MEDITATION ON
THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD.
THE FLOOD: Water
That Both Drowns And Saves.
In the name + of Jesus.
When we hear about the Flood, we usually focus on the destruction it brought upon the world. One reason for that is because of the Lord’s own words: “God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said…, ‘Behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die’” (Genesis 6:12,17).
God cannot abide by sin. He had
created a perfect world, and his standard for all people is for holiness. But sin produces in us all kinds of
wickedness—selfishness, pride, anger, violence, and so forth. We show utter disrespect to God, suggesting
that he has no business in his own creation.
We show utter contempt for our fellow man, seeing other people only
according to how we can use them. The
judgment of God is deserved.
The Lord sent the Flood to wipe out everything on earth because of its
wickedness. The waters drowned every
living thing. The exception, of course,
was Noah, his family, and every animal that was taken into the ark.
Noah was not excused from the Flood.
He had to endure it, too. But God
provided deliverance to Noah so that he was not destroyed. The Lord God had revealed his word to Noah, a
word which provided salvation. God had commanded
Noah to build an ark in which he, his family, and many animals found refuge from
God’s judgment. The Flood waters drowned
all that was wicked, but it also lifted the ark above the destruction. God sent waters which both drowned and saved. All who were in the ark were saved by the
very waters which drowned the earth.
“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a
removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good
conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). The waters of baptism correspond to the Flood. God cannot abide sin, but neither does God want
to destroy you. You will not be excused
from God’s judgment, but God provides deliverance so you will not be
destroyed. Through holy baptism, the
Lord delivers you. God drowns all that
is corrupt in you. And the waters of
baptism save you. They deliver you above
the judgment which will come upon all that remains corrupt. Through baptism, God brings you into the ark of
the Christian Church. Here, God’s people
are kept safe. We gather each week in
the nave, which means ship, to rejoice in the Lord. Rather than have us die in our sins, the Lord
died to deliver us from sin. His resurrection
proves that his redeeming work is both sufficient and complete. We are saved by Jesus, and Jesus applies that
salvation to us in baptism.
The waters of baptism both drown and save. Daily, we revisit our baptism—putting to death the sin that still desires to have us. And daily, God raises us up anew. He saves us and keeps us safe as we gather in his name—the name which marks us and saves us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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