Photo by Erda Estremera on Unsplash
I am grateful that our liturgical year always begins with watery readings and rituals that reflect God’s spirit. I am also grateful for the rains this week and the deep and varied shades of green; and that the fragrances of the earth are returning and coming back to life.
On Monday afternoon, just before the New Year, we took a familiar walk on the shores of Lake Chabot. The sun was shimmering, the sky a clear blue, and the wind sounded like the ocean. As we walked I couldn’t help but recall the Creation story from Genesis, and those waters of the deep that existed before creation; with God’s spirit moving, even brooding above them, and the spirit hovering above the waters. I couldn’t help but recall the story of Jesus’s baptism in the waters of the Jordan River. Both of these watery images mark Divinely inspired beginnings. God and time come out of water in a wave or a cloud or a Divinely uttered word of precious and foundational affirmation, like “it was good” or “you are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.”
Join us this Sunday, as we remember that we too, are God’s beloved child, and are called to the renewal of our lives by the Spirit.
