Our Venerable Father John, Disciple of Gregory the Decapolitan (c. 842).
Acts 8:26-39. John 6:40-44.
Read Acts 8:26-39
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
We hear the account of the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch by Philip. The first Christians were converts from Judaism, and so the early Church wrestled with questions such as if Gentile converts to Christianity needed to follow Jewish laws and be circumcised. In Acts 15:1, we read that “certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’” In response to this, the Council of Jerusalem was called: “Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter” (Acts 15:6). Ultimately, it was concluded that Christians were not bound to the laws of the Old Covenant, and Paul spent a good deal of time explaining this in his letters. Gentile converts to Christianity did not first need to become Jews before they could become Christians.
The account of the baptism in today’s reading is significant because it shows us that baptism and membership in the Church is open to everyone. It was not possible for eunuchs to become Jews. In Leviticus 21:16-24, we can read about how eunuchs were prohibited from making sacrifices at the Temple, and in Deuteronomy 23:1, we can read that eunuchs were not permitted to “enter the assembly of the Lord.” The fact that this Ethiopian eunuch was baptized by Philip clearly shows that not only Jews were welcome to be baptized but Gentiles as well. Salvation in Christ is open to everybody. Philip explained the scriptures to the eunuch, and the eunuch was moved to faith in Jesus Christ, firmly professing: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37).
Although Philip met the eunuch in the chariot in the desert, they eventually came upon some water. After his declaration of faith, the eunuch was baptized by Philip in the water. Symbolically, the eunuch transitioned from a lack of faith and understanding in the dry, barren desert to faith and enlightenment in Christ in the waters of baptism. Remember what Christ told the Samaritan woman at the well: “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (Jn. 4:14). Through his faith in Christ and the waters of baptism, the eunuch received the Gift of the Holy Spirit and the living water Christ promised. Let us remember that we too have been enlightened in the waters of baptism and that it is necessary to share the gift of faith we have received with the entire world.