But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
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. (Isaiah 43)
Back
in January, I went to an event with some other first call pastors. It was a
time of reflection and growth and worship and learning. In our times of
worship, there was a theme that carried us through the event. Over four days,
we went from being called and claimed by God, to recognizing our brokenness, to
embracing our newness in Christ. There were several experiential elements to
this, but one of the most meaningful to me was this sea glass. On the day we
were recognizing the various ways we are broken, we were invited to take a
piece of sea glass and use it as a meditation tool throughout the day. I think
we were supposed to offer it back to God at the end of that day, but I didn’t
want to – the image brought me too much comfort.
Why such an attachment to this little piece of garbage?
Well that’s just it, you see. That’s what sea glass starts off as: garbage. A
piece of broken bottle. But God didn’t leave it that way. God and water,
working together, smoothed out the rough edges, and turned it into something
very beautiful. It’s not entirely smooth, but the remaining roughness shows its
journey, shows where it came from, and, I think, makes it even more beautiful.
That is the power of water and the Word.
In the passage we just read together [Isaiah 43], I asked you to
visualize what image of God it created in your mind. For me, the most poignant
image in that passage is that part, “When you pass through the waters, I will
be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” I love that
it says God will be with me in those times: not that God will pluck me out of
the seas and save me from anything too hard; not that God will make the waters
a little gentler for me. Because if God did either of these things, then how
would my rough edges, like those of this piece of glass, be smoothed out and
made more beautiful?
What I love the most about this image is that it is not
only reflective of my personal faith journey, but also that of every person in
the Body of Christ. We share it. We begin our journey in baptism, doused in the
water that washes our sins and smooths out our rough edges. And we spend the
rest of our Christian life being the named, claimed, beautiful and beloved
children that God created, trusting that all along the way we continue to be
surrounded by God’s promises.
And because of that assurance, we pray. We give thanks.
We ask for help. We praise. Because God promises to be with us through the most
terrifying of waters, and promises that our brokenness can become beautiful,
and that our death can become life, we don’t shy away from our relationship
with God. Instead of running away from
the waters, we run into them. Instead
of fearing the rivers, we face them, knowing God is with us.
And all of this we do in prayer, in avid and insistent
prayer. And so at this time, I would like to invite you, claimed and beloved
children of God, to participate in such prayer. You will find in your bulletin
a slip of green paper. There are no rules about that paper – you can write on
it a prayer of thanksgiving, a prayer of need, a prayer of praise. You may
decide to leave it blank, as representative of leaving space for God to speak
to you, and your being open to God’s Word. Whatever you decide to do with it,
bring it forward to the font, to the place where you were first named and
declared a forgiven and beloved child of God. Leave it here by the font, and then
take with you a piece of sea glass – a reminder that God is with you in prayer,
with you in the waters, and will never leave your side – and carry it with you
through Lent. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray...
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