Today, in our series of 31 studies in The Story, we have come to the end, which, in some ways, is only the beginning. In reviewing Revelation 21 I was struck by verse 5, "He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" Note that he says, "all things new, " and not "all new things." There is some continuity implied. This led me to look at what all of these "things made new" might be. And this led me to a much deeper appreciation of what must be included when we hear Jesus say, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you" (Lk 22:20). Here, in brief, is the journey that I took through the New Testament looking at these "things made new."
It begins at the end. In Revelation 21:2 we see a new Jerusalem, the holy city, that encompasses the entire world of God's people and in which there is no evil.
Just before that we see in Revelation 21:1, "A new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and first earth have passed away, ...". Here is the location of the new Jerusalem -- a new heaven and a new earth.
A new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem require a different kind of resident. Thus, we have Paul saying in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "if anyone is in Christ he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." To be this new creature, Jesus said, requires a new birth. As he told Nicodemus, "You must be born anew (again, from above) of water and the Spirit" (Jn 3:3,5).
And this results in a new name. In Revelation 3:12 the Son of Man, the Lord of the church, promises: "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God .... I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem. And I will write on him my new name."
It was to make all of this possible that Jesus gave us a new covenant. The nature of a covenant is to bind together two or more parties. In the new covenant we are bound together with God and with one another. Thus, the Lord's supper becomes a "communion," a "participation," a "fellowship."
And in this fellowship all of these "things made new" are already upon us. Already we are "new creatures in Christ." Already we are residents of and have a foretaste of the new heaven and new earth and of the new Jerusalem. All because in our baptism we have said yes to the new covenant provided for us by the one who said, "this cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you."
This calls for a celebration. Lets do it now as we partake of the Lord's Supper.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
ON SEEING JESUS
Do you tend to be more right brain oriented in the way you think, or left brain? That is, do you think in pictures and images or in more didactic, logical ways? Even those who think in more abstract terms than in pictures can still conjure up an image of something. If I say, I can see in my mind's eye the foam flying as a huge wave crashes into the rocks at Depoe Bay, you can probably see one too -- maybe not at Depoe Bay but someplace in your experience.
When Jesus took the bread and the cup at the Last Supper and said, "Do this in remembrance of me," how do you think he meant that? He was a Jewish man speaking to Jewish people. It is well known among students of how people think that there is a difference between Western, or Greek ways of thinking, and Eastern or Semitic ways of thinking. Its the difference between Aristotelian logic and prophetic imagery.
When Jesus said, "remember me," I don't think he was saying, "remember the main points in my sermon on the mount." Or, "be sure you can boil down each parable to a single proposition." He probably meant, remember me as a person -- what I did, how I acted, how I felt, and how I related to people. Remember what I was really like -- who I was.
How can we do this? We can think in pictures, and pictures are created by stories. Can you see him at age 12, sitting in the Temple area, talking to learned teachers who were amazed at his understanding and his answers? Here is a sharp, perceptive person. Or can you see him kneeling at the tomb of Lazarus and weeping? Here is deep grief and sorrow. Can you see him looking out over a huge crowd of people, most of them too poor to bring a lunch with them, and saying, "give them something to eat?" Here is compassion.
On my computer I have hundreds of photos, organized into folders. Some for family, others for relatives, and so on. One of my favorites contains pictures of golf courses I have played. I use it as a screen saver and the pictures play across the computer reminding me of beautiful places where I have enjoyed a good walk -- if not a good game. Frances has a more often used place for pictures that remind us of our grandchildren and others -- the refrigerator door.
In our minds, we need to have a folder of Jesus pictures. I'm sure that you already have one, but it can strengthened. How? By reading the Gospels and when you come to a story, stop and picture it in your mind. Don't try to intellectualize it so much as to simply notice the action, the interchange of words, the reactions of people to Jesus, how he related to them, and how he might have sounded as he spoke. Let the story come alive in your mind and you will develop a reservoir of pictures that will remind you of him.
To be sure, the cross and all that he went through on our behalf is primary. As we see him hanging there, we hear his words, "this is my body, give for you; this is my blood shed for you; do this in remembrance of me."
