Carried Through the Waters
I have begun listening to the actor Will Smith’s autobiography, “Will” on audiobooks. As a young boy growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, he relished a two-month vacation with his family driving across country. When they reached the Grand Canyon, he was astounded by the expansive beauty before him. His mother pointed out to Will that the massive canyon was created by water slowly cutting its way through the rock over centuries.
When Malcolm and I lived up on Smith Lake in Northern Alabama, we loved starting and ending our days, sitting out on our deck and gazing at the water— sometimes, witnessing the early tendrils of the sunrise kissing still waters; sometimes, we would wonder at the waves whipped up by wind. Always mesmerized by the presence of that water. We often hosted Thanksgiving and Christmas in that home. One year, Malcolm’s octogenarian step-mom, Miss Jimmie Ruth, beloved kindergarten teacher and pastor’s wife from Walker County, looked out over the water and said— “I remember when they created this lake. Our family had property that was covered up by water when they made the dam.”
We never knew that.
After the dam was built, that mostly uninhabited farmland was transformed into a source of electricity and recreational joy for many. For me, it was jarring to realize that lying somewhere in the depths of that lake, underneath all of the jet skis and fishing boats, was decayed wood from the farmland of the family of Miss Jimmie Ruth Hudson— my husband’s beloved stepmother. Water is a powerful presence in our lives.
Water is a powerful presence in scripture. Think of Moses — rescued from the water by a princess of Egypt, later, that same Moses parting the waters of the Red Sea to liberate the Israelite people from the Egyptians. And then centuries later, the Israelite people being carried off to captivity—away from their homes during the Exile, sitting by the waters of Babylon and weeping…just hanging up their instruments and crying their eyes out. Carried into safety through water during the Exodus, and carried away from home through water in the Exile.
God comforts these exiled people in our passage from Isaiah, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Do not fear—-you are mine…."
In the course of our lives, we will experience a sense of being carried away, against our will into peril the peril of illness, the peril of loneliness, the peril of financial insecurity, the peril of all kinds of desperation. God speaks to us and says—Do not fear. It is scary when the waters are choppy, but they will not overwhelm you. I know you—I know you by name, I knit you in your mother’s womb. And like Jesus emerging from the Jordan River—-I will call your name
and claim your belovedness. You may not always feel beloved, you may not always ACT beloved, but YOU ARE MY BELOVED in whom I am well pleased. I have redeemed you. There is nothing in our past that God cannot redeem.
Today, we celebrate the baptism of Jesus, when he emerged from the Jordan River, nose pointed to the sky—beak of the dove of the holy spirit pointed back down at him. The humility of that act—for the savior of the world, to line up last and have his cousin dunk him in those waters, is something each of us is
to emulate. Jesus, steeped in the Jewish tradition, knew the powerful metaphor of water and carried that metaphor throughout his ministry—baptized in
water, transforming water into wine. Sitting at the well with an outcast woman from another tribe, claiming —I am the living water—whoever comes to me will never be thirsty. Water is powerful for us today too—as we baptize infant Will and his middle-school stepbrother Jack. We will pour water over their heads, baptizing in the name of the Father—who calls and knows them, and us, by name and with whom the father is well-pleased. In the name of the Son—who came to live among us and dive into the waters of life with us to save us from ourselves. And in the name of the Holy Spirit who descends upon us to enliven within us a desire to grow in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Some of us, like infant Will, are baptized as babies and do not remember that moment. It is up to our human family to remind us of that day and that we are beloved. Some of us, like Jack were old enough to speak for ourselves and claim the promises of baptism and make our own vows of baptism. No matter when or how you were baptized, here is something we might want to remember today—We are all washed in the purifying waters of God’s grace. Like a river carving a canyon through the rock; like farmland transformed into a lake, God is always creating new. God is creating a new thing in us. When we trust that God will carry us through the water and the fire, we live and love bravely.
I mentioned earlier I am listening to Will Smith’s autobiography. Prominent in his young life was his maternal grandmother, Gigi. He loved his Gigi and she loved Jesus. She would dress in her finest on Sunday and would organize plays and pageants for the children. Smith says, “Bible in hand her arms were open for everyone. Joyful keeper of her brothers and sisters, it was through Gigi I felt God’s love.” Gigi lived her faith beyond the walls of the church. One day, when 9 year old Will Smith was with his grandmother when they encountered a homeless woman. Gigi approached the woman kindly, asked her her name, and then introduced her to Will. “This is Miss Clara.” She said, as if Clara was a long lost friend. To young Will’s horror, Gigi invited Miss Clara to come home with
them. She smelt, her clothes were dirty. Gigi gave her a robe to borrow, and she washed Miss Clara’s clothes in the water of dignity. She cooked Miss Clara a meal. And she asked Will to draw the waters of new life in the bathtub. Overwhelmed, Miss Clara said “This is too much I don’t deserve this.” Gigi immediately responded “Jesus loves you and so do I.”
When we believe we are washed clean of our sins, we love expansively. Later, when Smith asked his Gigi why she was always so happy she
said something like, “God gave me life, and every breath is a gift; and God gave us the sun and the sky. God gave me my family, and everything I have in life—God does so much and I have only one job—to love all of God’s children.” When we sense God is with us through the waters of exile and new life, we live gratefully.
As we prepare to renew our baptismal vows, as we witness these baptisms, I pray we will embrace that God is creating something new in all of us and that we will love expansively and live gratefully. Amen
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