Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Acts 19:1–8
Ephesus was a great city.
Busy streets. Many gods. Many voices. Many promises.
People came there to trade, to worship, to search, to survive.
And into that city came Paul.
There he met twelve disciples.
They were sincere. They believed something. They had received the baptism of John.
But something was missing.
Paul asked them a simple question:
“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”
Their answer was almost shocking:
“We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
They were religious. They were trying. They had begun the journey.
But the fire was missing.
They had water. They had repentance. They had desire. They had a beginning.
But not yet the fullness.
They had turned toward Christ, but had not yet been plunged into Christ.
They had heard the call to change, but had not yet received the power to become new.
So Paul spoke to them of Jesus.
Then they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And something happened.
A passage.
From old life to new life. From distance to belonging. From searching to being found. From standing outside to being drawn into Christ.
The death of Jesus touched them. The risen life of Jesus touched them. The name of Jesus claimed them.
Then Paul laid his hands on them.
And the Holy Spirit came.
Quiet faith became fire.
Hidden belief became voice.
A voice to praise. A voice to witness. A voice to strengthen others. A voice to say that the world does not belong to fear, darkness, or death.
It belongs to God.
And now the question comes to us.
Have we heard of the Holy Spirit?
Not the word.
The gift.
Not the doctrine.
The fire.
Not the line in the Creed.
The breath of Christ within us.
The twelve men in Ephesus did not know what they were missing.
Until Paul came.
Until the name of Jesus was spoken.
Until hands were laid upon them.
Until the Spirit came.
So it may be with us.
We may not know what is missing.
Only that faith feels dry. Prayer feels thin. Courage feels far away. The heart is still waiting.
And perhaps what is missing is not more effort.
But fire.
Come, Holy Spirit. Give us what they received.
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993
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.
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