When Jesus took the bread and the cup at the Last Supper and said, "Do this in remembrance of me," how do you think he meant that? He was a Jewish man speaking to Jewish people. It is well known among students of how people think that there is a difference between Western, or Greek ways of thinking, and Eastern or Semitic ways of thinking. Its the difference between Aristotelian logic and prophetic imagery.
When Jesus said, "remember me," I don't think he was saying, "remember the main points in my sermon on the mount." Or, "be sure you can boil down each parable to a single proposition." He probably meant, remember me as a person -- what I did, how I acted, how I felt, and how I related to people. Remember what I was really like -- who I was.
How can we do this? We can think in pictures, and pictures are created by stories. Can you see him at age 12, sitting in the Temple area, talking to learned teachers who were amazed at his understanding and his answers? Here is a sharp, perceptive person. Or can you see him kneeling at the tomb of Lazarus and weeping? Here is deep grief and sorrow. Can you see him looking out over a huge crowd of people, most of them too poor to bring a lunch with them, and saying, "give them something to eat?" Here is compassion.
On my computer I have hundreds of photos, organized into folders. Some for family, others for relatives, and so on. One of my favorites contains pictures of golf courses I have played. I use it as a screen saver and the pictures play across the computer reminding me of beautiful places where I have enjoyed a good walk -- if not a good game. Frances has a more often used place for pictures that remind us of our grandchildren and others -- the refrigerator door.
In our minds, we need to have a folder of Jesus pictures. I'm sure that you already have one, but it can strengthened. How? By reading the Gospels and when you come to a story, stop and picture it in your mind. Don't try to intellectualize it so much as to simply notice the action, the interchange of words, the reactions of people to Jesus, how he related to them, and how he might have sounded as he spoke. Let the story come alive in your mind and you will develop a reservoir of pictures that will remind you of him.
To be sure, the cross and all that he went through on our behalf is primary. As we see him hanging there, we hear his words, "this is my body, give for you; this is my blood shed for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Thursday, September 27, 2012
PARDON ACCEPTED
When is a pardon not a pardon?
Andrew Jackson was our seventh President; he served from 1829 to 1837. His nickname was "Old Hickory," and he is well remembered for his exploits in the war of 1812, particularly the Battle of New Orleans. He was a rough-hewn Tennessee farmer, and he changed, at least temporarily, the way the Presidency was used and viewed by people.
In 1830, Jackson had an experience which, so far as I know, has never befallen another President. A man named George Wilson held up a coach carrying the U.S. mail, and in the process shot and killed the driver. He was tried and convicted, and sentenced to hang. For reasons we do not know, President Jackson issued a Presidential pardon for Wilson. But a strange thing happened -- Wilson refused the pardon. He was guilty, and he did not feel that he deserved a pardon.
Jackson was perplexed. He asked the Supreme Court to rule on the matter. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the Court's response: "A pardon is merely a scrap of paper unless it is accepted by the pardoned." Jackson's pardon of Wilson was worthless because Wilson refused it.
Micah 7:18 says, "Who is a God like thee, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of his possession? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in unchanging love."
God's pardon is far more enduring than a "scrap of paper," but it isn't a pardon until we accept it. No matter how willing God is to forgive, his forgiveness is of no value to us unless we accept it. We do that initially when we accept Christ as our Savior, and we accept it again each time we come to the Table, remembering the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and renewing our commitment to live as He would have us live. As with George Wilson, if we do not accept the pardon, the sentence stands.
(My thanks to Mel Mead who first used this meditation and credited Hugh Poland, Secret Place, Oct 10, 2006, for the original idea).
Andrew Jackson was our seventh President; he served from 1829 to 1837. His nickname was "Old Hickory," and he is well remembered for his exploits in the war of 1812, particularly the Battle of New Orleans. He was a rough-hewn Tennessee farmer, and he changed, at least temporarily, the way the Presidency was used and viewed by people.
In 1830, Jackson had an experience which, so far as I know, has never befallen another President. A man named George Wilson held up a coach carrying the U.S. mail, and in the process shot and killed the driver. He was tried and convicted, and sentenced to hang. For reasons we do not know, President Jackson issued a Presidential pardon for Wilson. But a strange thing happened -- Wilson refused the pardon. He was guilty, and he did not feel that he deserved a pardon.
