Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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     CARE ORIENTED EDUCATION 

Scripture: Acts 8 :26-38 

V.31: and he said, How could I “unless someone guides me”? And he  entreated Philip to come up and sit with him. 
 

This narrative talks about the encounter between the  Greek speaking Jewish Christian evangelist Philip and an Ethiopian  eunuch who was returning from worship at Jerusalem. Philip was one of  the six chosen for the table ministry including Stephen. They looked after the equitable distribution of serving food for all the early church  believers including widows. But God has chosen Philip further up into an  important task of evangelizing an Ethiopian man who was rich, educated  and affluent, in charge of the treasury of Queen Candace. He is not to  be mistaken for Apostle Philip. In our particular text, divine  intervention is quite evident. Both the angel of the Lord and the spirit of  the Lord spoke to Philip asking him to join a person in a chariot travelling  through the desert back to his town from Jerusalem. 
 Here we see the Lord is releasing the Ethiopian from the  bondage, by facilitating a human encounter to learn about the risen  Jesus. It is good to note that eunuch's are excluded from participating in  temple rituals or admitted into Israel's community even as a convert. So  this conversion and baptizing transcends expectation. Unnamed Ethiopian represents those who are marginilised and far way geographically and  ethnically. Even being an educated affluent person, Ethiopian was able to accept and invite Philip , and showed eagerness to ascertain the meaning of the scriptures he read from Isaiah 53:7. 
 The spirit of the Lord embodied humility of the sacrificed  lamb in Ethiopian,, when he heard the gospel of the resurrected Jesus,  he believed it and expressed his desire to participate in a baptismal  ceremony. In most translations of the new testament , verse 37 is  absent. However v37 reads: when Philip asked Ethiopian whether he  believes Jesus from all his heart, he answered” I believe that Jesus  Christ is the son of God”. Spirit of the Lord worked in him, Philip  baptized him – immediately Philip was carried way by the spirit to  Caeseria. 
 We should practice a faith that continually seek learning  or understanding scriptures, rather than a knowledge that seek only 
faithful followers
                                    PRAYER

 Lord, enable us to be part of the divine plan in spreading the  gospel of Jesus Christ to the marginiliSed and all who are far away,  geographically and ethnically in this world . Amen 

Thought for the Day
   God who raised Jesus, plans unlikely encounters,  regardless of our choice and existing norms that would not permit the  transformation of marginalized individuals. 


    Dr.John K.Thomas Tabor MTC, Staten island

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