On the Journey: Kaufland Opens in Sighisoara

Monday, February 21, 2011

Kaufland Opens in Sighisoara

Four years of seminary have taught me how to look at ordinary events (like the opening of a grocery store) through theological lenses.

Sighisoara’s first mega-supermarket opened last Thursday. Sighișoara is a relatively small town, and it has been impossible to buy certain items without traveling 45 minutes to another (larger) town. Most of the other grocery stores in Sighișoara are small shops. Although an increasing number are self-service, there are still some where the attendant takes the things off the shelf for you. Kaufland’s appearance will transform how Sighișoareans shop. Now we can buy things like celery and saltine crackers without leaving town.

On Thursday evening, I was able to use Kaufland’s opening as an illustration in a Bible study I was leading. We were talking about Ephesians 5:26. Most English translations speak of a washing with water, but one Romanian translation uses the phrase baptism with water. The participants were confused why baptism and washing were being interchanged, since they have already learned that the act of baptism itself is not what cleanses us from sin. I explained that the act of baptism is the public celebration of the cleansing of sins. Last week’s Kaufland inauguration ceremony was televised, showing city officials ceremonially cutting the ribbon and a priest praying a dedicatory blessing. This public event could have happened before or after the first customers came into the store. Although distinct from one another, the two are definitely linked, as are the waters of baptism and the cleansing of sin.

Over the past several months, we have watched as the area which used to be an outdoor soccer field has been transformed. First dirt was moved around by bulldozers. Then a parking lot was formed. Construction started on a new building. A new traffic light was installed to direct traffic. The ribbon-cutting inauguration was the public celebration marking the transition between an empty field and a booming business.

Likewise, baptism is the public celebration when we gather the church together to celebrate what God has done and will do in the person’s life. It is when we remember the life that was (the soccer field), observe the steps that have already been taken (paving, new traffic light, new building, etc.), and catch a glimpse of the future – a mega-store which will forever change how Sighișoareans view grocery shopping.

Could Kaufland have opened their store without a ribbon-cutting ceremony? Of course. Can a Christian be cleansed of sin and choose not to receive the sacrament of baptism? Of course. But transitions in life are more momentous when they are celebrated. Kaufland wanted the publicity that came along with the inauguration. As Christians, our baptism should be acts of worship which glorify God for the transformation He is doing in us.