Jackson was perplexed. He asked the Supreme Court to rule on the matter. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the Court's response: "A pardon is merely a scrap of paper unless it is accepted by the pardoned." Jackson's pardon of Wilson was worthless because Wilson refused it.
Micah 7:18 says, "Who is a God like thee, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of his possession? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in unchanging love."
God's pardon is far more enduring than a "scrap of paper," but it isn't a pardon until we accept it. No matter how willing God is to forgive, his forgiveness is of no value to us unless we accept it. We do that initially when we accept Christ as our Savior, and we accept it again each time we come to the Table, remembering the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and renewing our commitment to live as He would have us live. As with George Wilson, if we do not accept the pardon, the sentence stands.
(My thanks to Mel Mead who first used this meditation and credited Hugh Poland, Secret Place, Oct 10, 2006, for the original idea).
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
WE BECOME WHAT WE WORSHIP
In our reading of The Story we have come to Second Kings and the devastating consequences for Israel of their continuing idol worship. Last Sunday Nick spoke on this topic. I like to see the text during the sermon but I had come to church without my Bible so I looked around and found a Good News Version. As I followed along in the text I was struck by how this version worded one sentence: "They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves" (1 Kings 17:15). Its true! We become what we worship. If we worship worthless idols we will become worthless ourselves.
As I thought about a communion meditation for today this truth was still kicking around in my mind. It reminded me that the Apostle Paul had a similar concern and issued a warning about idolatry in connection with the Lord's Supper. In 1 Corinthians 10 he cites the disastrous results of idol worship for Israel and then says, in verses 6-7, "Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were ...." Then, in verse 14 he adds a second admonition to flee from idolatry.
Now notice how he connects this with the Lord's Supper. We can see this clearly in Peterson's, The Message, by simply reading Paul's words starting in verse 15:
I assume I'm addressing believers now who are mature. Draw your own conclusions: When we drink the cup of blessing, aren't we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life of Christ? And isn't it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don't we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ? Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness -- Christ doesn't become fragmented in us. Rather, we become unified in him. We don't reduce Christ to what we are; he raises us to what he is. That's basically what happened even in old Israel -- those who ate the sacrifices offered on our God's altar entered into God's action at the altar.
Do you see the difference? Sacrifices offered to idols are offered to nothing, for what's the idol but a nothing? Or worse than nothing, a minus, a demon! I don't want you to become part of something that reduces you to less than yourself. And you can't have it both ways, banqueting with the Master one day and slumming with demons the next. Besides, the Master won't put up with it. He wants us -- all or nothing. Do you think you can get off with anything less?
We become like Christ -- or we can become like the false gods we worship -- we can't have it both ways. That's why we come here each Sunday. To remind ourselves who we worship and whose we are. As The Message puts it, When we drink the cup of blessing ... and eat the loaf, don't we take into ourselves the very life of Christ? We become what we worship ... and we worship God in Christ alone.
As I thought about a communion meditation for today this truth was still kicking around in my mind. It reminded me that the Apostle Paul had a similar concern and issued a warning about idolatry in connection with the Lord's Supper. In 1 Corinthians 10 he cites the disastrous results of idol worship for Israel and then says, in verses 6-7, "Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were ...." Then, in verse 14 he adds a second admonition to flee from idolatry.
Now notice how he connects this with the Lord's Supper. We can see this clearly in Peterson's, The Message, by simply reading Paul's words starting in verse 15:
I assume I'm addressing believers now who are mature. Draw your own conclusions: When we drink the cup of blessing, aren't we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life of Christ? And isn't it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don't we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ? Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness -- Christ doesn't become fragmented in us. Rather, we become unified in him. We don't reduce Christ to what we are; he raises us to what he is. That's basically what happened even in old Israel -- those who ate the sacrifices offered on our God's altar entered into God's action at the altar.
Do you see the difference? Sacrifices offered to idols are offered to nothing, for what's the idol but a nothing? Or worse than nothing, a minus, a demon! I don't want you to become part of something that reduces you to less than yourself. And you can't have it both ways, banqueting with the Master one day and slumming with demons the next. Besides, the Master won't put up with it. He wants us -- all or nothing. Do you think you can get off with anything less?
