Daily Readings - Thu May 05 2022
Acts
26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza."27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.29The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.31"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.33In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."34The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"37Verse omitted from the New International Version38And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.40Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
John
44"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.45It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.47I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.48I am the bread of life.49Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died.50But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
Sermon
In today’s readings, we encounter powerful narratives that illuminate God’s initiative in reaching out to humanity and our response to His grace. The first reading from Acts 8:26-40 tells the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip, guided by the Holy Spirit, approaches the eunuch who is reading from Isaiah. This encounter leads to the eunuch’s baptism, symbolizing the inclusion of Gentiles in God’s plan. The second reading, John 6:44-51, has Jesus describing Himself as the bread of life, emphasizing that faith comes through the Father’s drawing and that believing in Him grants eternal life.
Both readings highlight God’s proactive role in our salvation. In Acts, the Spirit directs Philip to the eunuch, showing how God seeks out those who are searching for Him. In John, Jesus underscores that faith is a gift from the Father, not a result of human effort. These passages remind us that our faith journey is a response to God’s grace, not our own initiative.
In our daily lives, we are called to be open to the Spirit’s guidance and to share our faith with others, just as Philip did. We should recognize that our encounters with others may be divine appointments. Let us trust in God’s plan and be receptive to His call, nurturing our faith through prayer and community. The moral lesson here is one of trust and receptivity: trusting in God’s plan and being open to His call, just as Philip and the eunuch were. May we, like them, embrace the grace of God and share it with others.