Augsburg Fortress

Water and Spirit provides daily devotions for each day from Ash Wednesday to the Resurrection of Our Lord/Vigil of Easter (traditionally known as Holy Saturday). Devotions begin with an evocative image and a brief passage from the Gospel of John. The writers then bring their unique voices and pastoral wisdom to the texts with quotations to ponder, reflections, and prayers.

For year A the Revised Common Lectionary assigns texts from John’s gospel to the second through fifth Sundays in Lent, as well as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Vigil of Easter. These texts are included in this devotional. Several of them are unique to John: Jesus urges Nicodemus to be born again “of water and spirit,” offers “living water” to a Samaritan woman at the well, raises Lazarus from the dead, washes the disciples’ feet, and surprises Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb. As you read the daily devotions, pause to think about how John describes water and the Spirit, and how water and the Spirit are at work in your life.