Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, April 25, 2021
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Our words and actions have the potential to reach far beyond what we may imagine.
There’s a Christmas carol titled, Do You Hear What I Hear? that was written in 1962 in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the carol, the night wind asks the little lamb who asks the shepherd boy who asks the mighty king who asks the people everywhere to see a star, hear a song, and see the child who will bring goodness and light to the world. The song shows how something as ordinary as the wind can send a message that the whole world can hear. Each player in the carol spoke to the most important player within their reach, and the message spread to the entire world.
Philip was preaching throughout the land when an angel directed him to a wilderness road, where he encountered an Ethiopian eunuch. The man was a member of the royal court of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was in charge of her entire treasury, making him an important man in her court. Philip and the man had an exchange that changed the man’s life forever. Philip revealed truths about scripture, and the man asked to be baptized on the spot.
This kind of encounter had implications far beyond the encounter itself. Like the wind reaching the king and his kingdom, Philip influenced the eunuch, who likely returned to influence the court and perhaps the Candace herself. Her influence could then affect her entire kingdom.
The conversation Philip had with just one man had the potential to persuade an entire kingdom. We can never know how far our words and actions will reach. But we can know that what we say and do has the potential to affect far more than we can imagine.
![1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24], God’s Care for the Widow](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/bf37035e-33d5-439f-a0d6-a68b02d0f1bc/24-11-03.jpg)
