Hands

Lutherans officially acknowledge two sacraments: Communion and Baptism. This is a significant reduction from the seven that our Roman Catholic friends acknowledge. However, some of our other siblings in Christ don’t acknowledge any sacraments at all. To make the process of developing a theory around these sacred rites even more complicated, some Lutherans argue that the washing of feet should also qualify as a sacrament according to Lutheran standards, and that one isn’t even included on the larger Catholic list. But our reading from Acts for this week (Acts 8:14-17) may indicate that the early church may have had another ritual action that they held as particularly significant, perhaps even sacramental.

The believers in Samaria have been baptized at this point in Acts. They had accepted the Word and believed in the Gospel. However, when Peter and John arrive, they discover that despite their belief and baptism, the Samaritan Christians lack the Holy Spirit. However, when Peter and John lay their hands upon them they receive the Holy Spirit. Here Baptism appears to be a two step process. The washing brings forgiveness of sins, while the laying on of hands is what activates faith through the presence of the Holy Spirit. But if the imposition of hands blesses people with the gift of the Spirit, why isn’t it practiced more often in our church?

I know that some people receive the laying on of hands when they are confirmed, though that isn’t true of all places. Traditionally, when a new pastor is ordained, they will receive the imposition of hands by their bishop. I remember the Lutheran Center sending off seniors with the laying on of hands whenever graduation came around. However, I suspect that many of us don’t recall participating in this ritual, let alone receiving it.

The Lutheran Church has had a history of focusing more on the second article of the Creed than the first. We can sometimes be so centered on Christ that we neglect to celebrate the Holy Spirit. Maybe this is because we see the Holy Spirit as always present. After all, the Holy Spirit brings us to faith in the first place. We cannot confess that Jesus is Lord without the Holy Spirit. For us, the Spirit is celebrated through the celebration of the Father and the Son. We don’t need to focus on the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is what allows us to focus in the first place. However, not only does the Holy Spirit do more than simply being the foundation of our faith, even if that were the case, that would be a thing worth celebrating.

Of course, if this were the only problem we had with delving into the Spirit, the solution would be simple. All we would need to do is simply bring the Spirit into a few more prayers, sermons, and Bible studies. We could build Spirit-centered language into the liturgy. We could spend more time in Sunday school and confirmation talking about what the Spirit means to us. Unfortunately, I think there is a darker explanation for why we don’t talk as much about the Spirit and why we don’t get more excited about the imposition of hands.

The New Testament describes powerful miracles carried out by those empowered by the Spirit. Not only can they do things like prophesy and speak in tongues, but there were also miraculous healings and escapes from captivity. People spoke with courage and authority. People understood the will of God directly. When the Spirit touched people then, they became heroes of the faith and nothing could stop them.

Things stop us now. Plenty of things stop us. Illness and disabilities slow us down, especially this pandemic, which is still plaguing us after two years. Violence and oppression stifle our voices. Economic hardship makes it difficult for us to help others, as scarcity stalks the world like a devouring monster leading us to turn a blind eye to the plights of others in order to save ourselves. Fear and despair over cruelty and injustice lead us to give up. What more can be done for this world? 

And we don’t have the powers that the early church did. We don’t see miracle workers reliably curing the sick. With the developments of the natural sciences, especially over the last two hundred years, there seems to be an explanation for everything. We don’t see miracles anymore let alone do them ourselves. In all this time, no one has had the faith to literally move mountains with a command, so we have given up on trying. To fully claim the power of the Holy Spirit opens us up to disappointment when we don’t see the Spirit at work like the New Testament led us to believe.

Though we don’t see miracles now, we need them just as much. While the 20th century may have diminished the world’s faith in God, the turn into the 21st has also diminished humanity’s faith in itself. We so often feel lost because everything seems to fail and we never get anywhere. It seems now more than ever, to face the problems mounting against us would require nothing short of a miracle.

Right when we most need the help, the sin of doubt diminishes our connection to the power of the Holy Spirit. Our lack of faith stuns our enthusiasm. Our lights grow dim. But even here the Holy Spirit is at work. God isn’t giving up on us. 

The laying on of hands is a gift that should be celebrated more frequently. It isn’t only confirmands and pastors being ordained that need to receive the Holy Spirit. This is something that should be done during life transitions or before major projects are undertaken. There doesn’t need to be a limit on the imposition of hands. We should always remember that the Holy Spirit is with us to empower us along our journey.

Though I have probably received the laying on of hands a couple times in my life and hopefully will again, perhaps the most significant occurrence of this wasn’t even in a church. One of my mentors in the faith is a family friend named Jeff. Though he is most closely associated with a Baptist church and we certainly disagree on some points of theology and Biblical interpretation, he remains one of the greatest influences on my faith. Before I left for college, I had been visiting him and he gathered his family around me. They laid their hands on me and prayed over me. I don’t think I have ever felt the presence of the Spirit so clearly in my life.

This experience didn’t make me perfect. I made a lot of mistakes in college and struggled with some of my greatest doubts during that time. It also didn’t bind me to Jeff’s views. He and his family weren’t forcing theology on me. They didn’t pressure me to join their church. They entrusted me to God’s care and asked that the Holy Spirit would be with me on my journey away from home. And though struggles followed and mistakes were made, looking back on it, I have no doubts that the Holy Spirit answered their request. The laying on of hands isn’t an idle ritual, remembered as a formality, a carry over from a simpler time. The imposition of hands is our way of remembering the Holy Spirit with us and celebrating God’s miraculous power in our lives.