Now there was an Ethiopian … 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. (Acts 8: 27-31)
Life flows forth to us from all the Scripture readings for this ever-so-special time of Easter as it does from all the sacred Scriptures. God uses people to help people get in touch with the deepest longings of the human heart that are planted in us by God’s love.
Phillip, in today’s reading from Acts, is an instrument of instruction (which is patience, wisdom, acceptance, knowledge and care) shared with the Ethiopian as he is open by the Spirit. God, in becoming a human being in Jesus Christ, is sharing with us life in our very humanity.
The whole lesson for today in the Scriptures is that caring for another is essential for the Word to be shared. The Eucharist in which we share in the Bread of Life encompasses all caring, mercy, love, forgiveness, patience, self-sacrifice for others, and wisdom offered in the daily challenges of our lives as Christians. This is essential for Christianity and for the welfare of the whole of humanity in daily living. Life is offered, received, shared!
Rev. Michael Goode, C.PP.S.
Kansas City Province