Christ himself, innocent though he was, had died once for sins, died for the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life, and, in the spirit, he went to preach to the spirits in prison. Now it was long ago, when Noah was still building that ark which saved only a small group of eight people ‘by water’, and when God was still waiting patiently, that these spirits refused to believe.
That water is a type of the baptism which saves you now, and which is not the washing off of physical dirt but a pledge made to God from a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has entered heaven and is at God’s right hand, now that he has made the angels and Dominations and Powers his subjects.
Second reading for the 1st Sunday of Lent
1 Peter 3:18-22
How blessed are we.
The Lord who lives and suffered for us, uses even his death as an opportunity to serve, graciously extending the offer of salvation to those who have died.
St Peter speaks of baptism not of having saved us, but of baptism still saving us, still working to deepen our communion with God.
Jesus descended to the dead. Church of the Spilled Blood, St Petersburg, Russia. (c) 2015, Allen Morris.
Living Eucharist 