***
Acts 8: 26-40
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,
“Get up and head south on the road
that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.”
So he got up and set out.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,
a court official of the Candace,
that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,
in charge of her entire treasury,
who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.
Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit said to Philip,
“Go and join up with that chariot.”
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,
“Do you understand what you are reading?”
He replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?”
So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.
This was the Scripture passage he was reading:
Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will tell of his posterity?
For his life is taken from the earth.
Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,
“I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?
About himself, or about someone else?”
Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,
he proclaimed Jesus to him.
As they traveled along the road
they came to some water,
and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water.
What is to prevent my being baptized?”
Then he ordered the chariot to stop,
and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
When they came out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,
and the eunuch saw him no more,
but continued on his way rejoicing.
Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news
to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
The Word of the Lord.
***
***
The Acts of the Apostles describes the life and activity of the early Church.
It was a dynamic era filled with both wins and losses. Yesterday, for example, Saint Stephen was stoned to death, becoming the first Christian martyr.
But today the Church gains a disciple.
***
Philip is leaving Jerusalem when he comes across an Ethiopian man reading the prophet Isaiah.
“I beg you,” the man says to Philip, “about whom is the prophet saying this? About himself or about someone else?”
Because Philip knows his faith, he’s able to break open the scriptures, explaining to this Ethiopian man that Jesus is the Messiah, the one whom Isaiah foretold.
This man believes and is baptized. Another disciple gained.
Tradition tells us this man went on to evangelize all of Ethiopia, which still has an active Christian community today.
***
How many people do we know like this Ethiopian man – they’re either searching for answers or are on the fringe of belief?
***
Even Catholics can fall into this category. Some have drifted from the Church. Others are hungry to know more about our faith, but are unsure where to turn.
If we are to bring them to Christ like Philip did, then we must know our faith – and why it matters to us.
***
If someone asked you, “Who is Jesus? Why do you believe in him? Why does faith matter?”
What might you say?
***
Image credits: (1) ThinkTheology.org (2) School of Rembrandt, The Baptism of the Eunuch 1632 (3) Ascension Press