Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 26

Scripture Reading: Acts 19:1-20 (NRSV)

It may be surprising to some that John the Baptist still had disciples that were following in his way.  Paul encounters them in Ephesus and they seem very amenable to becoming Christians.   So Paul baptizes them and they receive the Holy Spirit.  Interestingly enough, there were twelve of John's disciples who convert to Christianity.  Could this be allegorical as a reference to the twelve disciples of Jesus?

For United Methodists, we ask the question, "Is this re-baptism?"  We are clear that we do not re-baptize those who have already been baptized as Christians.  Specifically, the 2016 Book of Discipline states in paragraph 341.7:

No pastor shall re-baptize. The practice of re-baptism does not conform with God’s action in baptism and is not consistent with Wesleyan tradition and the historic teaching of the church. Therefore, the pastor should counsel any person seeking re-baptism to participate in a rite of reaffirmation of baptismal vows.

Here I am baptizing a youth at someone's pool.
The rest of the congregation is gathered with the photographer.
The owners of the pool later claimed that they were swimming
in Holy Water!

But what our polity is talking about is Christian baptism that resonates with our theology of the Trinity.  Since John's disciples had no understanding of the Holy Spirit (at least from the perspective of the early church), we would say that they were not really baptized as Christians and so this doesn't count as re-baptism.

Some traditions that emphasize adult baptism may wonder at the United Methodist prohibition on re-baptism.  We do not think that those in other traditions who re-baptize are sinning, we are just putting the emphasis on different things.

Adult baptism or Believer's baptism is where someone makes their own repentance of sin and profession of faith in Jesus Christ.  In infant or children's baptism, this is done by parents or guardians and the newly baptized will complete this for themselves at their confirmation.  For those who re-baptize, the emphasis is on the decision the individual is making publicly for Jesus Christ.  It is a commitment of the individual in faith to God through Jesus Christ.

A United Methodist understanding places the emphasis in baptism on God's commitment to that individual.  If God has committed to us, God remains faithful to us even though we may stray.

Our United Methodist understanding of Baptism, By Water and the Spirit makes this point clearly:

The claim that baptism is unrepeatable rests on the steadfast faithfulness of God. God’s initiative establishes the covenant of grace into which we are incorporated in baptism. By misusing our God-given freedom, we may live in neglect or defiance of that covenant, but we cannot destroy God’s love for us. When we repent and return to God, the covenant does not need to be remade, because God has always remained faithful to it. What is needed is renewal of our commitment and reaffirmation of our side of the covenant.

We also see the sons of Sceva, Jewish itinerant exorcists, using the name of Jesus to cast out demons.  This may remind us of Luke's gospel story in 9:49-50:

John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Moses had similar feelings for those who are doing good things for God.  However, the effectiveness of these would-be exorcists in Acts is less than they would desire.

Both of these stories - the baptism of John's followers and the ineffectiveness of the Jewish exorcists - point toward an authority that is found in the early church.  Luke is making clear that God is working through this new thing and if you want to really be connected with God, you will get on board!

How do we ascribe authority to the church today?  How is our prayer life more effective when we join with other believers?  How does our knowledge and understanding of scripture increase?  I believe that these latter two questions are two of the ways that we see the Holy Spirit at work in our lives today.  And as we pursue these things, we live out our baptismal covenant and try to be as faithful to God as God is to us.

Prayer for the day:

God, with your help, we will proclaim the good news
   and live according to the example of Christ.
God, with your help, we will surround the others in our congregation
    with a community of love and forgiveness,
    that we all may grow in our service to others.
God, with your help, we will pray for the others in our congregation
  that we all may be true disciples who walk in the way that leads to life.
Amen.

Prayer based on the congregational baptismal response of The United Methodist Church.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.