My first year out of seminary I worked in a church as an associate pastor. I remember the first time we did a baptism. The senior pastor told me to get some water to use for baptizing the baby that morning. I was a little unsure where to go. I didn’t know where we kept the baptism water. Was there a cupboard with bottles of water taken from the Jordan River? Was there water that had been blessed by the pope or some other religious figure? I wasn’t sure, so I asked the pastor. He pointed me to the bathroom. “There’s holy water in the bathroom?” I asked. “No” he replied “but there’s a sink in the bathroom and that’s where you get the water for the baptism.” I don’t know where I thought the water came from, but it was little disappointing to know that water for the baptism came from the same sink where I’d just washed my hands.
The word Holy comes from a Greek word that means “set apart for service to God”. In the case of a baptism, the water that’s used is the same water used to wash your hands or brush your teeth. It becomes holy water when it’s “dedicated for service to God.” What this suggests is that holiness is less about the water itself and more about how the water is used. This is why we can use tap water for a baptism. It’s the way the water is used that makes all the difference.
I think it’s the same with people. No one person is more holy than another simply because of their title. The Pope isn’t more holy than you or me; a minister, priest or nun isn’t more holy either. What makes people holy is the way they live their lives: the way they dedicate their lives in service to God. And that is something we can all do regardless of our titles. 1 Peter 1:15 says “As he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct…”. Just as water taken from the tap can be as holy as water taken from the Jordan River, you and I can be just as holy as anyone else. It depends on how we live. When people look at us, will they see holiness; lives that are dedicated to God; conduct that sets us apart; because this is what makes something or someone holy.
Just as regular everyday water can be dedicated for service to God, regular every day people can be as well. This week may we dedicate ourselves to a holy kind of living, so that when people look at us, they won’t just see us, they might just see a little piece of holiness; a little piece of God.
