The joy of the resurrection profoundly changed the lives of the first disciples. That joy was explosive in them. They felt compelled to announce and share their faith experience. Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles shows us Philip’s openness to being guided by the Spirit and how he used every moment to proclaim his faith.
Philip receives a message from an angel. His response is to get up and obey the instructions without hesitation or question. He starts a journey down a long desert road without knowing his destination or even the purpose of his journey. He lets himself be used by God. Along the way he encounters a man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip seizes that event to begin a conversation and share his faith. That man is so impressed by the intensity of Philip’s faith that he requests to be baptized right there.
This is our mission as a local faith community, as a Church and personally as individual Christians. Following Philips’ example, evangelization, a personal sharing of our faith, is central to our personal lives and our communal life. How often do we keep silent? How often de we leave proclaiming our faith to others – the priests, nuns, catechists, missionaries in foreign countries? For lack of practice, we as a Church and as individuals have become rusty as far as transmitting our faith to others and to our children, the next generation of faith. That faith sharing needs to be authentic, backed up by a life witness of faith (not just words). It needs to be personal, understandable, and visible, not just formal and dogmatic, not trite or prudish. It needs to be accompanied by the joyful acts of mercy and justice in our own lives.
Today the Word of God invites us to get up and ran out with Philip to share our joy and faith every moment of our lives. We need to seize every opportunity to evangelize.
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet…
Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,
he proclaimed Jesus to him.