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Pastor Aprille's April Message
“Look , it’s Cinderella’s dress!” exclaimed one of the preschoolers as she ran up front for chapel time. I had another lesson to share with the children that morning but clearly the baptismal font was the focal point. We began by noticing everything we could about the font—from the big rocks under the font itself, to the swirling blue and white shimmering material winding its way up the center—to the blue rocks in the water itself. The kids were curious. What were all those rocks about? Why in the water?
As we each held a smooth hard rock, I told the children that God’s promises are rock solid. God doesn’t lie to us or ever break a promise. We repeated together as we squeezed the rock, “God’s promises are rock solid!”
On Ash Wednesday, as we began the Lenten journey, we each picked out a rough hewn rock to take home with us. Our rocks represent our sinful selves. Using the Ten Com-mandments as a lens, we are reflecting upon our sins which turn us from God and from loving relationships with others. The smooth river rocks which are placed in the font itself
remind us of the promise that God washes away the sins of those who repent.
As for “Cinderella’s dress”—the white fabric symbolizes purity of heart, the blue fabric the waters of baptism. The sparkles which catch the eye represent hope. In our funeral liturgy, we speak of being “clothed in Christ Jesus.” United with him, covered by him, we die with him and are raised to new life. The promise of baptism is that God intends to save us: save us from our sins and from death. The white ribbons hanging down from the font point to the Holy Spirit who creates faith and trust in God’s Word.
On Sunday mornings we are taking a thorough look at five Old Testament Covenants or Promises that hold for us through our baptism. The large rocks around the font remind us of these major life-saving covenants. These foundational covenants were fulfilled in Christ Jesus.
As Holy Week approaches, the rough edges of our Lenten journey rocks, our sinful selves, really stick out. As we embrace again the events that led Jesus through suffering and betrayal, to the cross, the events of Holy Week, we become ever more aware of the mess we are in. We cannot save ourselves. We and all humans are faced with the reality
of our finiteness, our failures, our sufferings and pain, and our continual need to be in control...Lord, have mercy upon us.”
Again, God doesn’t give up on us; on Easter we celebrate the rock solid promises of God, the God who leads us from death to life. God’s promises are rock solid!
Pastor Aprille