Category: Gospel of Mark

Which Baptism? — A Lectionary Reflection for Baptism of Jesus Sunday (Acts 19)

Acts 19:1-7 New Revised Standard Version

 

 

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.

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            As Christmas gives way to Epiphany, the moment when in the liturgical year we celebrate the coming of the Magi to offer gifts to Emmanuel, we begin to add to the story of Jesus. When we come to the first Sunday following Epiphany we’re invited to celebrate the Baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan. On this particular Sunday, which we call Baptism of Jesus Sunday, we have the opportunity to reflect on our baptisms and reaffirm them. As we look back on our baptisms, we can acknowledge that some of us were baptized in infancy. Others of us were baptized at a later moment, usually upon profession of faith. Some were immersed and others had water sprinkled on them. Then there are those, like me, who have been baptized a couple of times, just to cover the bases.   

            In my lectionary reflections, I’ve been focusing on the second lectionary reading, which normally draws from one of the epistles/letters. However, on occasion the stipulated reading dips into the Book of Acts. On this occasion, the reading comes from Acts 19. This reading is paired with the reading from the Gospel of Mark, which takes us to the Jordan, where we find John the Baptist preaching and baptizing. It appears that he is drawing quite a crowd. These people, according to Mark have come to confess their sins and begin life anew. The baptism that John proclaimed spoke of repentance in preparation for the coming of one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Yes, while he baptized with water the one who followed him would baptize with the Holy Spirit. It was after this, according to Mark, that Jesus came and was baptized by John. When he came out of the water, Jesus “saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased’” (Mk. 1:4-11).

            The reading from Acts 19 also speaks of baptism, and both the baptism of John with water and baptism with the Holy Spirit come into play. The passage begins by telling us that Apollos, who had been in Ephesus, where he was further instructed by Priscilla and Aquilla in the way of Jesus, was now in Corinth (Acts 18:24-28). Paul, who had been in Corinth was traveling to Ephesus. When he arrived in Ephesus, Paul encountered persons whom Luke calls “disciples.” Paul asks these “disciples” if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed. This question suggests that like Apollos, they were believers in Jesus. However, they answered Paul by saying “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” This exchange, and what follows, raises an important question. Who are these “disciples”? What is the nature of their relationship with Jesus? They claim that, like Apollos, they had received the baptism of John. Paul responds by telling them that while John baptized with water for repentance, Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit (as John had foretold). This led them to be baptized by Paul in the name of Jesus.

            This is where the reading from Mark, and its parallel in Luke 3:15-18, come into play. Paul draws on the story told by both Mark and Luke that while John’s baptism focused on repentance, the baptism of Jesus brought the Holy Spirit. What is interesting here is that, according to Luke, Paul baptized this group of twelve believers in the name of Jesus, something that is not recorded of Apollos, who also had only the baptism of John. There is no evidence that Jesus rebaptized disciples of John who followed him. So, why this group?   

            What is interesting here is that after Paul baptized this group of twelve disciples in the name of Jesus, he laid his laid hands on them, at which point the Holy Spirit came upon the group. This conferral of the Holy Spirit was confirmed by the act of speaking in tongues and prophesying—much like what happened with the household of Cornelius (Acts 10), though in the case of Cornelius the Holy Spirit fell upon them before baptism was offered (and didn’t require laying on of hands). In this case, the laying on of hands suggests a separate ritual from baptism, even though in Acts 2, the gift of the Holy Spirit was linked to baptism. So, we’re left with a wide variety of ways in which the Holy Spirit comes upon these early disciples in the Book of Acts. Sometimes, as with Acts 2, it is connected with baptism. Sometimes the Holy Spirit falls on people even before they can confess faith and be baptized (Acts 10). Then there is the time when baptism and the coming of the Holy Spirit are two separate events. First came the baptism of a group of Samaritans who embrace the message preached by Philip, which is followed by the conferral of the Holy Spirit at the hands of Peter and John (Acts 8). That case has served as a foundation for the rite of Confirmation, which in some traditions is administered by bishops, while baptism is an act that priests and deacons can perform. All of this suggests that the Spirit acts as the Spirit decides! That should give us pause before we become too “dogmatic” about the method and timing of baptism.

            In this encounter, the emphasis is less on baptism and more on the Holy Spirit. The act of being baptized in water is important, even foundational, but it is the gift of the Holy Spirit that truly transforms. Whether the Spirit comes upon a person before, during, or after being baptized, the important point is that to be in Christ is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, that doesn’t mean one must speak in tongues or prophesy. In I Corinthians 12 and 14, Paul lists tongues and prophesy as possible gifts, but insists that they are not the only gifts of the Spirit nor are they necessarily the most important gifts (for more on this topic see my book Unfettered Spirit). A passage like this can be useful in initiating a conversation about the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. Here in Acts 19 Paul reiterates the promise of John that with Jesus comes the infilling of the Holy Spirit. If we follow this into Paul’s own letters, we gain insight into what that means. There are the gifts, but more importantly, there is the unity of the body of Christ, for as Paul writes to the Corinthian church: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ, for in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor.12:12-13).   

Image attribution:  Scott, Lorenzo. Baptism of Jesus, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56877 [retrieved January 1, 2021]. Original source: https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/baptism-jesus-33953.

