Originally published at: Daily Devotion for 11 October 2023 (20th Wednesday after Pentecost) | Confident.Faith
Readings
- Psalm 23
- Psalm 114
- Deuteronomy 9:23—10:22
- Matthew 11:20–30
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XVIII–XIX
Commemoration
Today we commemorate Philip the Deacon. One of the seven men appointed to help the Apostles handle the work of the rapidly expanding Early Church by overseeing the distribution of food to the poor, Philip would go on to work as an evangelist in Samaria. Pursuant to the word of God brought to him by an angel, Philip encountered an Ethiopian eunuch, an official in the court of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, on the road that goes south from Jerusalem to Gaza. In preaching the Good News to this man (and baptizing him), Philip became indirectly responsible for transmitting the Gospel to the continent of Africa.