We become like Christ -- or we can become like the false gods we worship -- we can't have it both ways. That's why we come here each Sunday. To remind ourselves who we worship and whose we are. As The Message puts it, When we drink the cup of blessing ... and eat the loaf, don't we take into ourselves the very life of Christ? We become what we worship ... and we worship God in Christ alone.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
The Way of the Cross
Every summer for ten years I went back packing in the Wallow Mountains Eagle Cap wilderness. After a week of sitting on logs and sleeping on the ground I longed for a chair to sit back in and a comfortable bed. We are comfort loving creatures. We seek ease and pleasure and try to avoid difficulty and unpleasantness. And yet, if we stop to think about it, there seems to be a law written into the universe that nothing really good comes without struggle, or even pain and suffering.
Look at the great athletes who have been in Eugene for the Olympic trials these past ten days. How many stories have we read about the long hours, working to the point of exhaustion, and then running long distances with heart pounding, lungs bursting, muscles aching, to the finish line -- and then the joy.
Or look at the mother-to-be. Weeks, sometimes months of morning sickness, a growing discomfort, and finally, labor pains. I knew a young minister who once said to a woman who was having a long, difficult delivery, "I know how you feel." You can imagine her response.
While it can be misapplied when exercising there is a great truth behind the slogan, "no pain, no gain."
This truth is certainly seen in the cross. There is an old gospel hymn that says, "The Way of the Cross Leads Home." What is the way of the cross? We could well answer: it is the way that Jesus took for us. As another hymn says, "Jesus Paid It All." The way of the cross is the way Jesus took to bring salvation to us, a way that involved sacrifice and suffering.
But the way of the cross can apply to our journey as well. In fact, Jesus said to those around him, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me" (Matt 16). The way of the cross is for us as well.
Last week I attended some of the Oregon Christian Convention at Turner and was struck by a speaker's statement that expressed exactly what I wanted to say in this communion meditation. He was talking about how the cross was central to Paul's thinking in 1 Corinthians and said something like this: the cross is not just a fact to be appreciated; it is a way of life to be practiced.
The symbolism of the cross was transformed by Christ. It was a symbol in the Roman world of criminality and guilt on the one hand and of cruelty and persecution on the other. But Christ made it a symbol of self-giving sacrifice, of giving one's life on behalf of others, and an expression of unconditional love. This is the way of the cross, the way that Jesus asked us to travel with him. It is not easy or comfortable but the way of the cross leads home.
Look at the great athletes who have been in Eugene for the Olympic trials these past ten days. How many stories have we read about the long hours, working to the point of exhaustion, and then running long distances with heart pounding, lungs bursting, muscles aching, to the finish line -- and then the joy.
Or look at the mother-to-be. Weeks, sometimes months of morning sickness, a growing discomfort, and finally, labor pains. I knew a young minister who once said to a woman who was having a long, difficult delivery, "I know how you feel." You can imagine her response.
While it can be misapplied when exercising there is a great truth behind the slogan, "no pain, no gain."
This truth is certainly seen in the cross. There is an old gospel hymn that says, "The Way of the Cross Leads Home." What is the way of the cross? We could well answer: it is the way that Jesus took for us. As another hymn says, "Jesus Paid It All." The way of the cross is the way Jesus took to bring salvation to us, a way that involved sacrifice and suffering.
But the way of the cross can apply to our journey as well. In fact, Jesus said to those around him, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me" (Matt 16). The way of the cross is for us as well.
Last week I attended some of the Oregon Christian Convention at Turner and was struck by a speaker's statement that expressed exactly what I wanted to say in this communion meditation. He was talking about how the cross was central to Paul's thinking in 1 Corinthians and said something like this: the cross is not just a fact to be appreciated; it is a way of life to be practiced.
