All-age conversation

Read Acts 8.32-33. As the Ethiopian asks Philip, what is it all about? Or, rather, who is it about? How might you have answered? What Philip did not do was suggest he read a book, or send him to someone else (‘go and ask the vicar’). He sat down with him and talked with him about Jesus. How can we relate the words that the Ethiopian read to the story of Jesus? What do you think Philip told the man about Jesus that led him to ask for baptism?

All this happened not long after the time of Jesus. We know that Christianity spread to Ethiopia very early on. Perhaps this was where it began, with this conversation between Philip and the Ethiopian traveller. We don’t know, but it is a reminder that our witness to others is always important, and always effective in God’s hands. How might we witness to the love of God today? Is it best done with words or deeds? If you were asked about your faith by a stranger – or a friend, for that matter – would you give up some time to respond?

How many of us are thinking: ‘If only we had the time!’? The answer to that may come in today’s Gospel reading about pruning. Are our lives too busy with the wrong things? Are there things we need to get rid of in order that what is left can grow stronger? What do you think?

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