Epiphany I Acts
Theme: Baptism means action
Let us pray.
Most holy, Lord God, through baptismal waters we become yours and we are empowered by your Holy Spirit to continue your work in the world; help us utilize the gifts you have given us for the your glory and for the world, through your son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Sarah Jo Sarchet is a Presbyterian pastor in Chicago. A 10 year-old boy in her congregation named Cameron, walked into her office and said he needed to talk to her. Fresh from soccer practice, and wearing his Cincinnati Reds baseball cap, he had a request for her. “I’d like to be baptized,” he said. “We were learning about Jesus’ baptism in Sunday School. The teacher asked the class who was baptized, and all the other kids raised their hands. I want to be baptized too.”
Using her best pastoral care tone of voice, she said, “Cameron, do you really want to be baptized because everyone else is?” His freckles winked up at her and he replied, “No. I want to be baptized because it means I belong to God.”
She was touched by his understanding. “Well, then,” she said, “How about this Sunday?” His smile turned to concern and he asked, “Do I have to be baptized in front of all those people in the church? Can’t I just have a friend baptize me in the river?” She asked where he came up with that idea. “Well, Jesus was baptized by his cousin John in a river, wasn’t he?”
Caught off guard, she conceded, “You have a point. But, if a friend baptized you in the river, how would the church recognize it?” Realizing this was a teachable moment, she climbed up on her foot stool to reach for her Presbyterian Book of Order that was located on the highest shelf. But before she placed her hand on the book, he responded.
“I guess by my new way of living,” he said.
She nearly fell off the foot stool and left the Book of Order on the shelf. Cameron’s understanding was neither childish nor simple. It was profound. Baptism calls us to a new way of living.
When Paul found disciples in Ephesus and that they were really followers of John the Baptist, he, too, found a teachable moment. Unlike Cameron, they had no idea of who Jesus was.
After Paul spent a long time Corinth, he traveled across land to Ephesus. Ephesus was a leading city in the Roman Empire on the western coast of what is now Turkey. It is noted that Paul encountered some Christians in Ephesus.
There must have been something about these “Christians” that made Paul suspicious about their credentials. So Paul begins an examination. Paul asked them if they received the Holy Spirit. They responded, “Holy Spirit? What’s a Holy Spirit?” So, Paul asked about their baptisms. They replied that they were given instruction about John the Baptist and were given John’s baptism. They were probably waiting for the messiah promised by John, but were totally unaware that Jesus had already come.
Paul saw a teachable moment and an opportunity to straighten them out. Paul probably encountered other pockets of John’s followers. We believe that they persisted well into the second century. Even to this day, the Mandaeans of Iran and Iraq are still disciples of John the Baptist.
Obviously, Paul and other Christians didn’t want a competing, sort of, Christian group. Paul explained to them that John baptized people as response of their pledge to turn their lives around. John also told people that there was someone coming after John and that is the one people should put their faith in and that person’s name is Jesus.
Now knowing that they were ready for the real thing, the followers of John were given Christian baptism. They should have been really clean, then. After Paul laid his hands on them, they received the Holy Spirit. They then spoke in tongues and prophesied. By coincidence, there were about twelve of them. Paul then ended up staying in Ephesus more than two years. As is usual, Paul ends up being driven out of town.
It should be noted that Paul does not negate baptism in the name of John. But it is obviously an incomplete act. Only through Christian baptism are followers of Jesus given power to do the work that John asked people to do. In this way, Jesus is much more powerful than John and Jesus provides a much more powerful baptism.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is central to this passage. After all, Epiphany is a gift giving kind of season. The gift of the Holy Spirit in unique. This is a gift that powerfully allows us to do the work of Christ. Baptism is the entry point into the church, but it is also the means by which we begin the work of Christ. This work is unique just as Jesus is unique. Jesus’ message is so inclusive to all people that no matter how hard we have tried over 2,000 years to dilute that message, it still provides hope to all. This is grace to all.
“Some of us, I suspect, don’t know that we have been given a particular gift by the Holy Spirit; we have somehow overlooked these gifts, not unpacked them. We may have left them under the tree or on a back shelf without realizing how wonderful they are and that they were meant especially for us. Paul says the Holy Spirit has given gifts to everyone who belongs to Jesus. So if people belong to Jesus, God the Holy Spirit has picked out and delivered a gift or perhaps several gifts for each one.
“The Bible lists gifts of service, teaching, giving, mercy, leadership, healing, miracles, pastoring, wisdom, discerning spirits, intercession, and more. One of the most spiritually beneficial things persons could do for themselves as Christians is to discover what the Spirit has given and begin to use it in his power.
“When people … discover(ed) their gift (or gifts), they find that using it makes them feel alive to God. As followers of Jesus continue to use their gift, they have a growing sense that this is especially what God wants them to do. For instance, for people with gifts of mercy, God is never more alive than when they are bringing a casserole or delivering a floral arrangement in Jesus’ name. And while the Holy Spirit comes into our lives only once, God can and does fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit time and time again. When Christians lay hands on each other and pray, God is often pleased to send his Spirit in power. God comes in power to empower his people.”[1]
Apollos who was mentioned at the beginning of this passage was also a follower of John the Baptist who became a powerful preacher of Jesus. Both Apollos and the disciples of Ephesus were willing to be instructed about the way of Christ. This, too, is a gift of grace to receive instruction. It is a continuous gift for all of us to continually receive instruction about the way of Christ. If we knew the humility of those early followers of Christ, what lessons might we learn? What transformations await us? How will Our Saviour be changed?
We now pray: Gracious God and giver of all good gifts, we give you thanks for the gift of baptism, through which we receive your grace and by which we are ordained for ministry to change the world into a world you intended from the very beginning; empower us through your Holy Spirit to share the gifts you gave us at our baptisms, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Text: Acts 19:1-7 (NRSV)
19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied— 7 altogether there were about twelve of them.
[2]
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[1]Van Harn, R. (2001). The lectionary commentary: Theological exegesis for Sunday's texts (9). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans.
[2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.