Leaky Baptism (or the Incontinent Font)

More tales from the sacristy:

Here at Luther we have a giant pink granite cube, about a yard in length on each side, with a hollow center for baptismal water. Underneath, secretly concealed by a false panel, an electric pump ever so gently pushes the water from a basin below out of a little pipe protruding into the bowl of the font itself. The water then cascades down a cut in the side of the stone, back into the basin underneath. It really is a work of art.

But, it leaks like a busted Slip-n-Slide, leaving pools of water all over the entrance to the chapel in a sort of tidal ebb and flow, one day a deluge, the next a dry lake bed of chalky mineral deposits on the clay tile. It is somewhat a hassle to fill, clean up, and fix constantly. Furthermore, to some ears, the sound of the water running is less like the calming ripples of a forest stream and more like a broken toilet.

No matter, however, I want to keep our incontinent font, leaks and all. I like our dripping baptismal site because (at the risk of drawing a hopelessly lame analogy) it reminds me of the messiness of our baptisms. We aren’t meant to keep our baptisms locked up tight in a stone box. We should let our baptisms' gift, the Holy Spirit, dampen the sneakers of those around us. We should not try to control the Spirit, but let her flow where she may, pooling up here and leaving her marks there. Let’s keep the font leaky and messy, for into a leaky and messy world the Holy Spirit works and is calling us to serve.