Jesus' Leaky Bucket

Confirmation

April 13, 2014

Psalm 25

Jesus' Leaky Bucket

In the name of Jesus.

I.

There once was a wise old man who loved collecting leaky buckets. In the morning he get up and look through his neighbors' trash and he pick up a couple of broken pails. Around lunchtime he'd make the rounds again and find a few more. Then in the evening he'd do a last check for the day and usually would rescue at least one more cracked pot out on the curb.

Most people thought he was a harmless old man who liked to collect useless junk. They didn't mind when he took their trash . . . until they found out what he did with all those cracked pots and leaky buckets and broken pails. One day a couple of kids followed him on his rounds and watched as he gathered up the hole-y buckets and took them home. He unloaded them and carefully brought them out to a huge pond and placed each one underwater.

The boys went home and told their parents and soon everyone knew that the harmless old man was dangerous. He was up to some strange plot, since he was going to all this trouble for old broken trash.

Finally someone asked him what he was doing out at his pond, and he smiled and asked in return, “Where's the one place a leaky bucket can stay full?”

II.

Gabby, you're one of those leaky buckets. And Jesus looked for you and found you and brought you to the one place a leaky bucket like you can always be full.

He submerges you in His Baptism.

He dunks you in His Absolution and Preaching.

He plunges you into His Supper.

A patched-up leaky bucket still leaks and can't carry its own water. So Jesus calls you to stay under His water until you stop breathing and He takes you home for good.

Gabby, you're one leaky bucket. But Jesus will keep you wet.

Gabby's Confirmation Verse

Psalm 25:4-5

Show me Your ways, O LORD,

teach me Your paths.

Guide me in Your truth and teach me,

for You are God my Savior,

and my hope is in You all day long.

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

P.S. Thanks to Pastor W. Weedon for the image of us as leaky buckets. Listen to his full comments here: http://issuesetc.org/2013/09/19/1-the-liturgy-of-confirmation-part-two-pr-will-weedon-91913/.