mention – and thereby ruin for you – can be found in chapter 8, where we find Philip having a really weird day at the office.

Early manuscripts do not include the following

An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, ‘Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert.’

‘You’re not exactly selling it,’ said Philip.

‘Okay, Philip,’ said the angel. ‘Less to say, more obey? Chop chop.’

And so Philip went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had come to Jerusalem to worship.

While there, the eunuch had attended a local sporting fixture at which someone was holding up a sign. It said, ‘Isaiah 3.16’, and he wondered to himself what the sign could mean.

Returning and sitting in his chariot, the eunuch was reading the prophet Isaiah, which is quite a big scroll to read in a very confined space. And as he went along, the papyrus did flap everywhere. Eventually, he found chapter 3 verses 16 and 17, which said:

Moreover Yahweh said, ‘Because the daughters of Zion are arrogant,

and walk with outstretched necks and flirting eyes,

walking to trip as they go,

jingling ornaments on their feet;

therefore the Lord brings sores on the crown of the head of the women of Zion,

and Yahweh will make their scalps bald.’

‘Wow,’ said the eunuch. ‘I was not expecting to find that in Isaiah.’

And the eunuch started scrolling through the rest of Isaiah to get the gist. But his eyes were not opened.

Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.’

‘Seriously?’ said Philip. ‘He’s in a horse-drawn ­chariot. I’m just a guy on two legs.’

‘Well, you’d better get a move on, then, hadn’t you?’ said the angel. ‘Chop chop.’

‘Stop saying that. Anyway, it’s all right for you,’ said Philip. ‘You’re an angel! You’ve got wings!’

‘Do you see wings? I don’t have wings. It’s only cherubim and seraphim who have wings, and they are technically never called angels. Come on, Philip, you should know this. Anyway, that eunuch’s getting away.’

So Philip ran to him, and as he ran, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet.

Philip said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’

He said, ‘How can I, unless someone explains it to me?’

‘Sure. The thing about Isaiah is that he’s a prophet who .

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