The first reading is a reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

The angel the Lord spoke to Philip, get up and had south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.

So he got up, set out.

Now there was an Ethiopian unit, the court official of the Candace, that is the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury, who had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home.

Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

His spirit said to Philip, go and join up with the chariot.

Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,

Do you understand what you're reading? He replied, how can I, unless someone instructs me?

So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him. This was the scripture passage he was reading,

like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and a lamb before its share is silent. So he opened

on his mouth and his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who will tell of his prosperity,

prosperity, for his life is taken from the earth? And the eunuch said to Philip in reply,

I beg you about whom is the prophet saying this,

about himself or about someone else?

Then Philip opened his mouth and said, beginning with the scripture passage, he proclaimed Jesus to him.

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said,

Look, there is water. What does prevent me from being baptized?

And he ordered the chariot to stop,

and Philip and the eunuch both went into the water, and he baptized him. And they came out of the water,

the spear of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch saw him no more, but continued on his way rejoicing. Philip came to Azdis and went about proclaiming the good news to all the towns until he reached

Caesarea.

The word of the Lord, thanks be to God.

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