3RD WEEK OF EASTER
So he got up and set out.
How do you think Philip started his morning on the day we read about here? Do you think he got up and thought to himself, “I’m going to walk down the road to Gaza, meet an Ethiopian official, explain the gospel to him, and baptize him”? Do you think he then said, “After that, I’d like to be miraculously transported to a completely different location”?
Of course not. We don’t know exactly what was on Philip’s mind that morning, but we can be sure that, as a prayerful man, he was eager to listen to and obey what the Lord might be saying to him. So as soon as he heard the angel telling him to head out, he got up and went (Acts 8:27). Because Philip obeyed that first prompting, he was in the right place at the right time for the next one: to strike up a conversation with the Ethiopian man in the chariot. And then he was able to speak to this man and proclaim Jesus to him.
What about you? Do you listen for the Lord’s voice when you pray? Do you ever hear the “still small voice” of the Holy Spirit when you’re at work, at school, or running errands? God is still speaking to his people, and you can trust that he wants to lead you.
So experiment! You might have an insight or inspiration during prayer or at Mass or in the course of the day. Don’t dismiss it as being just your imagination. Stop and try to act on it. It might be the Holy Spirit leading you! The best way to learn to hear the Spirit’s voice is to try responding when you do feel a nudge. That’s likely what the first believers did.
Maybe the Spirit is telling you to open your Bible. Maybe he is telling you to contact someone who could use your help or inspiring you to a different work of mercy. It all starts with taking that first step. That’s what the entire Book of Acts is about. Because the first believers obeyed the voice of the Spirit, word spread about the transforming power of Jesus’ death and resurrection throughout the known world.
It just goes to show, you never know what can happen if, like Philip, you listen and obey!
“Lord, I want to listen for—and obey—your voice today!”
Acts 8:26-40
Psalm 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
John 6:44-51
I find this passage fascinating as Philip baptised the Ethiopian the same day after maybe a few hours. Yet today we insist that all take a course before Baptism which could many months if not a year in some circumstances! As one of your brother Redemptorists says, this does not always help those who are migrant workers who travel from place to place for work!