Carl DeLine

Pastor’s Chair

A child shall lead them.

Who would’ve thought a lost sock would have created such a conversation. Easter Sunday morning was visited with a special moment of spontaneity. As families came to visit they brought their children with them. These little ones came forward to the front of the church without any reservation for the children’s story. The simple question about a lost sock prompted what would become a visual illustration of the gentleness of the Spirit of God.

At one point I knew I had lost control of this moment with the children. At another point it was obvious that God had control of this moment. As various children responded with their viewpoints and their own stories one very clear message came through. The message of Jesus coming back after his death, his burial, and his resurrection was made clear as children talked about what they had lost and ultimately what was found.

Jesus came out of the tomb and appeared to Mary and then to the disciples. To Mary and to the disciples Jesus was lost; he was not to be found. In the midst of their fears, in the midst of their worst imagination Jesus was not where they thought he should be. Instead he came back and he found them.

The story is simple; a sock was put into the washing machine. It disappeared. One child told of a lost wallet (it was found in the washing machine), another about a lost toy, another about one of a lost sock. All the children chimed in with a sense of something to add as they understood that I had lost my sock. When I opened the washing machine with a whole different load of clothes in it, there at the conclusion of the wash cycle was my lost sock staring at me as if I was the one who had been lost and was now found.

The message of Easter is indeed about God finding us. It is the message of God seeking us in the life of Jesus Christ and ultimately after the death, burial, and the resurrection. The apostle Paul reminds us–where is thy sting? Jesus accompanied by these children declares the joy of that which was lost and is now found. Amen.

Rev. Carl DeLine

Originally published in The Voice of The United Church of Mapleton (May 2011). (full pdf)