Malachi 3:20-24, Ephesians 5:8-20, John 1:19-34
By Sister Cecelia
“Be careful how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your time, singing and making melody in your hearts. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5)
At the end of our Divine Liturgy today, we have our yearly service of blessing the water. In the book of Genesis, we read that God made all things, drawing forth the Creation from a dark and watery Chaos. We read how the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters. Here the verb “moved” in Hebrew connotes the behavior of a mother bird brooding over her nest, protecting and nurturing her offspring. The Spirit of God at the Creation of this young world, earth, was caring for it like a hen over her chicks. That is an apt image, as at Christ’s Baptism a bird was seen hovering over Christ when he was baptized and the Father’s words were heard. Only two evangelists relate anything about Jesus’ birth, while all four relate the Baptism of Christ—an indication of its importance to us.
Water is used by John to indicate the person’s cleansing and turning to God—repentance, metanoia.
Water is used in our own baptisms, indicating that we are united as one with Christ.
Water is used for both good and bad, as Br. Luke mentioned on Thursday. This time the symbol of water is good, for in our created world, so much needs water. We do not survive without water.
In the wake of the feast of Epiphany, we receive the waters of chaos turned into the waters of life, and if we bring this blessing into our houses and businesses and offices, for drinking and for sprinkling, we declare our intention to become part of a new creation and to bring our family, our home, and our work into the Reign of God. That is an ongoing commitment that is to be renewed daily. When we receive the water that carries the divine presence, we declare our intention to live no longer according to the laws of survival and self-advancement and pride. Instead, we declare our desire to live according to the rule of love, of mercy, of justice and humility before God and humanity. This is the meaning of the service we do today: our acceptance of Christ as our way of life, and our commitment to following our leader in the time we have been given.
Recently I gleaned a few ideas about the time we have from the writings of Joan Chittister. “We Americans are obsessed with time. We’re a pragmatic, productive people, and time is the national idol. It shows in our language. We spend time, invest time, and need time. We lose time, save time, waste time, find time, gain time, and want time.”
Time, we Americans seem to assume, is for doing something, for producing things, for achieving goals. Our goal is to realize that life is about becoming.
As another year has begun, take time each day to give more serious consideration to what we are becoming rather than to what we are doing. Life is not a package of years; it is a lifetime of opportunities meant to make us everything we can possibly be: gentle, understanding, patient, kind, open, loving, joyful, not envious or boastful, arrogant or rude, not irritable or resentful or rejoicing in wrongdoing but rejoicing rather in truth, being courageous, persevering, and generous.
Make the most of your time, singing and making melody in your hearts.
Christ is in our midst!
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