I have moved several times in my life and it seems that wherever I end up, it is always near water. During my entire childhood I was just a handful of blocks away from the Grand River in Western Michigan. As a high schooler, I found myself going to school in Rhode Island near the Atlantic Ocean. After a few years as a missionary then moving back home for a while, I moved to Western Kentucky near the Ohio River. After I got married I moved upstream to Cincinnati. A few kids later, I ended up in my current abode near the Muskegon River. There is even a nice creek a couple blocks from my house!
What is it about water that draws us in? Is it the small trickling of a creek as it finds its way downstream? Is it the whirlpooling circles it makes as it circumvents rocks and fallen logs beneath the surface. Is it the depth and vastness of a large lake or an ocean that has us in awe? Is it the mesmerizing sound it makes as it crashes to the shore? Is it the rushing of a waterfall as it cascades down a cliff? Or is it the whole panorama of the water, the sky and the surrounding flora that beckons us? Perhaps it’s all of the above.
There are so many facets to water. For the more scientific among us, we could even get excited about the fact that it’s the only matter that can be a solid, liquid and gas. If we look at it in a more spiritual sense, we can see it as the first sacramental that Jesus chose for us to use. Just as He was baptized in the waters of the Jordan river, so we are baptized with water.
Water is not only beautiful and refreshing, it is also cleansing. It washes the grime and sweat off of our bodies and the stain of sin off our souls. In today’s Gospel, Jesus shows us just how much importance He puts on the latter. The Pharisee is amazed that He does not wash before the meal and Jesus rebukes him about paying more attention to the outside than the inside.
Our bodies will eventually wither and fade away, but our souls are eternal. How important the cleansing waters of Baptism are to our eternal happiness! We even have holy water fonts in our churches (and sometimes in our homes) to remind us of it every time we enter. I invite you to take a moment today to reflect on the sacrament of Baptism, perhaps evaluating your internal cleanliness and taking steps toward a more pure union with God.
Me he mudado varias veces en mi vida y parece que dondequiera que voy, siempre estoy cerca del agua. Durante toda mi infancia, viví a pocas cuadras del río Grand, en el oeste de Michigan. En la secundaria, estudié en Rhode Island, cerca del océano Atlántico. Después de unos años como misionero y luego de regresar a casa por un tiempo, me mudé al oeste de Kentucky, cerca del río Ohio. Después de casarme, me mudé río arriba, a Cincinnati. Unos hijos después, terminé en mi hogar actual, cerca del río Muskegon. ¡Incluso hay un bonito arroyo a un par de cuadras de mi casa!
¿Qué nos atrae del agua? ¿Es el suave murmullo de un riachuelo al bajar río abajo? ¿Son los remolinos que forman al sortear rocas y troncos caídos bajo la superficie? ¿Es la profundidad y la inmensidad de un gran lago o de un océano lo que nos maravilla? ¿Es el sonido hipnótico que producen las olas al estrellarse contra la orilla? ¿Es el ruido constante de una cascada al caer por un precipicio? ¿O es todo el panorama del agua, el cielo y la flora circundante lo que nos atrae? Quizás sea todo en conjunto.
El agua tiene muchísimas facetas. Para los más científicos, incluso podría entusiasmarnos el hecho de que es la única materia que puede ser sólida, líquida y gas. Si la vemos desde un punto de vista más espiritual, podemos verla como el primer objeto sacramental que Jesús eligió para nosotros. Así como Él fue bautizado en las aguas del río Jordán, nosotros también somos bautizados con agua.
El agua no solo es hermosa y refrescante, sino que también es purificador. Lava la suciedad y el sudor de nuestros cuerpos y la mancha del pecado de nuestras almas. En el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús nos muestra la importancia que le da a este último. El fariseo se asombra de que no se lave antes de comer y Jesús lo reprende por prestar más atención a lo exterior que a lo interior.
Nuestros cuerpos eventualmente se marchitarán y se desvanecerán, pero nuestras almas son eternas. ¡Cuán importantes son las aguas purificadoras del Bautismo para nuestra felicidad eterna! Incluso tenemos pilas de agua bendita en nuestras iglesias (y a veces en nuestros hogares) para recordarnos de ello cada vez que entramos. Te invito a tomar un momento hoy para reflexionar sobre el sacramento del Bautismo, quizás evaluando tu pureza interior y dando pasos hacia una unión más pura con Dios.
Tami Urcia is a midwestern gal from a large Catholic family. As a young adulthood she was a missionary in Mexico, where she studied theology and philosophy. After returning stateside bilingual, she gained a variety of work experience, traveled extensively and finished her Bachelor’s Degree at Brescia University. She loves organizing and simplifying things, watching her children play sports, deep conversations with close family and friends and finding unique ways to brighten others’ day with Christ’s love. She works full time at Diocesan in the Software Department and manages the Inspiration Daily reflections. She is also a contributing writer on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net.
Feature Image Credit: Photo taken by author
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
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