The symbolism of the cross was transformed by Christ. It was a symbol in the Roman world of criminality and guilt on the one hand and of cruelty and persecution on the other. But Christ made it a symbol of self-giving sacrifice, of giving one's life on behalf of others, and an expression of unconditional love. This is the way of the cross, the way that Jesus asked us to travel with him. It is not easy or comfortable but the way of the cross leads home.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Life In The Son
It is nice to see the sun today. At times this past winter and early spring I have wondered if we would ever see it again. I have lived almost my entire life in Oregon and a little rain doesn't bother me but it seems like we have had an excess of cloudy skies and rain this year. It has interfered with my golf game and with getting my lawn mowed. I have heard many others express similar sentiments. I can understand why some of you steal off to Arizona each winter.
This desire for the sun is more significant and has a deeper meaning, however, than simply wanting to escape the wet and weary winter. When we seek the sun we are unconsciously trying to connect with the source of life. When we are cut off from the sun symptoms of decline begin to appear. Our skin becomes whiter; listlessness, apathy and a weariness of spirit sets in, actually bringing on depression in some cases. Vitamin D, which comes from the sun, is vital to our health and with very little sun we end up taking supplements.
If you put yourself under the sun you don't have to work or engage in artificial stimulants, or do anything to receive its life giving benefits. You don't have to command a stone which is lying in the sun to become warm; it becomes warm quite of itself. Or, more accurately, from its relationship to the sun. It's the relationship that does it.
Helmut Thielicke, theologian and pastor who preached in Germany during the second world war, became famous for his sermons on the Lord's Prayer. He spoke on this theme in one of them: "when we get away from God we become like someone who is deprived of the sun and is therefore artificially isolated from the element of life which is part of his nature."
Life, vitality and spiritual health do not come by our own power. It is the relationship that does it. Thielicke added, "The person who hallows God's name, lets him be his Lord, and surrenders his life to Him, will be drawn quite spontaneously ... into a great healing process and will become a new person. One cannot become a new person by deciding to become one. He can become a new person only when he allows himself to be incorporated into this living process of fellowship with God." Then Thielicke added this simple poem:
The sun that smiles at me
Is Jesus Christ my Lord;
Its what in heaven I see
That lifts my heart to sing.
As John said, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" (1:4). Jesus is the one who brings me out of my dark house and tells me that the Sun is smiling at me -- who gives me this relationship with the Father that means life! We come now, in the Lord's Supper, to renew and strengthen the relationship that gives us life. Here we place ourselves under the Son and He gives the warmth of life.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Who Is This? From Triumphal Entry to Empty Tomb in Matthew's Gospel
When Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday, Matthew says the whole city was stirred and people were asking, "Who is this?" In the week that followed many would find the answer to this question. Of course, the Gospels were written in order to answer the question, "Who is Jesus?" And also to challenge us with the question that Jesus asked Peter: "Who do you say that I am?" As he describes the last week of Jesus ministry Matthew adds to our understanding of who Jesus really is.
ON SUNDAY we see that he is King and Savior of his people. Jesus enters Jersualem like a king and Matthew says, "This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, Say to the daughter of Zion, behold, your King is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden" (21:4-5).
ON MONDAY he is a judge with God's authority. "And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, 'It is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer and you make it a den of robbers'" (21:12-13).
ON TUESDAY he is a teacher whose authority is challenged. "And when he entered the temple the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, 'By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?'" (21:23). There followed a long day of prophetic teaching that clearly answered his challengers. At the end of the day Matthew tells us this: "When he had finished all these sayings he said to his disciples, 'You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.'" (26:1-2).
ON WEDNESDAY Jesus is silent while his enemies plot his death. "Then the chief priests and the elders gathered in the palace of the high priest ... and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him" (26:3-4).
ON THURSDAY he is both Host and Meal at the Last Supper. "Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.' And he took a cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins'" (26:26-28).
ON FRIDAY he is Suffering Servant and Sacrificial Son. "When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor" (27:1-2).
ON SATURDAY he is dead and buried. All are silent.
ON SUNDAY HE IS THE RESURRECTED LORD. "But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen ... !!!" (28:5-6).
Now the question is before us -- you and me -- who do you say Jesus is?
ON SUNDAY we see that he is King and Savior of his people. Jesus enters Jersualem like a king and Matthew says, "This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, Say to the daughter of Zion, behold, your King is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden" (21:4-5).
