Lent

February 18, 2021

Scripture Reading:
1 Peter 3:18-22
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the Ark, in which a few, that is, eight people, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, 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, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

As a Child Welfare worker and then supervisor, necessity required our unit to have a good working relationship with the Sheriff and deputies. We were blessed with an excellent Sheriff, and he had a great staff. One year around Christmas, we had a particularly challenging time with abused/neglected children and wayward juveniles. I was exhausted. My team was too. The Sheriff with his crew were with us when needed every step of the way. Our jail had one holding cell that was used for various unique situations, including separating juveniles from adult prisoners. I walked with the Sheriff as he escorted a young, out-of-control teen to that cell so he could be in a safe place while his body recovered from drugs. The cell was padded with no furniture except the built-in toilet and water fountain. As the Sheriff and I walked back to the office area, I said, “I wish you had one of those cells for me. I could use some protection from the world for a while.” He laughed and said, “It has been a week.”

I found it interesting that Peter tells us that one of the first place the risen Christ visited was the spirits in prison identifying them as those who disobeyed God all the way back to Noah’s time. God is described as a patient waiter until Noah’s family was saved from the flood. Peter likens Noah’s salvation by water to baptism. It is a bit of a stretch. I do not recall Noah ever getting wet, but he did obey God in the building of the Ark. He, and his family was saved from drowning. In the Ark, he was lifted out of the water, eventually to dry ground.

Peter’s message to his readers both then and now is patience is essential in proclaiming Christ and God’s Kingdom’s formation.  Patience is a gift of the Spirit, and sometimes when we reach the point where a padded cell looks welcoming, we must withdraw from the world to rekindle our relationship with the Spirit and reclaim the gift of patience.

Prayer: God of Patience, fill us with the gifts of your Spirit so that we might serve you with our patience. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.