NOTES for Act 8:26-40

In the story of the Ethiopian official’s conversion, what seems important to me is how “independent” it is, how much God and His servant Philip respect this man’s freedom. No one forced the eunuch to read the prophecies about Christ; he himself began to seek the Lord and himself desired baptism. Philip’s role consists mainly in bearing witness to what these words of the prophet Isaiah, or the whole of Scripture, or his encounter with Jesus mean in his life, and also in baptizing him, since baptism can be administered only by someone already numbered among Christ’s disciples. Historically, Christians have not always known how to maintain a balance between their calling to mission and respect for human freedom. Either they set about baptizing others “with fire and sword,” or they declared that “religion is everyone’s private affair” and ceased to bear witness to their faith. But as we see from today’s reading, these two components, the personal desire to encounter God and the witness of someone who already believes, work only together and bear the best fruit.