In our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear about a court official to the Queen of the Ethiopians who receives the call to journey to Jerusalem to worship God. This man doesn’t really know God and doesn’t really understand what God is about, but he realizes that something is stirring within him and wants to know more. The Lord sends Philip to greet this court official, to teach him about the reading from the prophet Isaiah that he is trying to read, to teach him about the Lord of Life. Philip disappears from this scene just as quickly as he appeared, as he is sent to another land to spread the word of God to others. Yet, before he leaves, Philip baptizes the court official in a body of water that they come upon.
Think about how important it is to be teachable on our journey of faith, to be open to learning more about God. Jesus refers to his followers as “disciples,” a term that means “learners.” Thus, teachability and being about to learning about God and being formed properly in the faith are important characteristics of being a disciple of Christ. We are born tainted by the corruption of sin. Through baptism, we are reborn through Christ and cleansed of those sins. We need to be open to the transformation that can brought about by this renewal. This requires having a teachable spirit, having an inner disposition that is eager and receptive to learning about God. Being “teachable” implies a readiness and openness to acquire knowledge, whether from individuals, such as preachers, or through various forms of media, like books or classes or studies or Scripture. Are we teachable and open to learning more about our faith?
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