This service was celebrated at the Atlantic Highlands beach on Lower New York Bay on January 8, 2017. (It was very cold!) I have done this service in several of the churches I have served. It is an adaptation of an ancient Christian tradition.
THE GREAT BLESSING OF WATER
January 8, 2017
Invocation
The Voice of the Lord upon the waters cries out, saying:
Come, receive the Spirit of Wisdom,
the Spirit of Understanding,
the Spirit of the Fear of God,
the Spirit of Christ who is made manifest.
Today the nature of the waters is sanctified.
The Jordan bursts forth and turns back the flood of its streams,
seeing the Master wash himself.
As a human being you came to that river, O Christ our King,
hastening to receive the baptism of a servant
at the hands of the Forerunner because of our sins,
O Good One who loves humankind.
To the voice of one crying in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way of the Lord,” you came, O Lord,
taking the form of a servant,
asking for baptism though you have no sin.
The waters saw you and were astonished.
The Forerunner began to tremble and cried out, saying:
“How shall the lampstand illumine the Light?
How shall the servant lay hands upon the Master?
Sanctify both me and the waters,
O Savior, who takes away the sins of the world.”
Scripture Readings
Isaiah 55:1a, 6-13
1 Corinthians 10:1-4
Mark 1:9-11
The Blessing
Great are you, O Lord, and marvelous are all your works;
words cannot express our praise
of your creation’s astounding abundance and beauty.
We live in a creation of amazing wonders!
We dwell on a planet filled with spectacular miracles!
You call life itself out of chaos and darkness;
you direct our development in systems of ever-increasing intricacy and complexity.
In the darkness of space
the Earth appears as a spinning jewel of blue: “Planet Ocean.”
We thank you for water, the essential element for life.
You created the cosmos out of a watery chaos,
lifting up the dry land where plant and animal life could emerge.
In the cycles of the seasons and changes in weather
you set up a zone of safety, order, life, and diversity for us.
You cleansed the Earth in the waters of the Great Flood,
erasing human greed and violence.
You rescued all the animals of the Earth,
and one human family,
so that life could continue,
and humanity have a new start.
You delivered your children from the bondage of slavery
through the waters of the sea.
To quench their thirst
you made for them in the desert
a spring of water from the rock.
You brought them through the water of the Jordan
and into the Promised Land.
Your Son, Jesus,
was knitted together in the water of the womb,
as are we all;
and Mary gave birth to your Word.
At his Baptism
the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove,
showing that he is the promised Messiah,
the Anointed One who comes into the world
to redeem the whole creation.
We thank you for the Sacrament of Holy Baptism,
in which, after Christ’s example,
we experience rebirth by the power of your Spirit.
Through water we are one with all creation;
through water you make us one with you.
The celebrant touches the water.
Therefore, O living God,
we acknowledge your Presence here and now.
Let your Holy Spirit emerge
and sanctify this water.
Give it the blessing of Jordan,
that all it touches may be renewed, redeemed,
liberated, enlivened, and healed.
O God, Great Spirit who creates all things:
purify this planet,
this garden of wonder,
this vineyard of grace,
by the power of your water.
Amen.
Collection
God gave the Earth just so much water.
Ever since the beginning,
the same water has been constantly recycled.
This water stood in glaciers and ice caps;
this water ran in rivers and shimmered in lakes;
this water fell in monsoons and swirled in blizzards;
this water was/is a part of the great ocean
that nearly covers our planet;
this water flowed in living things including people;
and at least some of this water
animated the mortal body of Jesus the Anointed One,
and was thus identical with God our Creator.
By his blood, made of some of this water,
shed on the cross for our salvation,
his Presence and Light now spreads across the face of the Earth,
infecting us with the peace, justice, and love of God.
Blessed are you, O God, ruler of the universe:
for you bless us with the gift of water.
Amen.
The celebrant and people collect some of the water.
Benediction
Come, O faithful,
let us praise the greatness of God’s grace toward us,
For the One who became human
and who alone is clean and undefiled,
was for our cleansing himself cleansed in the Jordan
that he might sanctify both us and the waters.
And by sanctifying the waters,
by which the whole creation takes nourishment,
Christ makes the whole creation holy.
For the Earth is one swirling system,
and all parts touch and become all other parts.
May your blessing extend to the skies when this water evaporates.
May your blessing extend to the sea and all that lives therein.
May your blessing extend to the soil
from which plants and animals quench their thirst.
May your blessing extend to all life,
whose bodies are mostly made of water,
and who need water to live.
Amen.
Dismissal
Go in peace
to love and serve the living God
who preserves and sustains all things
by the gifts of water.
Mni Wiconi!
Mni Wiconi!
Amen.
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