Over the past couple of weeks we have been looking at the Rituals of the church – Communion, Funerals, Baptism, etc. We still have a few weeks ahead of us – and it has been amazing!
Who’da thunk that diving into RITUALS would be so uplifting? A lot of times we just do the rituals and don’t think much about them, but this time of slowing down and delving into the depths of how they started, what they mean, and where they are focused has been very thought-provoking. People have been calling me up, asking questions, and wanting to sit down and talk with their neighbors!
When I started this sermon series someone asked me, “Why are you doing this?” And the truth was, I didn’t know! But evidently this is what God wanted at this time, because there is so much buzz going on about it. It just goes to show you that the Spirit moves in ways that we could not predict on our own. When God wants something done, He nudges us.
In my regular devotional there is a section that talks about the rituals of the church, and it says that we should view them like a map. It marks the path that previous believers have traveled, and where they found God. By their own experiences they wrote down the signposts and waypoints that led them to His presence. The traditions, the rituals, the catechisms show us what others have found, but we have to walk those paths ourselves and see it with our own eyes in order to truly understand.
There is a difference between looking at a map of the Atlantic Ocean and being out on it yourself – but they both go together. To see the map but never go on the ocean is just head knowledge; to go out on the ocean but not have a map is dangerous! The traditions and the personal experience work together to bring life to the rituals, and to bring hope and stability to our experiences.
A few more weeks, weddings, baptism, membership, and the Lord’s Prayer thrown in there, too! Let’s pull out those old maps, and start to walk them!
-Rev. Bill