Thursday, February 19, 2009

Notes for Sunday March 01, 2009

Read: Genesis 9:8-17, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:9-15 Water Words

Water is life. Even more than the air we breathe, or soil we walk upon, water is the primary life supplier. We know there is life without air, such as anaerobic bacteria, however we cannot find life without water. We can find life without soil, such as the water-born protozoa, but water always is involved with life in one of its physical forms of vapor, liquid, or a solid. Water is the essential building block, the foundation of life.

The human body is 65% water. We must take in 80 oz. of water a day, about 2/3 of a gallon, just to maintain that percentage. As my body came into being it took on water. At death my body will dry out, lose its water, and once again become the same “wetness” as the rest of the world. So in an almost strange primordial metaphor, water can be understood to offer life. While we are physically alive our bodies contain significantly more water than the world around us. Without life, our bodies are similar in dryness to the surroundings.

So it is with our spiritual life. As we gain Jesus Christ we become alive in that spirit. The sacrament of baptism uses water at the metaphor to offer this hope. Through the application of water, the spiritual body becomes alive. Without the life of the spirit we remain separated from our own potential. We live spiritually on the same level with the world around us, experiencing no greater power, offering no greater sacrifice.

To hydrate our lives we look to the means of grace such as the sacraments, scripture, friendship, and prayer. Our ordinary lives become extraordinary with the addition of the water of the spirit. Our goal in these 40 days of Lent is to drink in the water of life and allow God to once again give spiritual life to our mortal bodies.

Scripture: Mark 1:9-15
Sermon: “Water Words”

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