Optional Memorial for Saint
George, Martyr
Proper
readings for the Memorial of St. George
Biographical information for St. George
Optional Memorial for Saint Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr
Proper
readings for the Memorial of St. Adalbert
Biographical information for St. Adalbert
Biographical information for St. George
Optional Memorial for Saint Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr
Biographical information for St. Adalbert
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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.
-------------------------------------------
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
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to
God with joy.
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.
-------------------------------------------
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.
-------------------------------------------
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."
-------------------------------------------
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
-------------------------------------------
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 did 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.
"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:
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.
"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.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 8:26-40
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
R. Alleluia.
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.
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.
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
Gospel: John 6:44-51
"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:
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."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 6:44-51
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
[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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