Our church community isn’t the most liturgical or formal. Even though my lovely wife and I have been ordained as ministers of the Word & Sacrament for a little while now, we generally don’t often wear vestments. [An aside: I did wear a clerical collar for the first time when taking my daughter to an event at the USD campus to protest racial discrimination as part of the post-Ferguson movement.]
Yesterday, as part of our worship service, we celebrated the Eucharist together. Whenever my lovely wife and I lead communion at church, we wear vestments in recognition of the significance of this sacrament (after all, for Presbyterians, we’ve only got two!).
As I began to read the Words of Institution, one of our first graders asked why I had put on a stole. I began to explain that when farmers lead oxen, they need to use a yoke—otherwise the oxen might run roughshod over the entire farm! In the same way, I told him, the stole is a symbol that we are all yoked to Christ, that He is the Leader.
Our first grader thought about it, smiled, and said, “So…it’s sort of like a leash then?”
“Sorta,” I told him, as we all laughed! However, for followers of Jesus, we willingly accept His guidance and direction in all that we do (or, at least, that’s the goal).
Friends, may your Lenten fasts remind you that you are made for more than this world has to offer. May your capacity to love God and others expand as you make room in your hearts for more of Christ. And may you find joy in being yoked to our King.
This article originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
