The buildin
g we worship in today was inaugurated on 27 March 1994, one month before South Africa’s first Democratic election. Our 2015 calendars look something like this: 21 March – Human Rights Day, 27 March – DMC Inauguration, 3 April – Good Friday, 5 April – Easter, 27 April – Freedom Day. Key historical dates remind us of our painful yet miraculous history and help us make sense of our often tense and confused present-day. Celebrating the death and resurrection of Christ assures us that God redeems our past, is with us in the present and has promised a glorious future.
The early Christians, an oppressed and struggling minority, survived, and ultimately thrived, by hanging on to one vital moment in their lives – baptism. Through baptism they shared in Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom 6:3-4). Everyday things- oil, a seed, bread, a towel became powerful symbols of their identity and shaped their actions. Although it seems as if symbols play a less important role today, they still hold enormous power – simply ask protesting students about the Rhodes statue!
Through Holy Week we will reclaim the centrality of baptism by imaginatively joining Jesus at the table, receiving symbols that remind us of what God has done for us and calls us to through baptism. The most powerful symbol, the Cross, is our focus today: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Mk 8:34).
God Bless,
Sean