12th century mosaic
in Cappella Palatina,
Palermo, Italy
Acts 8:14-17
Holy! Holy! Holy!
What makes
the Holy Spirit
but the fact,
the revelation,
that we’re not alone!
Peter and John
laid their hands
on the Samaritans,
and they knew.
That’s all it took.
And so it always is -
the handshake,
the warm hug,
the embrace,
the touch on the arm,
the laying on of hands,
the feel of water
from the community’s pool
(no matter its size);
and all of these announce
to one and to all,
that he is not alone,
that she is not alone.
You. Are. Not. Alone.
That’s how God works.
Holy! Holy! Holy!
Scott L. Barton
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had
accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down
and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the
Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they
received the Holy Spirit.
+ + +
Isaiah 43:1-7 + Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Unplumbed Depths
We think we know this Jesus and
We've got him all pinned down,
Until he gets himself baptized,
Like everyone in town.
But then a voice is heard that he's
Beloved! God's well-pleased!
Remember how Isaiah said,
With passion, God was seized
With love for people cast afar,
And pleaded they would know
The steps God takes so they might see
God's love still overflow?
These waters Jesus passes through
Say you can never plumb
The depths, nor height, nor length of love
That nothing overcomes.
Scott L. Barton
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my sight,
and honored, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, “Give them up,”
and to the south, “Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth—
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
+ + +
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were
questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,
John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is
more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his
sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork
is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his
granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also
had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit
descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven,
“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
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