On the liturgical calendar, this Sunday January 12 celebrates the baptism of Jesus by his cousin John. For those congregations that do not keep the baptismal font front-and-center in their worship spaces (or keep the font covered), Baptism of Christ Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to include water in worship:

Uncover the font, bring it out into the open.

Keep water running in the baptistry.

Turn on a meditative fountain.

Invite the children to come and touch the water.

Invite the adults to touch the water!

Have fishbowls on the altar.

Preach a sermon on nature’s hydrological system
and God’s ever-flowing transformative grace.

Put a slip-and-slide down the center aisle.

(Maybe nix the slip-and-slide idea, it’s likely more dangerous than inspiring.)

However you do it, don’t just talk about remembering our baptisms; create a worship environment in which people experience the waters of baptism! Remember that water is not only an instrument of sacrament. Water is intrinsic to life … and, it should be noted, not only an element that brings life but also a frequent participant in death and in chaos (theological dimensions of baptism that we may prefer to avoid). Bring the fullness of water to the fullness of your worship.

For your meditation and preparation for Baptism of Christ Sunday, I offer this reflection:

Make peace with the Water.

Make peace with the Water
that gives life.
Make peace with the Water
that brings death.

Make peace.

Make peace with the Water
in every changing season.
Make peace with the Water
in your body’s very cells.

Make peace.

Make peace with the Water
as it pounds the shores,
as it pounds our souls.

Make peace with the Water
as it quiets the forest,
as it quiets our angst.

Make peace with the Water.

Make peace with God.