Paul's Question

​We have a great set of readings this morning. The story of creation. The baptism of Christ. The baptism of some of the earliest believers in Ephesus. There is a LOT we might say about these stories. But I want to focus on the role of the Holy Spirit in baptism and in our lives.
 
For many of us, the Holy Spirit is mysterious. We can’t comprehend God, of course. But as best I can tell, people mostly can imagine God the Father, more or less. We know God the Son because he became flesh and lived among us. But for many people, God the Holy Spirit is more elusive, harder even to begin to approach. 
 
Now, I am NOT going to make everything clear about the Holy Spirit! But when we think about the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, it helps to see the Spirit at work in baptism in our Gospel reading and in the Acts of the Apostles.
 
We don’t always focus on this, but Jesus’ baptism was a trinitarian event. Jesus himself, the incarnate Son of God, was present, there to be baptized. God the Father spoke from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And most relevant for us right now, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove.
 
As an aside, five centuries later, the Holy Spirit also descended like a dove on Saint David, our patron, which is why both our banner and the stained-glass window over the entrance to our building have doves on them. The Holy Spirit as dove is the symbol of Saint David.
 
Back to the baptism of our Lord. Mark doesn’t explain exactly what the Holy Spirit does in Jesus’ baptism. But as the Gospel continues, it becomes clear that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism in order to prepare Jesus for his public ministry.
 
Remember that Jesus was already something like thirty years old at this point, but had not, as far as we know, undertaken any form of active ministry. But in the very next verse after our reading, immediately after Jesus was baptized and had the Holy Spirit descend upon him, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for a period of tempting. Two verses after that, Jesus began to preach and then to call his first disciples. With the touch of the Spirit, Jesus’ ministry was underway.  
 
We see something similar in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles, but reversed.
 
When Paul arrived in Ephesus, he found a little Christian community already there. But almost immediately Paul sensed that something was wrong. So, Paul asked the question: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” Their answer was, no. And without the Holy Spirit, something was missing in their common life.
 
We’re not told what gave it away. My guess is, their worship was flat, and they weren’t doing a very good job of loving each other or of loving their neighbors outside the Church. One way or another, Paul could see that the Holy Spirit was not active in this little Christian community because they weren’t living as an effective Christian community.
 
Paul baptized the Ephesian Christians in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit descended upon them, and only then were they truly prepared to begin their lives and their ministries together as authentic Christians.
 
As was true in Jesus’ baptism, if in a different way, so here in Ephesus, the Holy Spirit kick starts the life of faith and empowers believers for Christian mission.
 
Move forward two thousand years.
 
We don’t have the same problem as the Ephesians. We get baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit. At our baptisms, we are sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever.
 
And that shows. I’d like to think that if the Apostle Paul joined us here at Saint David’s this morning, he wouldn’t ask us whether we have received the Holy Spirit.
 
I’d like to think that Paul, participating in our worship, would feel the movement of the Spirit; that Paul, hearing about our formation and outreach ministries, would see the Spirit at work in and through us; that Paul, talking to us as individuals and as a group would recognize that the Holy Spirit is in and among us, drawing us together and drawing us closer to God. I’d like to think that Paul would recognize us as people of prayer and service and love. And all that comes from the Holy Spirit.
 
But our readings are an invitation to self- reflection. How, exactly, is the Holy Spirit at work here? What is the Holy Spirit doing in our lives right now? What is the Holy Spirit empowering us to do in service to God’s mission this year?
 
This invitation to reflection comes at a good time for us. The New Year has just begun. This is a time for New Years resolutions.
 
As best I can tell, a high percentage of New Years resolutions revolve around things like eating a little better, exercising a little more, losing a little weight. And a few weeks into the year, we give up on them. Our willpower isn’t strong enough to carry us through the year.
 
But as people of faith, we might approach the new year differently. Rather than deciding what we want, we might focus on what God is calling us to do. And rather than relying on our own self-discipline and willpower, we might trust that the Holy Spirit will help us to do whatever God is calling us to do. Because the Holy Spirit is God at work in us and around us, God at work guiding us and empowering us, God at work, drawing us deeper into God’s love and God’s mission.
 
To help us discern what the Spirit is doing, and what the Spirit is calling us to do, we begin the second phase of our stewardship campaign, when we focus on the stewardship of our time and talents. In the narthex there are copies of a time and talent commitment form. On February 11, we’ll formally dedicate our commitments. Between now and then, I encourage you all to spend some time in prayer, asking God for guidance, listening for God’s voice, and pondering in your hearts.
 
It may be that you are called to stay the course, to keep doing more or less what you are doing now. It may be that God is calling you to try something new, to join a ministry new to you or to start a new ministry here at Saint David’s. It may be that God is calling you to let something go, in order to open up more space in your life.
 
As you grapple with your calling in this year, you are answering Paul’s question to the Ephesians. Paul asks them, have you received the Spirit? And we answer Paul’s question for ourselves by how we live, by how we allow the Spirit to guide us day in and day out.
 
And so, on this first Sunday of the New Year, I give thanks to God for the gift of the Holy Spirit received in baptism. I give thanks to God for the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And I pray that God the Holy Spirit will continue to guide and strengthen as we do our best to answer God’s call and live as God’s people in 2024.
 
In Christ’s name. Amen.