All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
By the gift of grace in ☩ Christ Jesus, God makes you righteous.
Receive with glad hearts the forgiveness of all your sins.
Amen.
The day is finally here. We can see the end of this phase of our project coming to an end. There is fresh paint on the walls. New lights. New carpet. Beautiful wood beams. A refreshed dais for the altar, pulpit and baptismal font. New communion rails. A new platform for the band and choir with plenty of outlets to power our instruments without tripping a circuit breaker or causing a hum in the sound system. A beautiful media desk to accommodate the new technology it takes to stream our worship. So much light spilling out of the room that we can read our bulletins, even in the shadows.
The deadline is in place, but we’re cutting the ribbon even though contractors will continue to work after Sunday morning. There are still some holes to cover with access panels. The communion rails need to be stained. More cables need to be run.
And while we’ve tried to be careful in our new space, accidents happen. There are already scuffs on the new paint and dings in the plaster before most people have gotten to see the space as new.
The fact is, our Sanctuary, like us, will always be in a state of change and growth. This weekend we’ll celebrate we’ve reached a milestone, and we’ll move onto the next phase of our Share the Light building project. Meanwhile, we will continue to live in and love our worship space. Eventually, someone will spill their coffee. Someone will crush a cheerio on the floor. On Christmas Eve, despite our best efforts, wax from one of the candles will drip into the carpet. Chairs will scrape against the wall and we’ll start to see the lines along with the paint that go along with everyday use.
We have a ribbon-cutting for ourselves during worship every Sunday. We confess our sins, admitting to all our spills and cracks. And at the end, the celebrant offers an absolution like the one at the top of the page, refreshing us, renewing us, and preparing us for another week of living.
Even while we’re confessing and being forgiven, new cracks are forming. Because we’re human. We can’t help it. But we have grace. Jesus knows who we are, and loves us unconditionally. That’s not to say we’re supposed to go around purposely trying to bash holes in the plaster, but sometimes we do that, too, and Jesus will walk with us while we rebuild ourselves.
Rebuilding alongside you,
John Johns, Music Director