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Friday, 08 January 2010 |
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Sunday, as we took part in the act of cleansing at the end of our service, I was blessed. I know that it was just water that we poured over people hands, but in a way it made so real the cleansing that takes place as we confess our sin and failures before God.I believe that we have lost the value of symbols in our lives. When a catholic believer enters the sanctuary, they take holy water and anoint themselves with it for cleansing. They believe that when they enter the sanctuary they are in the presence of Jesus and they can not imagine being in his presence without being made clean. In our own tradition we often come into the sanctuary with no thought that Jesus is there, much less take time to ask for His cleansing.Now I understand that symbols can become just empty acts. Over time people forget what they were there for. That is why I wonder if maybe there are times we need to develop new symbols, something that will once again remind us that He is present in our services, and we need to take time to seek His cleansing as we come into His presence. I wonder how many times He is just waiting to cleanse us, but we have not because we ask not (James 4:2).Recently we installed a couple of dispensers with hand sanitizer by the doors of the church because of all the flu issues. I wonder how meaningful it might be to just pause as we enter the church and cleanse our hands and ask God to cleanse us as we enter into His presence in worship. Perhaps it will make us more aware of His presence and more conscience of our need for cleansing. If nothing else, it may help keep us from passing around our colds.As I thought of this, however, another thought came to my mind. Maybe we need to do the same thing going out into the world. When we leave the church service we are not leaving Christ behind. Instead as we walk outside the doors of the church we discover that He is out there waiting for us. Perhaps we also need to ask for his cleansing as we walk out into His presence.It almost sounds like we need to carry sanitizer with us wherever we go. Actually, while many are do so right now because of the flu, we have something better. In 1 John 1:7 we read, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” He promises that as we faithfully follow Him, He will so faithfully keeps us clean.We may not have all the symbols, but may we never forget His presence, and may we never take for granted the cleansing that He offers that enables us to be clean.
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