Waters of Love (repost)

In honor of the upcoming Baptism of Christ Sunday, I offer this piece from last January. Remember your baptism... it is good, and you are beloved. 

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Waters of Love

Genesis 1:1-5 and Mark 1:4-11

Life begins in the waters of creation.

The void. The deep. And the spirit of God swept over the face of the waters – 

first creating one-celled, 

then multiple-celled, 

and eventually the endless numbers of intricately-evolved organisms 

that populate the earth today. 

And God called it good, beloved.

Life begins in the waters of creation.

The womb. We’ve all been there. Floating in the watery sac of amniotic fluid, 

we each grew from 2 cells, 

to multiple organs, 

to the wondrously complicated being that sits in the pew 

next to your neighbor: you. 

And God called you good, beloved.

Life begins in the waters of creation.

The Jordan River. The place where Jesus stepped out of the waves and into his mission and ministry. 

Growing from one Word of love, 

to multiple acts of justice, 

into an infinite call for each person to follow… into new life. 

And God called the baptism good, and God’s child beloved.

The Deep. 

The Womb. 

The Jordan.  

New life begins in the waters of creation. 

And the new life is good.

Beloved.