Representing the Kingdom of God
The altar is the throne of God, which is the hope of salvation for all of us. It reminds us to come together as a family to get ourselves prepared for the second coming of our Jesus Christ. Even though we come from different backgrounds, different regions, different lifestyle, we become one in Christ , when we witness the Altar. The symbolic representation of Marvasa and bells reminding us of the angels singing and the church praising the God, is a humble sacrifice submitted to pardon our offences. Thus, Altar is a place that tells us that the mortal life will transition to the immortal life and helps us to prepare for that.
Symbolic representation
In our Sunday school curriculum, as you all are familiar, Altar represents not just the throne of God, but has several representations, which include,
- Manger in Bethlehem, where Jesus Christ was born
- Jordan river where Jesus was baptized
- Mount Calvary where Jesus was Crucified
- Tomb where Jesus was entombed
- Mount of Olives where Jesus ascended into Heaven
All the above depicts the life of each one of us. As Jesus was born, we came to the world and are recognized as the Children of God, through the Holy Baptism. We get tempted by Satan, at every instance of our life. Sometimes , we fall for it, whereas sometimes we overcome. Majority of the time, due to the life and the stress from the work culture, we often forget to pray. At that moment, we must realize that our hope rests in the Mount of Olives, where Jesus christ ascended. It is, for sure, that in his second coming, we will see him, but none of us , are sure if we would be able to be with him. So, let us mould ourselves to truly show the Christian life and show love and compassion to each other.
