Exciting Encounter

“Do you really grasp what you are reading?” Acts 8:30

The encounter between Philip, one of the men chosen by the disciples to serve food to the community, and an Ethiopian eunuch is quite dramatic. God orchestrates their meeting, first by telling Philip to go south on a particular road on the desert, then by instructing him to join up with the chariot on which the Ethiopian is riding. 

“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asks the stranger. “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” There are many things in the Bible that puzzle me, but I know that the Holy Spirit guides us to all truth. If today I do not understand, one day, that particular baffling passage will yield its treasure. In God’s time. Just like the Ethiopian eunuch. God knew it was time for him to learn about Jesus, and He sent Philip to explain the scriptures to Him. It would have been exciting to listen in on that conversation! 

Today, there are so many resources available to us. I like to listen in on the conversion stories on YouTube. I like to ponder on what teachers and preachers like Steve Ray, Brant Pitre, Scott Hahn and so many others, discover. Like the eunuch, we can see clearly that Jesus was already foretold in the Old Testament, that the Eucharist has its roots in Jewish traditions, that all the old covenants with Abraham, Moses, and David find their fulfilment in the new covenant of Jesus Christ. So many exciting conversations to listen in on. We just need to find the time and God will use that to enliven the flame and bring us back to our first love for Him. It is truly an exciting time we are living in!