Zaccheus & His Big Tree

Lydia: A Woman Laborer

Dr. Larry Thorson
September 2, 2007

Acts 16:9-16

9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 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.

11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

13 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. 14 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. 15 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.

Tomorrow is Labor Day. We don’t give a lot of thought to the day anymore other than maybe as a celebration of the end of summer. But it was first celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. Twelve years later it became a Federal holiday.

Some believe the first Monday of September was chosen for Labor Day because President Grover Cleveland was afraid it might end up on May 1, the day when the Socialists of that era worldwide would make their speeches promoting rights of labor workers against capitalist business owners. President Cleveland worried that May Day would give the Socialists an opportunity to gain a foothold in our country.

I give you that history to illustrate how times have really changed. Not too many people I know are celebrating the trades or their unions these days which is unfortunate. I want to commemorate all the plumbers who have kept water running in its right places in my houses over the years. I want to remember all the mechanics who have kept my cars running. The carpenters who built my house and this church, the road crew that repaves our streets, the roofers laboring under the sun in 105 degree weather, the pest controller who crawls around in 120 degree attics, or the garbage men who make our neighborhoods smell better.

Let’s never forget these people, American citizens or otherwise who make our lives so much better. But I also want to point out that when we think of laborers we usually think of men, with one exception for those of you old enough to remember Rosie the Riveter. Rosie wasn’t an actual person but during World War II she represented the thousands of women who worked in defense plants while the men were away fighting in Europe and the Pacific.

For most of the women of that era, this was the first time they had earned a salary; their first time to wear coveralls and boots; their first time to carry a lunch pail and the first time that many had to balance caring for family and work outside the home. It was also the first time for day-care centers.

When mothers, wives, and sweethearts of servicemen joined the workforce, they worked in shifts around the clock, hoping that their efforts would help bring the war to a quicker end. Starting pay was 46 to 65 cents an hour. Some worked 10-hour days, seven days a week, with no time off except at Christmas. Thanksgiving was a workday. But these women - all referred to as Rosie the Riveter - kept at it.

She symbolized the women who worked long and hard to bring World War II to an end. She stands for a time when women began to realize that, if they wanted to, they could do something more than keeping house and raising children. Many people feel that victory in World War II couldn’t have occurred without all the women who were called Rosie the Riveter. "Rosies" changed America.

But long before the Rosies, it was Jesus who really acknowledged the capability of women as equal with men. It was the spread of the Christian gospel before it was institutionalized that changed the role of women in society.

Our Bible story today involves a woman named Lydia who became a leader in the early church and a good example of how the early followers of Jesus followed his example of valuing the contributions of women. She illustrates the fact that God is no respecter of gender. Those who labor in the service of our Lord are male and female, young and old. When Jesus came he broke down the gender barriers and welcomed anyone who opened their lives to him.

Here’s the setting for the story: the missionary team of Paul, Silas and Timothy were in the city of Philippi on a Sabbath. There were no synagogues or churches in Philippi to worship in so they went out of the city to the edge of the Gangities River where there was a gathering place for believers to pray

When they got to the riverbank, Paul and his team encountered a group of women who had gathered for prayer. One of those women was Lydia. She was the first woman named in Scripture who is described as a retailer. She came from Thyratira, a city in the western part of the region of Lydia in Asia Minor or present day Turkey, famous for making purple garments. Eventually a church was started in her hometown which was one of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation.

Lydia was a dealer in purple cloth, which probably made her a somewhat wealthy businesswoman, because only the wealthiest people in the Roman world could afford the luxury of purple cloth. The purple dye came drop by drop from a certain shellfish—and so there were high prices for anything that was purple, which meant good business for Lydia.

It says that she was a worshiper of God. That means when Paul first met her she wasn’t going to any church or synagogue. She was a Gentile who worshipped the one true God but had never converted to Judaism.

Lydia wasn’t that different from today’s women. The fact that she would go to a place of prayer on her own says she was searching for a relationship with the one true God. God saw that spiritual hungry and drew her in. Lydia then made a public confession of her faith. There at the water's edge she heard, she believed and she confessed. She was not hesitant in sharing her faith as witnessed by her entire household coming to a saving knowledge of the Lord. I might add that when it says the members of her household were baptized that was an indication that she the head of her household. We don’t know if maybe she was a single, working mom because no husband is mentioned.

Upon receiving this new life, Lydia immediately began to think about others. She shared her concern over the well being of Paul, Silas and Timothy. She took them immediately into her house where she provided shelter, clothing and food.

Lydia was a successful woman in a man's world. We know that she was respected in her trade. Her home must have been spacious in order to house three extra men. She demonstrated that she was accommodating by the use of her home for guests. Her success indicates that she was hard working, bold and intelligent -- common traits of a woman of this standing.

But then so much changed after she accepted Christ. She had a new managing partner - the Lord Jesus Christ. She wanted to spread the Good News. The meeting place for the Philippi believers moved to Lydia's house. No more meeting at the riverbank; now there was a place of refuge and warmth for all who believed. It’s often thought that Lydia was the first European brought to Christ and her house became the first home to share the gospel on the continent.

So today we give thanks for those who labor on our behalf, recognizing that means both men and women. Secondly, we give thanks to God who looked on Lydia and didn’t write her off because she was a woman. As a result we will try not to write anyone off because of our preconceived ideas of them. Third, we remember that Lydia didn’t earn her salvation, but God opened her heart to receive his Son Jesus Christ. Then he used her labors for his glory, not hers. Today we celebrate in the Lord’s Table that we can’t earn our salvation but that it is God who opens our heart when we sincerely seek him. God wants to use your labors even today. Amen.