Thursday of the
Third Week of Easter
(Acts 8:26-40; John 6:44-51)
A university professor tells of the importance of a good
teacher. She writes that a friend had
the most difficult time understanding St. Augustine’s Confessions when he first read it in college. He knew it was an important book but could
not appreciate its quality. Rather than
give up, he sought the help of a professor who guided his study so that it
became profitable. In the reading from
Acts today Philip serves as such a guide.
The Ethiopian magistrate is reading one of the “Suffering
Servant” passages in the prophet Isaiah.
Like everyone else, the Ethiopian asks to whom the passage refers. For Christians such as Philip the question is
easy to answer. Jesus passion and death
perfectly parallels the trajectory of Isaiah’s “Suffering Servant.” Philip
proceeds to tell the man more about Jesus and eventually baptizes him.
The Church needs catechists such as Philip to assist lay
people today in the study of Scripture. The
project can be tremendously fruitful, but guides are indispensable if it is to
get off the ground. With such help we
will see Jesus in the Old Testament as well as the New. He will reveal himself as the one who came
down from heaven to tell us about God.
