Epiphany 1C (Acts 8:14-17)

One of the significant messages at the baptism of Jesus is the moment of the Holy Spirit descending upon him and the voice coming from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you, I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) In the lesson this morning, we hear the story of the Samaritans accepting the word of God dwelling in themselves through the message of Jesus and getting baptized in his name. This means that these people have decided to follow Jesus and live the way of the cross. Also, it indicates the message of Jesus is not only limited to Jewish people but also to the Samaritans who are half-Jewish and half-gentile, therefore available to all non-Jewish people. 

The lesson this morning tells us that something about their baptism is still incomplete. Something is missing in their baptism; they have not received the Holy Spirit. This is somewhat odd if we’ve assumed that the Holy Spirit, automatically by default, descends upon all the baptized at their baptism. But then let’s think of our own baptism. Do you remember the Holy Spirit descending upon you at your baptism? You were probably too young to remember anything if not being taken a picture by your family while crying out loud in terror. Then, has anyone in your church life ever mentioned to you the receiving of the Holy Spirit? 

We might be those who are missing out on something at our baptism. This doesn’t mean that the sacrament of baptism is incomplete. It is complete, which is why once is enough. What’s not complete is that something has not been activated, meaning we may have not yet personally experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit. The sacrament of baptism signifies, acknowledges, and reveals that every human being is planted with the divine seed. In other words, everyone is created in the image of God. This sign, acknowledgment, and revelation of the divine seed in us is one thing that the church ritualizes but our own awareness of the Holy Spirit presently living in our lives is another. This latter is the concern of the apostles in the lesson. 

The apostles, Peter and John, are sent to pray for the newly baptized that they might receive the Holy Spirit by laying their hands on them. This is a form of special transmission in the Christian tradition, which is outside the scriptures. This transmission is to point to one’s heart so that the newly baptized can see the divine presence dwelling in their human nature. They see in themselves Christ that is the union of two natures, human and divine. Our own awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit or spiritual awakening is not through intellectual exercises but through our direct engagement with the Holy Spirit herself. This is done through transmission between the church, the people of God (not in an institutional sense), and the baptized. 

The laying on of hands is to point out the image of God in the baptized. It’s an action that attempts to activate what’s already planted in the baptized. Imagine the moment when Peter and John lay their hands on the heads of the baptized. Deep spiritual intimacy takes place where the warmth of Peter and John’s hands may be experienced and felt like the hands of God, embodying the mystery of the incarnation in their prayers. This spiritual practice of laying on of hands may be considered as an instant method to help the newly baptized to have a sense of God’s presence in them. While this practice shouldn’t be done without mature spiritual discernment and depth, I encourage all of us to try to bless our loved ones with the hope that they too feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. This doesn’t have to be overtly religious in its expression.  Gently say the words of care, love, and best intentions, wills, and wishes as you caress their heads or foreheads. No blessing is better than the blessing that comes from the ones we love, trust, respect, and share our lives together. 

Another way to intentionally receive the Holy Spirit is via contemplation. This may not be a quick method but serves two purposes. One is that it can certainly help us be in the presence of the Spirit. The other is that it keeps us more attentive, alert, and aware of God’s presence in our daily lives. There’s nothing magical about contemplation as the Spirit is not a magical kind either. But it connects us to the reality itself that we are dependent beings, that we are created, that we are impermanent as everything else, yet the very present moment that we’re focusing on and aware of in union with God is eternal now when we hear, “You are my child, the Beloved; with you, I am well pleased.”

As the world we live in becomes much more uncertain and unpredictable, which has always been its intrinsic nature, we might feel more anxious and unsettled. Science, technology, and medicine can help us survive but it doesn’t create a peace that lasts. For us Christians, that peace comes from the resurrection of Christ in which we die and rise again in the very presence of God. We don’t need to die physically to experience this peace or to see how we’re going to be resurrected. This peace can be experienced here and now as long as you are here and now. Don’t look further. Don’t travel in search of a diamond that is already sewn in your clothes. Start here and now.