"...and saw him no more"

He helped change the man’s life.

He told the man about Jesus.

He even baptized the man.

But he was taken away and the man saw him no more.

But he went on with his life, rejoicing.

That is what happened in today’s first reading (Acts 8:26-40), as Philip the deacon brings a man to Christ and then is taken elsewhere by the Spirit.

That brief encounter was an occasion of powerful grace.

The fact that the man saw Philip "no more" reminds us that Philip was just an instrument and that it was and is the power of God that truly creates the change in a person’s life.

As you and I go through our day, may we remember that God can do great things through us, even in the briefest of encounters, if only we are faithful to his will, attentive to his call, and open to his grace.