Thursday 18 April 2024

Today is Thursday 18 April, in the 3rd week of Eastertide.

Steffany Gretzinger sings, ‘Open Our Eyes’. You might like to ask for the grace of open eyes to see Jesus clearly as you begin this time of prayer today.

Open my eyes, Lord
I want to see Jesus
To reach out and touch him
And say that I love him
Open my ears, Lord
And help me to listen
Open my eyes, Lord
I want to see Jesusㅤ
Open my eyes, Lord
I want to see Jesus

Today’s reading is from the Acts of the Apostles, and we will hear it in two parts…

Acts 8:26-40

Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’

The spirit said to Phillip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” Can you think of a time when you’ve felt led by God to suddenly do something, perhaps something unusual or spontaneous? What was this like?

Phillip immediately goes to the chariot and discovers that the Ethiopian eunuch is struggling with scripture, and he is invited to help him to understand.

We might be amazed by the immediacy of this call, and the presence of God with both these men. Can you, like Phillip be open to this immediacy then obedient response to the Lord?

If not, what might prevent you?

Listen now, to the second part of the reading:

And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.
Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
‘Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.’

The eunuch asked Philip, ‘About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’ He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

The Eunuch is blessed by gaining understanding and is immediately baptised by Phillip.

Can you remember a time when someone took time to explain scripture to you, which enabled you to understand something that was life changing? Take time with the Lord to recall this moment.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.