Overflowing Grace

The Rev. Dr. Whitworth Ferguson III

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

April 3, 2011

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant

Overflowing Grace

Psalm 104

Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind,
you make the winds your messengers,
fire and flame your ministers.
You set the earth on its foundations,
so that it shall never be shaken.
You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
At your rebuke they flee;
at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys
to the place that you appointed for them.
You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills,
giving drink to every wild animal;
 …By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

Water, so ordinary, and yet so powerful, so life-giving;

and, as we have seen these past few weeks,

so destructive, so fearsome.

The water of the seas,

the water of the rivers,

the water of lakes,

and even the smallest streams.

The very sound of water affects us like no other sound:

the roar of the crashing ocean surf;

the gentle lapping of waves on a small lake;

the thunder of mighty cataracts;

the soothing melody of a stream bubbling over rocks,

as it winds its patient, determined way

around every obstacle.

We swim in water,

We sail on water,

we bathe in water,

we cook with water,

we clean with water,

and we baptize with water.

Water that’s so powerfully symbolic,

the few drops of water we use in baptism

symbolizing our cleansing,

the washing away of our sins.

From those drops we are reborn,

for we are reborn in baptism,

going under the water as men and women of the flesh,

men and women of this earthly life,

but coming up born anew,

men and women of the Spirit.

A transformation we may not see

but which we can surely feel.

I am convinced that even the infants I’ve baptized

know something is very different

after I have crossed them with water,

and said those familiar words,

“I baptize you in the name of the Father,

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit.”

In baptism, with even just a little water

we are born to new life in Christ,

new life through Christ,

new life with Christ.

And yet for most of us, we cannot remember our baptisms

and so we are not mindful of it.

Reborn in the Spirit in our baptism,

we gradually slip back to life as children of the flesh,

the cares of this world wearing us down,

The stresses and strains of every day life fill us.

The sputtering economy has affected all but the wealthiest:

the young people who worked so hard in school

only to struggle to find a decent job,

even as they begin their careers laden with debt;

the middle aged person worries about keeping a job;

men and women over 50 who fear that if

they lose a job they’ll never find another one

that’s comparable.         

Family issues;

strained relationships;

health concerns;

and on goes the list.

Life can overwhelm.

We need renewal, refreshment.

So take a deep breath

and set aside all those things that have your mind buzzing,

that drain you, wear you.

Let your senses take over:

the senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.

Start with sight:

Look and see this worship space in which you are now sitting:

this glorious place where we gather to praise God,

the sight of the Cross that fills us with the hope,

hope of life with Christ in this life,

and hope of life with Christ in the life to come.

That was the message of that glorious music

you heard last Sunday in Fauré’s Requiem,

as though the Cross itself

had been turned into an audio file.

                                            

Hear sounds all about you:

my voice, music, other voices,

the rustling of bulletins,

the buzz of restless children,

all reminding us that in our baptisms

we are called into a community,

called to be part of the Body of Christ;

that discipleship is not something we can do on our own.

Smell the scent of the candles burning,

the waxy smoke rising up

in the same way our prayers rise up to God,

who always hears them,

always answers them,

who even helps us to pray

and helps us to hear his voice, his response.

Let your sense of smell remind you

of God’s constant, reassuring presence.

                          

Taste the bread and the juice,

that simple meal with its roots in the Passover,

that meal that calls us together around the Table,

that meal that feeds us spiritually,

that meal with our Lord Jesus Christ as our host.

And then last, anticipate what you are going to feel

when you put your hand in the water,

the coolness of the water,

the smoothness of the stone,

together reminding you of the promise made

by God in your own baptism

that you are Christ’s forever.

The reformer Martin Luther wrote long ago

that after the flood waters receded,

and Noah and his family and all those animals

stepped out onto dry land,

God covered the world with another flood:

a flood of grace,

a flood of love,

a flood that still covers the world.

In a few moments you will take a Sacramental walk.

Take each step with your mind quieted,

and your senses alert,

alert for the Spirit of God,

the very breath of God that blows through this place even now,

just as surely as it blew across the waters

at the beginning of time.

                 

This Spirit of God will renew and refresh you,

flooding you with a reminder of God’s covenant promises

founded in your baptism,

of God’s overflowing grace,

and God’s boundless, limitless love,

all given us, every one of us,

through the one who is grace, who is love:

our Lord Jesus Christ.

May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—
… I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
…Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!

                          

AMEN