Acts 8:14-17 (NRSV)
Read Acts 8:14-17 on biblegateway.com
Verse 14Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. Verse 15The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit Verse 16(for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Verse 17Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Devotion
While vacationing with our children, our oldest son caught a butterfly which within a few hours gave up the ghost. Our daughter suggested: “…put some water on the butterfly. You know, like dad does during a baptism. Then it’ll come back to life.”
She was on to something... She connected water and new life with baptism. If only the results were immediately visible!
Today’s lesson connects the importance not only of the name of Jesus and the water with baptism, but also the work of the Holy Spirit. This Trinitarian understanding of life, and their interdependency, cannot be separated anymore than can our body and spirit, or our faith and works of love. As Martin Luther taught: “What is baptism? …Water by itself is only water, but with the Word of God it is a life-giving water which by grace gives the new birth through the Holy Spirit” (The Small Catechism).
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we pray that you would enfold us once again in the swaddling cloths of your Holy Spirit—granting us confidence and joy to journey forth in this New Year as your disciples, claiming and proclaiming your great name of love and mercy for all people. Amen.