Take time to read the first lesson from the Acts of the Apostles again, slowly, meditatively. Imagine yourself as the Ethiopian eunuch, the Queen’s Treasurer. Picture your chariot, your charioteer, the road you’re on going through the wilderness, the scroll you are reading, the young man who joins you. Hear what he says to you; let it soak into your being. Feel your excitement when you realize you can be baptized right beside the road. Notice how the water feels as it covers you. Realize how it feels as you come up out of the water. Sit with that for a bit.

After the Ethiopian eunuch had this eye-opening encounter with Philip, he “went on his way rejoicing.” Is that your experience? The man was a seeker, likely dissatisfied with the trappings of his life. He came to Jerusalem, all the way from the Queen’s court in Ethiopia, to worship this God he had heard about; perhaps he was a Jew of the Diaspora or a Gentile God-fearer. In his search for God’s redeeming grace, he obtained a scroll of Hebrew scriptures containing the prophet Isaiah hoping he would be able to discover what was missing in his life. It was as if he knew the truth of Jesus’ words: “Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” (Mt.7:7/Lk.11:9) God continues to open our eyes to our scriptures, to enable us to grow in the knowledge and love of God if we spend time with them day by day. There are many ways to delve into the Bible; one good way is to use the Daily Office Lectionary in the Book of Common Prayer, pp.933-1001. (This is Year Two in the Daily Office; the week of 5 Easter is found on p.963) When we are diligent and open to receive the word we need each day, we will find it grabbing our attention in some way.

We too will go on our way rejoicing, having heard the Word of God and experienced the Beloved’s Presence enfolding and indwelling us in the very here and now.