The Freezer

During the season of Lent we set aside time for confession during both of our services.  The format varies each week, depending on what else is going on in the service  (which my ADD worship self appreciates) . Sometimes we use scripture for our call to confession, prayer, or assurance of pardon. Sometimes we use a litany for one of these elements of worship. Other times we have a silent time of confession. Occasionally, the choir will sing a prayer of commitment or lament for our sinfulness.  Having come from a church background that never really did confession during worship, I have really come to appreciate this time.  In fact, I am pretty sure we need to do it a little more often outside of the Lenten season.  We do, occasionally, but probably not often enough. But that is another post.

This week our call to worship was a parable that was adapted from a real-life illustration by Max Lucado.  In this case, I anthropomorphised the freezer in question. The parable was read as a call and was followed by a time of silent confession and a corporate prayer.   If you want to check out the original, you can find it in The Applause of Heaven by Max Lucado, Word Publishing, 1990. pps. 122-5.

The Freezer

A Parable Adapted from the writings of (and with great apology to) Max Lucado

Once upon a time there was a freezer.  But this was not just any freezer.  This was the Freezerdyne 7000, the crowning glory of all refrigeration.  Inside this freezer was a treasure trove of wonderful things: beautiful cakes, juicy steaks, ice cream, soups, vegetables, breads, and seafood just waiting to be used.  Did I mention seafood? The seafood is pretty important.  Well, anyway, the Freezerdyne 7000 was a thing of beauty, and everyone admired it.

Well, one day the freezer became unplugged. It didn’t mean to get unplugged. It just got really busy, too busy to notice that the plug was slowly working its way out of its power source.  But, hey, this was the Freezerdyne 7000, with the top energy efficiency around, how much power did it really need?  It was pretty powerful on its own.  So, the Freezerdyne kept going, unplugged, never noticing that the wonderful things it held were now becoming rotten.  All of that seafood and meat and milk products and vegetables had become one soupy, revolting, nauseating mess.

One day the designer got ready to use some of the wonderful things in the Freezerdyne.  He opened it.  And saw it. And He smelled it.  Did I mention the seafood? Well, the Freezerdyne, realizing that it was now full of some really smelly stuff, was embarrassed, so the freezer decided to do something about it.  He shut that door as fast as he could, so the designer couldn’t see. Then, he got a nice, warm, soapy rag and began to clean himself. He scrubbed his outsides until he shined.  He even got a nice waxing.  Surely, there was not a prettier freezer in all of refrigeration.  However, when he opened his shiny door, he still smelled of rotting seafood and meat.

Next, he thought some friends would make things better.  So he took his newly polished self and invited all the neighborhood appliances over for a party.  They discussed politics and poetry and all things mechanical.  They washers dropped the spin cycle, and all the appliances danced. The blenders really mixed it up.  It was the party of parties.  But, when the freezer decided to open his door, the party was over. The other appliances couldn’t get out of there quickly enough.

Finally, the freezer decided that he just needed a little status.  He earned himself a nice degree in multi-brand refrigerator religions and added a Brr to his name. His new status warranted a new wardrobe, so he went shopping at places like Abercrombie and Fridge and made sure he looked really good.  He was careful to be seen in all the right places, and no one could miss him in his shiny stainless steel convertible.  However, in spite of his new status and amazing new wardrobe, he felt empty. 

           

Now, he knew he wasn’t really empty. He knew he was full of a lot of rotten stuff.  You see, hard as he tried, the smell of his interior never really went away. In fact, the more he tried to cover the smell up, the worse it became.  It was getting so bad that he could smell it even with his door closed.  And worse yet, he didn’t know how to fix it.  So, out of ideas, he did the only thing he knew to do:  he talked to his designer. He opened his doors and let the designer see inside of him.  And he let the designer, who had known about the rotten mess all along, do the cleaning.  And then the designer filled the freezer with wonderful new things and warned him about the dangers of becoming unplugged.

So, clean again, full of the wonderful things the designer had placed in him, the freezer knew he was fulfilling his purpose.  And he was happy. In fact, the Freezerdyne 7000 was downright joyful, so joyful he couldn’t keep quiet.  He told everyone about his new life and his amazing designer. And, from that day forward, the Freezerdyne 7000 was watchful, making sure to always remain plugged into his power source.