Last spring, the young son of some friends of mine asked if my parish was near Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Land O’Lakes.  I responded, “No, All Saints is quite some distance from Our Lady of the Rosary.” 

The boy thought for a few moments, then asked if I knew how to get to Our Lady of the Rosary parish.  I responded, “Yes, I know right where that parish is located.” 

He asked if I was able to drive there on a Saturday morning.  I said that it was probably possible for me to do so.  Eventually, after some protracted dialogue, he came to the point; he asked if I would attend his soccer match that would be played at Our Lady of the Rosary’s soccer fields on Saturday morning. 

I told him, “Of course, I will.”  He would have received the same affirmative response if he had asked a direct question without all the preliminary dialogue, but it’s in his nature to be somewhat circumspect. 

The author of the first letter of Peter seems to have been like my friends’ son; he liked to take the longer route, and he relied on a great deal of circumlocution.  For readers today, it makes the letter seem intentionally abstruse.   

The author of 1 Peter wrote, “Put to death in the flesh, Christ was brought to life in the Spirit.  In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water.  This prefigured baptism, which saves you now.” (1 Pt 3:18-21) 

It’s probably not difficult for most people to grasp that Noah’s Flood “prefigured baptism.” (1 Pt 3:21)  The Flood washed the earth clean by removing the evil people who had turned against God.  In an analogous manner, Baptism washes away the impurity of sin so that all people might be obedient to God. 

The antecedent to the baptismal metaphor, however, is somewhat more opaque.  The author compares “the spirits in prison” to the evil people who necessitated the purifying flood during Noah’s lifetime.  The “spirits in prison” is a reference to a belief from the ancient world that physical evil in the world was the result of the agency of evil spirits.  The Gospels, for example, contain several stories of Jesus healing physical maladies that were thought to be the results of the power of evil, or unclean, spirits.   

The author of the letter was not affirming ancient superstition.  Rather, the author employed a rather tortured analogy to proclaim that the power of evil has now been defeated by Jesus’ resurrection. 

Here’s the step-by-step reasoning that the author of 1 Peter presumed his readers would understand.  The “spirits in prison” were those powers responsible for evil in the world.  The risen Christ ‘preached’ to them in the sense that he announced the defeat of their power on earth.  The evil people on earth during Noah’s lifetime are an analog to the evil spirits that afflict innocent people.  Just as the evil people of Noah’s day were washed away by the Flood, so now the evil that afflicts humanity is washed away by Baptism.  When the Flood receded, the earth was reborn and now, through Baptism, human nature is reborn to faithfulness and virtue.  Finally, because the baptized are the recipients of God’s boundless mercy, they are obliged to show gratitude to God by living righteous lives. 

The author of the letter chose the route that meandered through the underworld, ancient history, Jesus’ life and death, and the destiny of the world as ordained by God.  He could have made a direct statement that the baptized have been granted forgiveness and that they should not waste that gift, but he chose the longer route. 

Despite its complex nature, this reading is very appropriate to Lent.  The season of Lent is proximate preparation for those who will be baptized at the Easter Vigil.  For those already baptized, Lent is preparation for the renewal of our baptismal vows on Easter.   

The fasting, prayer, and almsgiving that comprise the Lenten observance are the means by which one prepares to receive or renew baptismal forgiveness.  These Lenten practices preach, metaphorically, the message that we have been rescued from evil by the death of Jesus, and that we ought to show gratitude for so great a gift by not returning to a life of sin. 

The route you take away from sin and toward gratitude for God’s mercy is much less important than arriving at the destination.  In fact, the route doesn’t matter at all unless you get to the destination.  The penitential practices of Lent provide guidance for your life’s journey; a life pleasing to God is one that is temperate, faithful, and merciful.  The fasting, prayer, and almsgiving of Lent serve to steer us toward the goal of fulfilling the vows of Baptism. 

If you endure Lent as temporary deprivation, Lent will have a temporary effect in your life.  If you experience Lent as training for the life of faith, Lent will make you more effective at living the new life of Baptism.  Despite the complexity of his reasoning, the author of 1 Peter was trying to make this decision easy for his readers; he was asking, “Which do you prefer: to be washed away or washed clean?”