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“Philip Baptizing the Ethiopian Eunuch”
by Maerten Jacobz. van Heemskerck, c. 1545 |
Readings for Thursday of the Third Week of Easter [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: 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.
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Commentary on Acts 8:26-40
In this story of Philip’s conversion of the eunuch, we are given a strong mystical nudge: first when Philip is instructed by an angel to leave on the trip, and again with his disappearance after the baptism of the eunuch. Scripture scholars point out that this Philip is likely the deacon appointed by the apostles in Acts 6:5 as opposed to the apostle Philip (see also Acts 21:4-8).
Even as Philip approaches the eunuch, he finds the process of conversion is set in motion through the oracle of Isaiah 53:7ff. We are told Philip, when asked about the passage from the "Suffering Servant" oracle, proclaims Christ crucified, the truth of which completes the conversion process and the eunuch requests baptism. His work of proclamation of the Gospel completed, Philip is "snatched " away to continue spreading the good news in Caesarea.
If we read this passage in context with verse numbers, we find v. 37 is not present in either the New American or the Jerusalem Bibles. That is because, in the oldest and best manuscripts, it was not present. But, for our benefit, v. 37 said, responding to the eunuch’s request for baptism: "And Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he said in reply, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'"In modern texts it is omitted as probably a later addition by some early Christian redactor.
CCC: Acts 8:26-29 334; Acts 8:32-35 601; Acts 8:37 454
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound his praise;
He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
Psalm 66 is a song of thanksgiving. It starts with part of the community blessing of the Lord, and follows with the second and third strophes being individual responses to the communal prayer.
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Gospel: John 6:44-51
Jesus said to the crowds:
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world."
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Commentary on Jn 6:44-51
St. John’s “Bread of Life” discourse continues in response to the protest of the crowd. In the first part of the passage, we hear Jesus telling the crowd that no one comes to God unless it is willed by the Father (who sent me). Then Jesus says the remarkable: “and I will raise him on the last day.” This is a clear statement that the Lord has been given the authority to judge the living and the dead on the eschaton (the last day).
The Lord makes reference to Isaiah 54:13 (“They shall all be taught by God.”), interpreting the passage as it relates to him as the “teacher” sent by God. He next launches into the answer to the earlier request: "Sir, give us this bread always" (John 6:34) saying: “I am the bread of life.” He follows this reiteration of his identity by recalling God’s salvation of the Hebrew people, who were fleeing Egypt and starving in the desert, but were rescued by God’s gift of manna (Exodus 16:1ff). Then, going further, he tells the crowd that they must eat (John uses the graphic word gnaw) the bread of life to have eternal life, and that the bread he gives them is his life for the salvation of all mankind.
CCC: Jn 6 1338; Jn 6:44 259, 591, 1001, 1428; Jn 6:46 151; Jn 6:51 728, 1355, 1406, 2837
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Reflection:
We are invited by Scripture to consider how our faith is spread and how we might participate. The topic is presented in the face of the eucharistic discourse unfolding in St. John’s Gospel which is so central to our spirituality. The gift of the Bread of Life gives us spiritual strength and purpose, all framed within the context of our daily lives.
Look at what is happening in the Acts of the Apostles. Saul is attacking the Christian community in Jerusalem, and we were told previously that it was the Hellenistic Christians that were most affected. Philip is one of the first of the disciples to leave Jerusalem (note, it is likely that this Philip is the deacon confirmed by the apostles in Acts of the Apostles 6:5), taking the word to Samaria. In the story today about the Ethiopian eunuch, he is again inspired by an angel to take the word of God farther.
Philip not plan to go out and evangelize. He is just going on his way and suddenly feels the Lord’s message to catch up with the eunuch. They begin to talk, as travelers sometimes do, about things of faith (actually Philip sees he is studying Isaiah and jumps in). We can see where this leads. The eunuch is baptized in Christ. And while his story is not recorded in Scripture, we must assume, based upon the fervor of his faith, that he took the Gospel to his destination and the word spread.
Poor Saul, he thought that by persecuting the Christians he could stop the spread of the word. It is like trying to contain water. It flows wherever there is a course for it to follow, and it evaporates, falling as rain. When it is used to baptize it seems to multiply.
But back to St. Philip’s example, we note that he did not consciously seek out the eunuch. Rather he was prepared to offer him the Word of God when the opportunity presented itself. He was not intrusive or obnoxious about it; he offered. More importantly he was competent to take up the role of teacher/evangelist. He had formed himself through his long journey with the Lord before Jesus died and was full of a lively faith.
This is St. Philip’s gift to us. He shows us that we must form ourselves first, so that we are ready when the opportunity to share our faith with others presents itself. That does not mean we all have to be scholars of the faith. It does mean we should spend time forming ourselves in prayer, in Scripture, and spending time among our brothers and sisters in the faith, learning from them. The more we know, the more we can share. Of course, we strengthen ourselves with the Bread of Life and the grace we receive in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Philip also showed us that we do not have to beat people up to make them accept Christ. We engage them where they are on their own journey of faith. We travel with them for a while, sharing what we have, and listening to understand what we can share that may help them. Indeed, Philip has much to teach us (a good example of the diaconal servant ministry).
Today we again marvel at how God works in the lives of his children. We pray that, like St. Philip, we might bring God’s gift to others and by doing so participate in our call.
Pax
[1] The picture used is “Philip Baptizing the Ethiopian Eunuch” by Maerten Jacobz. van Heemskerck, c. 1545.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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