Long before we longed for God, God longingly reached out to us (Acts 8).

When one reads the story of the Ethiopian in Acts 8, one is struck by his piety. He worshipped God in Jerusalem. He studies the Bible on his way back. Together with Philip he engages in a close reading of the text. He desires to know what the prophet wanted to say. These are all indications of someone who is seeking the deeper things in life. He desires the godly life.

And he is not disappointed. At a certain stage something decisively happens to him and changes his life dramatically. It is the moment of recognition, the revelation of the mystery. At this moment he is transformed, he is baptized by Philip.

One could say that God therefore “responds” to his piety. God recognizes his desire and intense longing for the deeper things. It is this which makes us think that there is a certain pattern in our religion. We thus think that lectio ( the reading of Scripture in verse 28) and the meditatio (the close reading and study of the Bible in verses 32-35) lead to the prayerful response of the Ethiopian and then to his baptism (i.e. to oratio and contemplatio). It is similar to what happened in the case of the Emmaus disciples. They read and meditated on the Bible with Jesus, and all the time, as they say later on, their hearts were burning in them. They felt the desire as they reflected on Scripture. One could argue that the study of the Bible kindles flames of longing for God.

To some extent this is true. When we listen to God and when we meditate on God’s word, we experience a desire for God. And God will fulfill our yearning for divine intervention and fulfillment.

But it would be a mistake to think that God only reaches out when we are good Bible students and when we desire and long for God. It is most remarkable what is being emphasized in the story of the Ethiopian in Acts 8: before we read about the Ethiopian studying the Bible on his chariot and long before God touched him through Scripture and Philip’s witness (verses 27-28), Luke tells, an angel of the Lord told Philip to travel the lonely road to Gasa (verse 26). God’s initiative sets the wheels in motion, so to speak. Right from the beginning, in Luke’s mind, God is steering events. It is the deeds of God which let things happen – like on Pentecost day. And througout the narrative we see the holy presence of the Spirit. Philip obeys the divine command and sets off on his journey. And then again he is told by divine intervention to go to the chariot and to stay there (verse 29). And, finally, after the baptism, God again intervenes and the Spirit takes Philip away (39).

All the human responses to Scripture, all the discussions and events, fit into the framework of the divine initiative. God is on the way to us while we are travelling the lonely road, through the desert (verse 26). As we witness and as we search, we always discover that we are responding to a divine intervention in our lives. It is not our piety which brings us to God. The transformation is a result of God’s initiative and intervention, however closely it is linked with our human activities. We long and desire for God and God touches and fills our heart so that we find fulfillment. But long before this happens, long before our desires are awakened, God desired to be with us and reached out to us.

God responds to our desire and longing for the divine presence. But God does not respond because we desire and long for God. Long before we experience our desire and longing, God has reached out to us. This is all about grace. And this is why Spirituality is about God’s relationship with us (and not the other way round).