We see Philip the Evangelist (one of the seven deacons commissioned in chapter six) breaking boundaries by sharing the faith in Samaria. He is sometimes confused with Philip, one of the twelve apostles but tradition separates the two men.
Samaritans would likely be considered closely related to the Jews of that day genetically but sometimes our closest family makes the bitterest enemies. Culturally, they were divided with each likely looking down on the other.
The movement of Jesus seems to favor the outcast within society. Those considered ritually unclean are given new life through this lens. Samaria may test the boundaries of who they are willing to accept. As we see which gospel writers mention the movement of Jesus into Samaria, we see Luke and John only sharing these stories. Only Luke, of course, has the parable of the Good Samaritan which even impacts those outside Christianity still today.
We see that the gift of the Holy Spirit seems to come from the apostles rather than a deacon like Philip. We see the baptism in the name of Jesus rather than in the Trinity, a later Christian development. The Samaritans receive the Holy Spirit after the laying on of hands from the apostles. In current practice within The United Methodist Church, the Holy Spirit is received at one's baptism with the laying on of hands.
Simon Magus (the magician) also converts to Christianity and we see that we haven't had to wait long until someone wants to profit from the attraction and power people are encountering. He may think that if he could grant the gift of the Holy Spirit to others, there would be a fortune to be made here!
Ironically, Peter who is also named Simon quickly rids Simon Magus of this notion. Peter of all people knows that even though he had been tempted, he was not beyond redemption. Simon Magus still doesn't understand the power dynamics of the faith. While Peter bids him to pray for repentance, Simon asks Peter to pray to God on his behalf. If Peter would intercede for him with Jesus, he saw that his chances of avoiding the pit would improve.
This is a perfectly human notion. I need intervention with the really powerful. Christianity has moved in and out of this notion throughout its history. Modern prayer to the saints is not really prayer to them as much as the request for intervention on their behalf.
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| Sometimes the social barriers we erect are more impenetrable than the physical ones. |
In this way, the revolution of Christianity is to break down hierarchy (even as we see it present through the apostles over the deacons in sharing the gift of the Holy Spirit). If Samaritans can receive the Holy Spirit, then our own notion of who is beneath us shatters.
As we think of our own culture in the 21st century, which categories of people would we hesitate to name as recipients of the Holy Spirit? Who would you be shocked to see accepting Jesus as the Lord? One thing that remains constant is humans love their status and their boundaries. How does our faith belie these things?
Prayer for the day:
We thank you for your church, founded upon your Word, that challenges us to do more than sing and pray, but go out and work as though the very answer to our prayers depended on us and not upon you. Help us to realize that humanity was created to shine like the stars and live on through all eternity. Keep us, we pray, in perfect peace. Help us to walk together, pray together, sing together, and live together until that day when all God's children -- Black, White, Red, Brown and Yellow -- will rejoice in one common band of humanity in the reign of our Lord and of our God, we pray. Amen.
Prayer by Martin Luther King, Jr., 20th Century
Photo by Nico Kaiser via Flickr.com. Used under the Creative Commons license.
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