Come to the Water: The Baptism of The Christ
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. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. Isaiah 43.2-3
You are the Oneness, the Isness of all being. Apart from you, nothing is. You are the Source from which all being flows. And yet, still I throw rocks of self-doubt and half-baked schemes for happiness into the waters of my life, hoping for steppingstones, but just blocking and diverting the free flow beauty of your Grace. I cling to broken branches and swim against the flow, only to feel the branch pull away from the reed bed that held it and then roll and crash and scrape my skin on jagged river-rock banks, tangling with the roots of the very trees of life. And then, I hear your voice, like silence, whispering in the melodies of the river, “Come back my child. Let go into the flow, be baptised in my Name, the name that can never be spoken or contained, only known, only lived… For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour… and Because you are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you…” Isaiah 43:4
Ahhh…
~ breathe ~
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ Luke 3.21,22
Coming up from the water, it is in the breath that I am set free
Ruha… Ephphatha Hash’mayim
In breath and living water, I am open to heaven, heaven open to me.
Mayim, water.
Sh’Mayim, heaven.
I see heaven opening in me, opening me, opening me to you, and to the all, everyone and everything, one being, one love, one Life…
Ruha d-Qud’sha, Holy Spirit, fall on me…
Peace… peace… peace…
~ breathe ~
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; the Lord is upon the mighty waters…
The Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace. Psalm 29.3
Oh God, I Am your daughter. Oh God, I Am your son. Beloved, with you I am well pleased…
~ breathe ~
Tonnau Duw ('God's waves') Fr Tim Ardouin 