Germinating Seeds

Last Fall I read a little piece in a journal that suggested that broken pots were an appropriate symbol for Lent (the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter). The idea intrigued me. I'm always looking for something new and different to do in worship during Lent. We have distributed nails, crosses, eraser coins, "Follow me" bracelets. Last year I did a series of conversations with Biblical characters who met Jesus along the way.

We have a woman who works in a greenhouse/nursery, and I asked her to begin collecting pieces of broken pots for me. I decided I would hand them out during Lent, but again, wasn't sure of much beyond that. I knew that if I gave this seed of an idea time to germinate, the Holy Spirit would work with me and I would come up with a meaningful Lenten series.

Today I spent some time talking to a colleague on the phone about Lent in preparation for a worship committee meeting tonight. I will distribute the pieces of broken pottery on the first Sunday in Lent (haven't yet determined how, but the worship committee will help me figure it out.) Sunday worship will focus on things like God as the potter and us as the clay, our brokenness, etc. On the Sunday before Easter, when we celebrate Palm Sunday and the Passion, I am going to have a large cross in the front of the church. I will also have extra pieces of broken pottery. I will invite everyone to come forward and glue their piece of pottery to the cross as we reflect on how it was our brokenness and sinfulness that created the need for Christ's sacrifice. I'll get one of our artists to perfect the mosaic during the week, and on Easter Sunday morning we will have a beautiful cross with the mosaic of our broken pieces of pottery. I'm excited, and looking forward to having the worship committee work with me this evening to perfect it.

Tomorrow morning I will head up to be with my Dad. According to the cardiologist, he has a leaky heart valve. That and his bad kidneys are the reason why he keeps filling up with fluid. They are going to check his pacemaker to see that it's working properly, and are considering turning up the speed on it to see if that helps. He is not a candidate for surgery.

That will be tomorrow's project. For today, I'm going to celebrate the way God is helping the seed of an idea germinate and grow.