Lent Day 11 | 40 to Life

The below reflection was provided by the Diocese of Southern Virginia:

Monday in the Second Week of Lent

Let your Spirit, O Lord, come into the midst of us to wash us with the pure water of repentance, and prepare us to be always a living sacrifice to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

I have always loved the use of water as a metaphor for our lives in Christ. Water comes up often in scripture, from the parting of the Red Sea, to the raging sea that Jesus calms, to the waters of baptism, and the tears that our own Lord wept. Water can be terrifying and gentle, clear and flowing, or still and stagnant. The water of redemption is the water that flows through our sin-sick and stagnant souls to wash us clean. The water of our baptism. The living water that will never die. As we make our journey through Lent, may we everyday be able to say as the Samaritan woman said to Jesus, “Sir, give me this water.” And having received it, may we be that living water, that living sacrifice, to others who need so desperately to have their thirst for love, for hope, for God, quenched.

The Diocesan Lenten Reflections come from clergy and laity in each of our nine convocations. The reflections are based on the collect appointed for each day in Lent. Today's collect and the associated daily readings can be found HERE.