EASTER
Walking in newness of life
Romans 6:4

At Easter, we exult before the empty tomb and rejoice in Christ with the newly baptized. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Paul told us something important about baptism: "We have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).

Walking in newness of life — now, here, with our brothers and sisters, just as our Lord walked among us in those forty days between his resurrection and ascension. How do we do that? Let's look to the Gospels. In the gospels, the Risen Lord says over and over, "Peace be with you." The only other thing he says that often is that we are to spread the Good News. Doing as he did — as our baptism calls us to do -- means that we should proclaim peace and spread the Good News to everyone we meet.

In the book of Acts (8:26–39), Philip does just that. The Ethiopian official of the queen's treasury is working his way through the prophecies of Isaiah as he rides back home from Jerusalem. (I always imagine him sitting in the open back of a luxurious chariot drawn by elegant horses, reading aloud from a scroll in the shade of a fringed umbrella that protects him and his charioteer from the hot sun as their plush little caravan makes its way.) The Holy Spirit gives Philip a nudge. He could have objected that this man in the chariot is way too exotic for a humble fellow like him to talk to, or that the Good News isn't for foreigners. No, instead Philip boldly runs right up to the chariot and asks the man if he understands what he is reading.

How do you suppose Philip said that? Was he saying, "Do you understand (you poor ignorant foreigner, you?)" or "Do you understand that (because I'd love to hear what you think and talk it over with you)?" I think he said it the second way. Notice that the Holy Spirit didn't tell him what to say to the Ethiopian. For all Philip knew, that man from far away might have had a deeper understanding of the Scriptures than any of the disciples. And so he asked a respectful question: Do you understand? He made no assumptions about what would be the best thing for the man — Philip sought to meet him where he was, not where Philip thought he was or thought he should be. That's peacemaking. Only after the man said no and asked for assistance did Philip contribute what he knew.

What a rich harvest that humble question led to! The Ethiopian official was so moved that he asked to be baptized right then and there, a foreigner no longer but a brother in Christ to Philip and to us. Philip walked in newness of life, acting as Jesus did — and see the good that came from it. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Audrey Novak Riley is associate editor of  Lutheran Woman Today magazine.