City of God

The first reading on Sunday is Acts 8:5-8, 14-17. Please take a few minutes to read it now.


The first thing to do when beginning Bible study is to pray that your mind is open to the message God has prepared for you. Go ahead and do that now..I will wait for you.

Philip is one strong deacon. Here we find him taking the message to Samaria. This is interesting for two reasons. 1) Acts shows us how the Gospel spread from Jerusalem, to Samaria and then to the ends of the earth. This means we are in phase two. 2) The Jews despised the Samaritans because they were a mixture of pagan nations and were no longer orthodox Jews…so this means that most Jews are not going to like that these Samaritans can be saved through Jesus’ message.

Philip drove out demons and healed people. We are told that “there was much joy in the city.” I guess so! I’d be happy if this was happening in my town…Can you imagine what it would have been like to witness something so dramatic? Take a few minutes to picture yourself in Samaria that day. What would you be thinking? Would you believe what Philip was saying?

Word gets back to Jerusalem about what was going on in Samaria. And Peter and John head there to check it out. (side note: I love the way Acts make the structure of the Early Church so clear…when something big happened or a decision had to be made the other 11 always deferred to Peter, the first Pope.) Sorry I get excited about this stuff.

You can also see our Catholic sacraments in this passage. Deacon Philip preaches the message and baptizes the Samaritans. But when it comes time for Confirmation, Peter and John are there. They are the Bishops who instill the Holy Spirit on the people. “They laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.” Sounds like the Sacrament of Confirmation to me! Take some time to think about this scene. What would it have been like to be confirmed by Peter or John? To be touched by people who had touched Jesus?

Check back tomorrow to learn more about this Holy Spirit that the Samaritans just received.