ON MONDAY he is a judge with God's authority. "And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, 'It is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer and you make it a den of robbers'" (21:12-13).
ON TUESDAY he is a teacher whose authority is challenged. "And when he entered the temple the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, 'By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?'" (21:23). There followed a long day of prophetic teaching that clearly answered his challengers. At the end of the day Matthew tells us this: "When he had finished all these sayings he said to his disciples, 'You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.'" (26:1-2).
ON WEDNESDAY Jesus is silent while his enemies plot his death. "Then the chief priests and the elders gathered in the palace of the high priest ... and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him" (26:3-4).
ON THURSDAY he is both Host and Meal at the Last Supper. "Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.' And he took a cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins'" (26:26-28).
ON FRIDAY he is Suffering Servant and Sacrificial Son. "When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor" (27:1-2).
ON SATURDAY he is dead and buried. All are silent.
ON SUNDAY HE IS THE RESURRECTED LORD. "But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen ... !!!" (28:5-6).
Now the question is before us -- you and me -- who do you say Jesus is?
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
OUR SUBVERSIVE CONFESSION
Did you know that when you make the confession of faith that we use at communion that you are also confessing to what some would consider to be subversive, counterrevolutionary activities?
This is clearly understood in China today. "Liao Yiwu is one of the most prominent and outspoken contemporary writers in China. His epic poem, 'Massacre,' composed in 1989 in condemnation of the government's bloody crackdown at Tiananmen Square, landed him in jail for four years" (God is Red, vii). His other writings are also banned because the Communist government considers them to be subversive.
In 1998 Liao met a Christian for the first time, a neurologist turned preacher in a Protestant church. Liao, himself a skeptic, admired the courage of this man and other Christians so he set out to interview several of them. His book, God is Red, records many of his interviews.
As I read the book I found it ironic that a primary tactic of the government is to force Christians to make confessions. One elderly Christian told of his imprisonment, beatings and torture, and added, "Before the government reversed its verdict against me ... I had written several hundred confessions." Many were confessions of Christian activities, such as meeting together, preaching, and evangelizing -- all considered to be counterrevolutionary.
I find this ironic because, for Christians, confession is at the heart of their faith. Confession is what it is all about. An open, willing, unforced, confession of one's commitment to Christ. When these Chinese Christians complied with the demand of their officials to confess, were they contradicting their Christian faith? I don't think so. They complied because they knew as well as the officials knew that their faith did in fact go against the interests of the totalitarian state in which they live. Their confession of faith in Christ was indeed subversive.
It has always been that way. In the beginning, when Christians made the simple confession, "Jesus is Lord," they were going against the Roman political and religious establishment that said, "Caesar is Lord."
When we say "Jesus is Lord," what gods in our culture do we subvert? What is it in our culture that tempts us to worship it? The almighty dollar? Big-time sports? The cult of celebrity worship? The electronic gadget? Whatever idol it may be, our confession of faith at the communion table says, in effect, "get behind me, Satan; only Jesus is Lord."
This is clearly understood in China today. "Liao Yiwu is one of the most prominent and outspoken contemporary writers in China. His epic poem, 'Massacre,' composed in 1989 in condemnation of the government's bloody crackdown at Tiananmen Square, landed him in jail for four years" (God is Red, vii). His other writings are also banned because the Communist government considers them to be subversive.
In 1998 Liao met a Christian for the first time, a neurologist turned preacher in a Protestant church. Liao, himself a skeptic, admired the courage of this man and other Christians so he set out to interview several of them. His book, God is Red, records many of his interviews.
As I read the book I found it ironic that a primary tactic of the government is to force Christians to make confessions. One elderly Christian told of his imprisonment, beatings and torture, and added, "Before the government reversed its verdict against me ... I had written several hundred confessions." Many were confessions of Christian activities, such as meeting together, preaching, and evangelizing -- all considered to be counterrevolutionary.
I find this ironic because, for Christians, confession is at the heart of their faith. Confession is what it is all about. An open, willing, unforced, confession of one's commitment to Christ. When these Chinese Christians complied with the demand of their officials to confess, were they contradicting their Christian faith? I don't think so. They complied because they knew as well as the officials knew that their faith did in fact go against the interests of the totalitarian state in which they live. Their confession of faith in Christ was indeed subversive.
