This blog follows the daily bible readings of the Catholic Church

 Reading 1, Acts 8:26-40

26 The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, ‘Set out at noon and go along the road that leads from Jerusalem down to Gaza, the desert road.’

 27 So he set off on his journey. Now an Ethiopian had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he was a eunuch and an officer at the court of the kandake, or queen, of Ethiopia; he was her chief treasurer. 28 He was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

 29 The Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and join that chariot.’

 30 When Philip ran up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’

 31 He replied, ‘How could I, unless I have someone to guide me?’ So he urged Philip to get in and sit by his side.

 32 Now the passage of scripture he was reading was this: Like a lamb led to the slaughter-house, like a sheep dumb in front of its shearers, he never opens his mouth. 33 In his humiliation fair judgement was denied him. Who will ever talk about his descendants, since his life on earth has been cut short?

 34 The eunuch addressed Philip and said, ‘Tell me, is the prophet referring to himself or someone else?’

 35 Starting, therefore, with this text of scripture Philip proceeded to explain the good news of Jesus to him. 36 Further along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘Look,is some water; is there anything to prevent my being baptised?’

38 He ordered the chariot to stop, then Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water and he baptised him. 39 But after they had come up out of the water again Philip was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip appeared in Azotus and continued his journey, proclaiming the good news in every town as far as Caesarea. 

The detailed story of Philip’s mission makes us wonder if Luke had access to more tradition about Philip than he included in The Acts. Given that the book is about the “apostles”, there is not much mention of most of the twelve, who almost disappear from history, apart from Peter, John and Philip. New converts quickly take the place of the original disciples.

 The eunuch, doubtless a Jew, may have experienced exclusion from the temple on account of his castration, according to the law. (Deuteronomy 23:1) There was however a prophetic promise that “in the day of the Lord” eunuchs would no longer be excluded. (Isaiah 56:14) Philip’s approach to the eunuch illustrates this freedom: God has inaugurated “his new day” in Jesus. The eunuch who has no children can become part of God’s multinational family.

 The quotation from Isaiah 53, shows Luke’s theology of the cross of Christ: it is to be interpreted as the sacrificial death by violence, of God’s servant, as described in that chapter (He was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes, we are healed.) The Jesus who was made one with the transgressors, and with all outside the law, reaches out through his messenger, to a foreigner whom the law excluded. Those who represent Jesus today should read carefully Luke’s narrative of the transgressive gospel of Jesus which crosses all respectable boundaries. Those who have been stigmatised and excluded because of their condition of life, can feel that Jesus has drawn close to them, in this narrative.

 Gospel, John 6:44-51

44 ‘No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God; everyone who has listened to the Father, and learnt from him, comes to me.

46 Not that anybody has seen the Father, except him who has his being from God: he has seen the Father. 47 In all truth I tell you, everyone who believes has eternal life.

 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate manna in the desert and they are dead;

50 but this is the bread which comes down from heaven, so that a person may eat it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’

 It is important not to assume a “supernatural” interpretation of these words of Jesus. They are words about a human person, who did not float down to the earth from heaven. John excludes from his gospel the story of the virgin birth, leaving his readers to assume that Jesus’ conception was entirely natural, and- at the same time-entirely “of God.”

 Everyone who has listened to the father, comes to Jesus. We should apply this saying to adherents of other religions and none, who show by their obedience that they have listened to the father. In ways that we cannot calculate, they will come to Jesus, and he will give them eternal life.

 The translation in v 46, “him who has his being from God” is maybe permissible. The Greek says, “except the one being of/ from God” indicting the simple origin of Jesus’ life. We are not to imagine that this only refers to some non-physical part of Jesus: the word became flesh and dwelt among us. The whole life of Jesus is “of God” and it is this life, “his flesh” which he gives for the life of the world. The gift is his whole earthly life, and death. He calls it heavenly bread because it nourishes those who receive it. There is probably some reference to Eucharistic bread in this passage, but we should not make this a primary reference of Jesus’ words. “Anyone who eats this bread,” means “anyone who trusts in Jesus and follows his way in the world”.