RCL: Acts 8:26-40; Psalm 22:24-30; 1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8 Acts 8:26-40 Philip encounters an Ethiopian eunuch returning home from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Prompted by the Spirit, Philip befriends him and they discuss the Scriptures. In the end, the eunuch is compelled by a Christological reading, and he opts to be baptized forthwith. (One…

RCL: Acts 8:26-40; Psalm 22:24-30; 1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8 Acts 8:26-40 There are two key points to note in this passage from Acts. The first centers on the Ethiopian eunuch. This is a marginalized person; not only is he a stranger on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, but he is also a eunuch,…

Acts 8:26-40 In this passage from Acts, we hear of a eunuch from Ethiopia making a pilgrimage from his homeland to Jerusalem. The audience of the book of Acts would have been curious about this figure. A person from a distant land whose appearance was different from theirs would have intrigued the audience. As a…

Acts 8:26-40 This story from Luke/Acts stars Philip, one of the seven deacons chosen earlier, in Acts 6:5. Philip has just come from Samaria, where he preached the gospel with joyous reception. Now we find Philip on a road in the wilderness where he teaches the Ethiopian eunuch about Jesus. In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells…

Acts 8:26-40 God bringing redemption through human agents is one of the main themes of Second Isaiah (Isaiah Chapters 40-55). The passage quoted here is from Isaiah 53, and how fitting that Philip appears on the scene just as the eunuch is reading this passage! This reminds us that the kingdom of heaven is to…