It has always been that way. In the beginning, when Christians made the simple confession, "Jesus is Lord," they were going against the Roman political and religious establishment that said, "Caesar is Lord."
When we say "Jesus is Lord," what gods in our culture do we subvert? What is it in our culture that tempts us to worship it? The almighty dollar? Big-time sports? The cult of celebrity worship? The electronic gadget? Whatever idol it may be, our confession of faith at the communion table says, in effect, "get behind me, Satan; only Jesus is Lord."
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
"You (all) Proclaim the Lord's Death ... "
To understand our regular observance of the Lord's Supper it is important to pay attention to words used and their meaning. Simple words often have important implications.
In 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 the Apostle Paul gave us the earliest written record of what Jesus said at the Last Supper. He handed on the tradition that had been given to him, that Jesus spoke about the bread as his body, the cup as the new covenant in his blood, and asked that they do this "in remembrance of me." Then Paul added an explanation in verse 26 in which two very important words appear: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
The first word that claims our attention is "proclaim," a word often used with words like "proclaim Christ," or "proclaim the good news." It refers to the act of preaching. Here Paul speaks about proclaiming the Lord's death, an action that he stressed in the first and second chapters of this letter. The word also includes the idea of celebrating, commending, or openly praising.
By simply communing, therefore, we all are preachers of the good news that Jesus died for us. It is a Visible Word, a Seen Sermon. The pronoun, "you" is plural. It isn't just the preacher, or a presiding elder that does it -- you all preach this sermon. And all are needed. When one or more are absent the Visible Word is diminished to that extent.
It is done with others. The Lord's Supper was not meant to be an individual, private exercise. Our gathering together is necessary for the Lord's Supper to be what it is meant to be. When we come together we serve notice to the world that the death of Christ is real in our lives, that it impacts our lives in some mysterious yet very real way. Our gathering and observing the Lord's Supper is evidence of the continuing power of the death and resurrection of Christ. In this act we tell the world about the death of Christ.
The grammatical form of the word "proclaim" (present active indicative) means that it is a continuing action. Thus, Paul adds a second important word or phrase when he writes, "until he comes." It has the implication of doing something repeatedly until the goal is reached. It presents the picture of a group of people who are persistent against all odds, faithful in all circumstances, and determined that come hell or high water they are going to see this through to the end.
Later in 1 Corinthians 15:58 Paul summarizes all of this by saying, "Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." Let us, therefore, continue in this good work of proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
We Need a Drummer
A communion meditation by Judy Sobba at Twin Oaks Christian Church, Eugene, on January 1, 2012.
Mike and Susan and I were talking about this and it started us thinking. Yes! We do need a drummer.
What does a drummer do? Keeps the beat so we can stay together when we sing or dance. Keeps us going when we tire, like a military drummer. Marching bands, when running around the field, if they can hear the drummer, will end up in the correct place, while keeping the beat the whole time. Drummers, along with the drum major leading a parade, inspire us.
Now it is a New Year, a new start, a blank page. But every day of every year, we need a drummer, our own personal, spiritual drummer.
We have a drummer, of course, and he is Jesus Christ. His word helps us find the "beat in our lives," if we listen. He keeps us going when we tire. He keeps us moving together as Christians toward a common goal -- salvation. He leads us in this troubled world and in our lives so that we don't get lost in all of our running around. As Psalm 18:3 says, "I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; and so shall I be saved from my enemies."
We will follow our drummer, our Lord Jesus Christ. We will listen to his word. We will find the beat and rhythm for our lives. We will worship, study, work, and pray with others to move together in faith. Even if we scatter in all direction at times, like the University of Oregon marching band, the steady beat of God's Word can keep us from getting lost. We only need to listen carefully, pray with faith, act with sincerity and honesty, and trust that God is leading us.
May we listen and pray now as we recall that when Jesus lived on this earth, he gave his apostles continual guidance and reassurance and then, on the night before he died, he said, "Take this bread and eat it for this is my body," and "take this cup and drink. Do this in remembrance of me." And so the beat goes on!
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