At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay.” vs. 33
Acts 16:25-34
There’s a freedom that flows through Luke’s account of the acts of the Apostle’s. The principal actors haven’t been trained in mission development, and they don’t seem to know the rituals that are so significant in our congregations. Paul doesn’t distinguish between infant and adult baptisms, and he fails to give basic instruction to the Philippian jailer. He just baptized the entire household, and everyone involved rejoiced and gave thanks to God. Paul wasn’t following any protocol; he was simply doing as he was instructed by the Spirit of Jesus. Reading the report of Paul’s Philippian experience is like getting a glimpse of the Church’s birth. Like any birth, it was a little messy–there were dozens of twists and turns–even demons were given their marching orders. There were beatings and imprisonments, earthquakes and baptisms, and a little group of women who loved going down to the river to pray. And out of all this, a joy-filled, generous congregation was formed, and Christianity was established on the frontier of the Roman Empire. Periodically there have been other such explosions in the expansion of the Good News–we’re even seeing them now. When people live by the Spirit instead of the book, Jesus is resurrected yet again.
Thought for the Day: When have I seen such explosions of the Spirit?
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