Where will the waters take you?

Brothers & Sisters in Christ, Grace & Peace to you from God our father.

Ashes and Water…the two are connected in the sense that the water washes away the ashes. Today we begin the Lenten season and we wear ashen crosses on our foreheads. And today we move the Baptismal font front and center.

This is a time of inner reflection and confession of our sinful condition. In our Gospel today, Jesus encourages us to give alms, pray and fast in a joyful and sincere spirit. He tells us to refrain from public displays of humility that are simply done to impress others. Jesus suggests that we, his followers, wash ouir faces and in doing so, reveal our true selves to God alone. For even as we uncover ourselves in honest contemplation of our conscience, we are bathed in the waters of Christ’s mercy and love.

As we gather in our Christian community, we focus on the baptismal waters. The baptismal font waters allow us to see our own reflections…to reflect honestly and clearly on our lives. We consider the meaning of almsgiving, prayer and fasting in our lives...the waters of baptism flow like the springtime waters flow from the mountaintop down into the valleys…they flow into the rivers that fill the greater bodies of water, the lakes and seas. The waters of baptism mix & mingle with these other water bodies and are taken out into the greater world.

We too have been on the mountaintop…as we come back down to the plains and valleys, just like the waters of baptism, we too are mixed and mingled with others...we bring our baptismal covenant with us to these other bodies – other relationships – our communities. Our covenant of giving, praying & fasting is intermixed in these communities where we live it in daily life. We do all of these with joy in our hearts. These things the waters free us to do.

Christ sets us free and goes with us out into the world, just as the mountaintop rain waters ---- to fill and nourish our world with the Good News of God. We do all this bathed in the baptismal waters of Christ’s mercy and love. We go out into the world today marked with the ashen cross on our foreheads “marked by Christ”.

I’d like to share a poem with you by Susan Palo Cherwien.

O Sea, mystic Source,

Relentless and fathomless,

All streams run to you.

O River, fair Stream,

O earth-bounded Wanderer,

You seek the low place.

O Rain, soaring Mist,

Osmotic and life-giving,

Your form, the vessel’s.

O Water, O Life,

O Fountain and Origin,

Have mercy on us.

In the spirit of almsgiving, praying & fasting, I ask:

Where will the waters take you?