Let us pray: O God, may the words we speak here, be ones which echo your word for us. Guide what we say and lead us to faithful action. Amen.

If you’ve been here during the season of Lent, you will by now know that we have been focussing on water as a metaphor for our Lenten experience this year. Not only has it appeared as a theme in worship, but the study group which has been meeting weekly has been looking into water issues as well. Today in your bulletins there is an insert which invites us to consider our relationship with bottled water, and hopefully asks some penetrating questions about our use of it.

The scripture passages during the previous three weeks of Lent while not having been chosen specifically to help us reflect on the importance of water for our lives, have provided some useful insights for us. Normally, I like to use the scripture passages defined by the Common Lectionary as a guide for the reflection on any given Sunday. This week, however, as we considered the theme for worship, it seemed important to find passages that had more direct reference to the theme. I believe that they also help to emphasise the themes we’ve encountered already during this season of Lent.

In week one, the Hebrew Bible passage told the story of Noah and the flood, and more importantly the rainbow - a sign of the covenant that God made with the people. The covenant theme continued into week two, as we heard about Abram and Sarai and the promise from God that they would be the parents and grandparents of many generations - even though they were childless into a very advanced age. The promise was signified by a name change for them.

Last week we heard about the Ten Commandments and the opportunity that they give for us to reflect on our own community norms and what they have to say for us in our relationship and ownership of the gifts God has given to us, especially when we think about water.

I know that at least one member of the congregation, based on the reflection I offered last week around commandment, was prompted to do her own study - and came back with a reference to the other commandment we heard today in our gospel reading - a new commandment given by Jesus - a positive statement about the way we are to be in relationship with each other - in the way we treat each other and in the way that we make use of the resources, the gifts that God has given us.

While all of this has been going on, other things have been happening. A strong image of God for me is that nothing happens in isolation - everything we do, everything we experience, everything that happens is connected in some way or another. It is for us to explore these connections for the ways in which they tell us about our God and our relationship with God. So, a couple of months ago, the outreach committee began to look for ways to increase our connection with the local community and the global community. This resulted in a visit this month to an outreach committee meeting from Jill Christensen, a volunteer with the Foot hygiene program operated by the Salvation Army here in Yellowknife. The connections between what she had to say, the metaphor of water - and especially with the stories we heard in this mornings readings, the call to love one another, were not hard to discover. And so, we have invited her to share with you, what she shared with us that day - why there is a program and what is involved, and what we can do to help.

Jill Christenson

Lent is traditionally a time to take an inner journey - a time to reflect on our relationship with God - to strengthen our relationship with God. But this is a journey which cannot end inside - it must ultimately result in outward action - in transformation that shows who we are as God’s people, and the way that we express our understanding of God and God’s call in the world. This is not just about putting ourselves right with God - it’s about helping the world to be put right - a better reflection of the love that God has for the world, for creation and for the people who dwell in it.

The season of Lent ends in Holy Week - and with the story of the passion of Jesus - a series of events that invite us into deep consideration about our relationship with each other and with God. We heard a story this morning that comes from that series of events - a time when Jesus was servant to his friends - washing their feet as a reflection of the ways in which he invited them, as a response to God’s call - to be with each other. We know it as compassion - with passion. May it be so with us as well. Amen.