Waiting for New Clothes

There's nothing like new clothes that fit just right! clothes that fit the occasion and setting, clothes that reflect who you are and how you want to be perceived. On the third Sunday of Advent, Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 promise Israel new clothes. After exile and return, failure and brokenness, God is going to clothe his people with new clothes.
The altarpiece speaks of the clothing over the shepherd's staff and comorting blanket. A garland of praise, wrapped in bright blue entwines the pottery jar. And on top of them all are white baptismal gowns. It echoes the question old John asked during his Revelation (7:13) "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" And the answer is "they have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb." So the font stands before the clothing because we need the washing only Jesus' blood can bring.