Read: 1 Peter 3:18-22

“…when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.” – 1 Peter 3:20

When considering Noah’s ark, I think about sailing towards a particular port or destination. As sailors, we try to prepare for all eventualities – topping off drinking water and fuel supplies plus traveling with up-to-date maritime charts, life jackets, and proper foul weather gear. We enjoy having our first meal prepped and ready for reheating. Shep and I have sailed with our children, grandkids, friends, and, back in the day, our racing crew. We’ve even sailed with our pet cats.

Among all my memories, one stands out above all the others. We were sailing from the Everett Marina towards Hat (Gedney) Island and checking out everything on our fairly new sailboat. The day was lovely. Randy, one of Shep’s students, was aboard as our “deck ape” crew. Kelly, our young daughter, and Geoff, her tagalong 3 year old brother, were also aboard. Our children knew the drill. If they were anywhere other than the cabin, life jackets were required. So there we were – the sun was shining and we were kicking back and living the good life; the kids were below deck in the cabin. Suddenly Randy shouted that Geoff was overboard and Randy jumped in right after him into that very cold water. Suddenly, “man overboard” was no longer a safety drill. Shep managed to wrestle the boat around and we headed back the way we’d come.

When we reached them, Shep dealt with the tiller and our position while Randy lifted Geoff up to me and I got him on board. Then I hauled Randy up and out; the average water in Puget Sound averages somewhat under 50°F. Randy was a grown man and my ability to pull him on board is still something of a mystery. Did I mention neither Geoff nor Randy was wearing a life jacket? Did I mention a sailboat doesn’t spin on a dime? Did we realize that the kids would figure out how to climb up through the forward hatch and we wouldn’t notice? Let me tell you about ‘hope’ as we circled back to search for and retrieve Randy and Geoff. The time it took for the rescue still seems elongated – taking days, not minutes. Would we find them? Were they underwater? Were they alive? Hope, fear, and dread were my companions.

On this day, hope overcame all. This was a short afternoon sail – not a sail for 40 days. We had no menagerie, not even a kitty. We didn’t have to have enormous amounts of food on board. Yet I’m left with a glimmering of what that long-ago ark voyage was like and how it succeeded. I think I understand some of the worry and fretting that was present among all the passengers. I know about desperately hoping and then discovering that ‘hope’ is a more faithful companion than ‘fear’ or ‘dread.’ Imperfect know-it-alls that we sometimes are, God lifts us up through hope and that’s when we truly discover the ‘good life.’ I agree with Father Paul who said when “there’s a rough spot on the sea, there’s smoother sailing ahead.”

Thank you for the hope that there is always smoother sailing ahead. Amen.
-Sue Shepherd

Read: 1 Peter 3:18-22

“(Christ suffered) in order to bring you to God.” – 1 Peter 3:18

When I was a young lad, our family was visiting relatives in the Chicago area. One Wednesday night, our aunt, uncle, and cousins took my brother and me somewhere in Chicago. It was a scary, dilapidated part of town; an area no one in their right mind would drive through, let alone stop and park – at least not if you loved your life and/or family. Well, they found a place to park and we entered what could only be most charitably described as a falling-down fleabag dining room auditorium space. Hanging above a stand that seemed to function as a pulpit was a dusty old banner with JESUS (in red) on the left, a plain dark cross in the center, and SAVES (in red) on the right. Winos and derelicts of every sort and condition shuffled into the room. Some were there to enjoy the fan-blown air on a hot summer’s eve, others to get off the streets and into relatively safe space, and the rest for reasons known only to them.

At the appointed time, the preacher got up to preach, shared the “Plan of Salvation” with the people gathered, and in the fullness of time, invited folks to come forward for the laying on of hands and salvation. I didn’t step forward, for I was a young teen and did NOT want anyone in the family to think I hadn’t been saved, although I really didn’t know what that meant. But standing there in the quiet darkness of my own heart, I knew I wanted to be a child of God, and although I was too timid to move, I offered the sinners’ prayer.

Christ suffered to bring me to God. That gave me hope to carry on, deepening my faith, and, eventually, sharing that faith with others.

Dear God, I give you my pain, my ignorance, my ego, and all the things that keep us apart – you, me, and those who cross my path. Help me to make good choices, to be kind, and to live into the hope I have in you. Amen.
-Fr. Keith Axberg

Read: 1 Peter 3:18-22

“..and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” – 1 Peter 3:21-22 (NIV)

When my son Daniel was born prematurely in April 2009, my former husband Jon wanted to baptize him as soon as possible so he “would be OK” if something happened. I was in the throes of PTSD from Daniel’s traumatic birth as well as post-partum depression, and I was hedging out of terror that it would jinx him because of the events of the previous few days. My mother (who is not religious) was the tie-breaking vote, commenting that the baptism “[would be] a celebration of Daniel making it.” After acquiring some sterile water and a medicine cup from a NICU nurse, and borrowing some anointing oil from the hospital chaplain, we baptized Daniel in the NICU of Benefis East on April 10, 2009, with my mother, uncle, and a NICU nurse as witnesses. My best friend Rebecca, Jon’s best friend Justin, and Justin’s wife Dawn were named as godparents.

I do not believe for one minute that God would automatically send a 4-day old baby to hell for not being baptized in time, but I do believe baptism is important. It has been described as “an outward sign of an inward grace”, and I remember hearing endlessly at my Lutheran seminary about the importance of put[ting] on your daily baptism.” The author of 1 Peter is writing to persecuted churches and reminding them that they are saved because of their baptisms which get their saving power by the resurrection of Christ, as they were uniting themselves with Christ through these baptisms. As their baptisms saved them, my baptism at age 19 saves me, and Daniel’s baptism a few days after birth saves him. This salvation is hope for us.

Thank you, Lord, that our baptisms save us by your resurrection. Amen.
– Jen McCabe

Read: 1 Peter 3:18-22

As I work through the recent loss of my mother, I find myself weighed down with the more problematic parts of my relationship with her — and in so doing I find myself confronting my many personal failings and shortcomings. For this reason, the description of baptism as “not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God,” is particularly poignant.

Lord, Christ suffered once for sins. I find myself wondering how many times I might suffer for mine, and I hope I can be made alive in the Spirit. Amen.
-Michael Boss

Read: 1 Peter 3:18-22

“He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” – 1 Peter 3:18b

The time of God appearing in burning bushes and pillars of fire was over. God now chose to reach out to his rebellious creatures in a way they could easily relate to. He took on their bodily form. Through it, he walked among them, lived and ate with them, spoke to and touched them. He lived out what he preached, hoping the people would understand and follow him, not just to be healed and fed, but to learn to heal and feed others. To his people, he gave hope for a better world. And then he was gone, a victim of hate, fear, and ignorance. But only the body was lost to his faithful followers. The Spirit was born as the body gave way. The Spirit was in the world, but not of it. It was present not in one body, but in all who took Jesus’s words into their hearts. His Spirit walked in the world with the faithful who continued his work after his ascension. It is still walking today, in the faithful who refuse to give way to the hate and fear mongers of this world, who refuse to give in to discouraging words. It enlivens those who persevere in living out Jesus’s teachings and ministries, sharing love and compassion with a distressed world, healing those who are hurt, and feeding those who are hungry. Knowing this gives me hope.

Gracious God, who has spoken to humanity across the ages and called us into a loving relationship with you, I give you thanks for your constant and faithful presence among us. Grant that I may be faithful to you and your vision of this life. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.
-Carol Treston