10-7-2023

Good Morning All,

        1 Corinthians 6:11; “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

     Earlier this year, shortly after the snow was melting; I stopped at a drive through to get lunch.  While I waited my turn, I watched a 3- or 4-year-old boy walk in the parking lot.  He had a pair of rubber or plastic water boots on.  They were bright yellow with black polka dots.  They went up to his knees.  As he walked with his mother, he walked by a small puddle of water.  This puddle was about 6 inches in size and was about two cups of water; it wasn’t much of a puddle, but he tried to jump and splash in it anyway.

    That can mean only one thing, it was the time of year when little boys (and some little girls) will hear those words from their mother, “TAKE THOSE MUDDY BOOTS OFF BEFORE YOU COME INTO THE KITCHEN; I JUST SCRUBBED THE FLOOR!”  Even if the little guy only wants a drink of water, or worse, really needs the bathroom; He must be far cleaner than he is to get into the house.  He is banished to be out of the house until he gets cleaned up.  Now mom still loves him dearly, but he needs to be much cleaner before he is allowed in the house.

    This is the exact state that we find our self in when we try to come to God.  Our sins make us too dirty to come into his presence.  We need to be completely and totally clean; we can have no sin present, or we cannot enter.  This presents a great problem all sin so we can never really enter into God’s presence.  So, God does what this little boy’s mother, He comes to us and cleans us up.  Just like mom, who comes outside with a washcloth, God comes to us and washes us with water and Spirit to cleanse us.  Just like mom who pulls the muddy boots off our feet and then carries us into the house, so we stay clean; God cleanses you of your sins and carries you forward in grace and mercy into his house.  It is here that we can rest in his comforting presence.

    And just like little boys (and little girls) everywhere, we need to be cleansed every day.  We need to be cleansed of our sins every single moment of every day.  God, because of his incredible love for you, does this as he shows us in our Baptism.  We are washed, cleansed, sanctified by the Spirit.  We are declared holy by this sacred washing.  We are declared clean enough to enter the house, the whole house, where we can come to God, our Father, in that holy conversation called prayer.  We can rest in the comfort of his arms and be renewed and strengthened by his mercy.  We are clean because of his love.

Father of all mercy, you cleanse us through the waters of Baptism.  You wash us clean and give us new birth.  We are born anew into your holy family.  Guide us as we travel this path.  Cleanse us, we pray so that we may always live safely in your arms.  In the name of Jesus our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret