Isaiah 43:1-7              Psalm 29                                Acts 8:14-17              Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

In our reading from Acts today, we heard that Peter and John went to Samaria and laid hands on the people who had become believers in Christ Jesus.  The people had accepted that Jesus was the Messiah, but that was not enough.  No, the people had not yet received the Holy Spirit.  They did not receive the Holy Spirit until Peter and John laid their hands on them and prayed for them.  In our tradition, this is the biblical reason for the priest to lay a hand on the newly baptized making the sign of the cross on their foreheads saying, “you are sealed in baptism by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own for ever.” 

In seminary, we talked a great deal about the “ontological change” that occurs in baptism and ordination.  This phrase, derived from Latin, suggests that in baptism we are changed, changed in the core of our being.   Now why seminary teaches us such words as ontological, I’m not sure, but I do know that the idea that baptism and ordination changes who we are is one that is worth exploring. 

On this day, the first Sunday after Epiphany, we celebrate the baptism of our Lord.  Theologians can talk for hours on this subject.  After all, the Jewish ritual of baptism was centered on cleansing oneself in preparation for the Lord.  It was for them, like our confession of sin is for us.  We confess our sins and receive absolution before we approach the altar.  Likewise the Jewish people would perform ritual cleansing acts before entering the temple. 

John the Baptist was preparing the people for Christ by baptizing them.  While he was doing this, Christ appeared and asked John to baptize him.  This is the source of much of the theological debate.  Why would a man who was free of sin need to be baptized?  Even the writer of the Gospel of John seemed to struggle with this notion.  In John’s Gospel there is no reference to the actual baptism of Christ.  The gospel writer simply tells of Jesus coming to the river where John is baptizing people.  John the Baptist then testifies to having seen the Holy Spirit “descend as a dove from heaven, and . . . remain on . . . [Jesus],” but John does not baptize Jesus.   Nonetheless, we should remember that Jesus was a Jew who observed the Jewish customs.  Baptism was a ritualistic preparation, like prayer, for the ministry that Jesus was about to undertake.   The baptism of Christ marks the beginning of his ministry. 

Many, if not most of us, were baptized as infants or children and cannot remember our baptisms.  Perhaps this is the reason that as seminarians preparing for our ordinations, this topic of ontological change held such a fascination for many of us.  And, since we were not all ordained at the same time, the newly ordained were asked half-way in jest if they felt different – did they, we wanted to know, experience an ontological change.  Some said yes, others said no – they didn’t feel any different.

I can say from my own experience that having the bishop and other priests lay their hands on me as prayers are said is powerful.  Did I receive the Holy Spirit that evening?  At the time, I did not know what I felt.  The emotions I experienced were too overwhelming to say.  Now, looking back I can say I did receive the Holy Spirit – just as I did the first time I attended the Episcopal Church as an adult.

The ontological change – the change in my very being, has been occurring throughout my life.  God is at work in all of our lives from the time we are conceived – if not before.  What I can now explain as an ontological change – because I went to seminary and learned the phrase, is nothing more than one of those times in my life when I knew in my heart that God was with me.  These times in our lives can last only a moment, but when we experience them we know two things – we are not alone and we are loved.  These moments are capable of changing our outlook on life and provide us the motivation to serve God.  In today’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove and God was heard to say, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."  Knowing that we are loved, knowing that we are not alone, knowing that what we do pleases God – gives us the strength to serve God.   This is the source of the change that occurs in our being.

The change I experienced with my ordination was one that began the day I arrive here at St. Andrews and it continues today.  The work of the Holy Spirit may begin with a single experience, or one day you might find that the combination of several events has led you to a new understanding of God’s presence in your life.  However the Holy Spirit works in your life, it always occurs over time.  Some experiences, though, do tend to stand out more in our memories than others.  That has been my experience here.  From the first time I took communion to a member of this congregation to the times I have stood with family members reading the Litany at the Time of Death, I have felt God’s presence and I have felt myself changing.  Yes, my experience of the divine at my ordination was extraordinary, but no more so than the opportunity to serve here at St. Andrews.  Knowing that I am not alone, knowing that I am loved makes it possible to be with you when you need to know that you are not alone and that you are loved.

All of our EFM students and graduates have shared the experience of writing a spiritual autobiography and, I suspect, can relate to the unpredictability of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.  If you haven’t written a spiritual autobiography, I invite you to spend some time reflecting on those times in your life that have shaped your faith.  Some may be painful memories, but within those transforming moments in our lives are glimpses of the divine – glimpses that give us direction.  If you decide to undertake this exercise, know that I am available to review this with you.  Completing a spiritual autobiography can be both challenging and enlightening. 

To receive the Holy Spirit, as the people of Samaria did, is to be prepared to do God’s work.  Serving God is just that – doing God’s work.  And we know that the church is alive and spirit filled when we see its members serving others.  Believing is important, but it is the transforming work of the Holy Spirit that prepares us for service.    God is not separate from us; God is with us and God loves us. 

It was the work of the Holy Spirit, not the ritualistic act of Peter and John laying hands on the people of Samaria that transformed them – and it is the work of the Holy Spirit that can transform us as well.  It is a gift from God that is freely given, we need only to open our hearts and respond.

Let us pray. 

Open our hearts, we pray oh Lord, that we might know your presence and your love.  You have called us into service; make us worthy of our calling.  Guide us that we might invite others into this your fellowship; the fellowship of Christ’s body, the church.  We give thanks for your creation; help us to see you in all persons and recognize the gifts that each of us have to offer, that together we may do your will.  All this with ask in the name of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.