Marvelous Truth, confront us at every turn, in every guise…

dwell in our crowded hearts, our steaming bathrooms,

kitchens full of things to be done, the ordinary streets. Thrust close your smile that we know you, terrible joy.

– Denise Levertov, Matins

Beloved of God,

The table is set for the final weeks of Lent, for the Three Days, and our celebration of Christ’s resurrection.  A team of planners and dreamers has been working behind the scenes to shape these worship services of the coming weeks in meaningful and engaging ways.  The Spirit has promised to be present and all that’s needed now is you. So come—and not alone!—as we complete the journey that culminates at the foot of the cross and in the light of the empty tomb.  A Marvelous Truth awaits us there, a truth that longs to transform the mundane spaces of our lives into arenas of resurrection.  Let’s make the journey together!

The Vision Catcher which hangs above the Altar/Table is changing bit by bit, week by week (have you noticed?) as we envision new ways to live out the five fundamental promises and practices of baptism within our community life:

Living among God’s faithful people;

Hearing the word of God and sharing in the Lord’s Supper;

Proclaiming the good news of God in Christ through word and deed;

Serving all people, following the example of Jesus;

Striving for justice and peace in all the earth

St. Paul speaks of baptism as dying with Christ in order that we might also be raised with him, and—truth be told—there is something in each of these promises/practices that demands a kind of death.  “Living among God’s people”   requires showing up; letting loose of the weekend “have to do” list long enough for our feet to find their way on to the path toward community.  “Hearing the word” requires turning off the babble of other voices and sounds—whether our own or others, whether alarms or invitations—so God’s still small voice can penetrate to our souls.   You catch the drift.  There’s what we might call a “little death” involved in each of these practices.  Amy Plantinga Pauw writes:

“As followers of Jesus, we are not to save death and dying for the end of our lives. Life in Christ requires dying now.  Those who hope in God as the redeemer from death must enter into the vulnerable, suffering love that leads to the cross.  The entire Christian life draws us into an ongoing ‘death,’ in which we die to everything that thwarts God’s intentions for life, peace, and joy.” (from Practicing our Faith)

In coming weeks we’ll follow the drama of Jesus: his anointing, his final meal, his betrayal and arrest, his abandonment by friends, his suffering and death; his being raised from the tomb.  This drama all gets packed into a few days.  But in reality, we live most of our lives between Good Friday and Easter, between the cross and the open tomb.  We live with pain in its many forms, we enter relationships, we leave them; we embrace, we let go.  We yearn for something beyond ourselves, outside of our grasp, that we can count on.  We long for a word, a sign, a promise, a person whom we can trust, who will know us intimately and love us unconditionally.  That person is Jesus.

At Font and Table Jesus calls us into a community; meeting us there he anoints us to be his presence here and now for each other and for the world.  We bear his treasure in the clay jars of our lives.  And because he remains faithful, we discover him still “in our crowded hearts, our steaming bathrooms, kitchens full of things to be done, the ordinary streets,” and all is well! This is the journey we’re on together.

Living in Resurrection Hope.

Pastor Erik