Awake, Awake, the Son of Man is Coming – Lectionary Reflection for Advent 2B (Mark 13)

Mark 13:24-37 New
Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
 
24 “But in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
25 and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
 
26 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
 
28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he[a] is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
 
32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Beware, keep alert;[b] for you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35 Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36 or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.37 And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”
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                The
ancient hymn Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
(4th Century) sets a penitential tone for the season of Advent, which is an appropriate stance as we begin the journey of a new liturgical year:
               
Let all mortal flesh keep
silence, and with fear and trembling stand;
                Ponder nothing earthly minded,
for with blessing in his hand Christ our God to earth descendeth,
                our full homage to demand.
                Advent is a penitential season.  It is a time to take stock of one’s life in preparation for the great festival to be held in the coming weeks.  It is a season of hope and expectation.  It is also a season where we begin to look at how faith is related to the facts of life and whether judgment is in store for us.  In other words, Advent is an eschatological season.
Mark 13, the gospel reading before us, is known as “The Little Apocalypse,” because of its similarity in tone to Revelation.  There is the sense that the coming of the Lord demands of us a certain fear and trembling. It requires that we be cognizant of our own resistance to the things of God.  It is a reminder that too often we fail to pay attention.  This first Sunday in Advent is, therefore, with Mark’s Gospel in hand, a wake-up call.  Yes, the Messiah is coming and not in a sleigh with eight tiny reindeer.  So be prepared.
The reading begins ominously. The sun is darkened. The moon fails to give off light.  The stars are falling.  The moment before the coming of the Lord is one of pure darkness.  As I prepare this meditation I’m mindful of events that took place the evening prior, under the cover of darkness. A prosecutor chose to make an announcement that a grand jury voted no indictment on a police officer who shot and killed a young African American man.  We don’t know all the details.  They are fuzzy.  The way they have been set out is meant to keep things fuzzy.  The announcement stirred anger in the crowd, and some chose violence as a way to respond.  This is nothing new.  Violence is always an option.  Others chose nonviolent protests.  The choice of timing, of course, seems to many, myself included, to be craven.  The verdict could have been just easily read at 8 AM as at 8 PM.  But the prosecutor chose to issue the report at night when such a response could be predicted.  Why do we never learn?  Why do we try to hide under the cover of darkness?  With regard to Ferguson and Michael Brown, I, as a white, middle class, pastor, must first listen to the voices calling out for justice.  I may want to understand, but in many ways, I cannot.  So what is required of me is solidarity with those who grieve and mourn and suffer.
Apocalyptic texts like this one emerge out of similar feelings.  Mark writes either right before or soon after the great Jewish War that led to the
destruction of Jerusalem. Could it be that the reference to a time of suffering has in mind that reality?  Where is hope to be found in the midst of all of this destruction and grief?
               In this gospel reading Jesus speaks of the coming of the Son of Man, an image that is lifted from Daniel 7:13.  The image is one of the Messiah coming riding on the clouds. We know that Jesus often used the title “Son of Man” as a self-appellation. The question is whether this mean to speak simply of his humanity, which he shares with us, or does it speak of something more?   Is this not a recognition that the people are crying out for a redeemer, one who will rescue them from the time of trial?  At the same time, Jesus speaks of this apocalyptic moment as one of a final verdict.  The Son of Man will come and gather the elect, the chosen ones, from the far winds.  Yes, this speaks of a final moment of gathering, much like the judgment scene spoken of in Matthew 25, the reading for Christ the King Sunday, just a week earlier.
                The greatest threat to justice and mercy is complacency.  We become immune to the cries of those suffering. We might not even hear them or understand the nature of the cry.  We fall asleep.  Our oil goes out.  We miss the sign of the fig tree, whose changing leaves signal a new day.  The signs suggest the time of deliverance and judgment is near at hand.  So will we be prepared?
There is only one problem – even if the signs are there, we don’t know the exact time and place of this coming of the Son of Man.  Not even the Son himself knows the exact time of this event.  If you know the exact time it is easy to be prepared.  Just set out your clothes, pack your bag, and set the alarm.  Then you can go to sleep knowing that when day breaks you will be ready.  But in the apocalyptic world, things don’t work that way.  You can’t predict time and place, even if certain figures have made a fortune on trying to make the prediction.  It makes for best-selling fiction, but in the end, proves unhelpful.  Why?  For one thing, it leads to disappointment.  The followers of William Miller found that out the hard way in the 1840s.  Besides, we can get hung up on details and miss the big picture.  So don’t get
caught trying to figure out what only God knows for sure.
In our context, it is better to see this as a call to always be ready for the Day of the Lord. I realize that this is not easy. It’s difficult to stay on high alert always.  It’s a ready recipe for burn out. You can do it for a while, but then you have to get some sleep.
Recognizing the challenges of remaining awake and alert, the word remains present with us – Don’t be found asleep when the day comes.  Don’t get complacent.  Don’t get too comfortable with your surroundings.  Instead, keep ready by being engaged in the word of God in the World. Seek justice and mercy wherever you go.  Listen for the cries of the suffering. This is our calling in the interim.  We all have our assignments, our callings, and it is to this work that we have been elected.
In hope we will continue to sing as the body of Christ:
O come, O Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear.
                Rejoice, rejoice!
                Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!