GIVING THANKS

      If you are asked unexpectedly to pray at your family's thanksgiving gathering it might be well to avoid what one man said. Ben Witherington, in a book on the Lord's Supper, tells of a particular thanksgiving dinner at his aunt's house in Statesville, North Carolina.  He wrote, "As we were all sitting down, she asked by father to pray impromptu over the meal she had been preparing for many hours.  Somewhat flustered and unprepared he prayed, 'Dear Lord, please bless our sins and pardon this food in your son's name.   Amen.'"  (Making a Meal of It, 17).

      It is no surprise that  prayer on Thanksgiving day, said with family gathered at a table covered with delicious food, would express heartfelt thanks.  But what of other days, in other circumstances?  Prayers have a way of getting at the heart of a matter.  If you want to know how you feel about life, you might examine your prayers, especially prayers offered when you face a crisis of some kind.

      Jesus was very much aware of the crisis he faced when he met with his apostles in the upper room.  He knew the danger he was in.  What was his prayer at that time?  Three Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, along with Paul in 1 Corinthians, record what happened at the meal.  There are variations in the wording, in the sequence of events, and in other aspects of their descriptions, but one phrase is found to be the same in all accounts.  It is simply this" "when he had given thanks...".  Whatever the prayer went on to say, at the heart of Jesus' prayer was thanksgiving.  Jesus must have been at heart a thankful person.

      Through the centuries since then four terms, all based on NT passages, have been used to name this observance.  One is "the bread breaking," or "breaking of bread," based on Jesus' words and action in the upper room.  Also, we call it "communion," which translates the Greek word used by Paul in reference to it.  We also call it "the Lord's Supper," based on the evening meal Jesus had with  his disciples in the upper room.  The fourth is a term you and I, in our non-liturgical tradition, seldom use but it is probably the most common name used throughout the world: "Eucharist."  It comes from that phrase, "when he had given thanks."  In doing  this, Jesus provided a model, not just for how to observe communion, but how thanks can be a way of life expressed in prayer.

      I am not saying that we should start using the word "eucharist" more often, although that would certainly be appropriate, but I am saying that our observance here should express a thanksgiving that carries over into all of life.  The former secretary of the United Nations, Dag Hammerskjold, must have had that kind of outlook on life because shortly before his untimely death he said something that could very well be our prayer at this table, or on Thursday at the family table, and at all times of life -- especially times of crisis.  He said simply, "For all that has been, thanks; for all that shall be, yes."

Our Historical Faith

        It is good to have international students in our service.  Through the hospitality of Nick and Anita we have come to know young adults from Asia, South America, and other places in the world who have come to study at the University of Oregon.  Meeting students from China always reminds me of a history course that I took as an elective at the University of Oregon on the history of China.  This was only a few years after World War II and my professor had been an army intelligence officer stationed in China during the war.  Ironically, his name was Professor Dull -- but he was anything but dull as a professor.  He made it interesting but above all he demonstrated how important it is for us to know such history.

         Certainly, the history of our faith, particularly of Jesus and his actions, is particularly important and full of life.  I heard an atheist on Larry King Live one day say that there is no secular evidence that Jesus ever lived.  Of course, she denied the validity of many eye witness accounts in the New Testament, and ignored Josephus and other writers who provide important evidence.

        The historical character of the Christian faith sets it apart from some other world religions that are based more on myth and philosophical ideas.  We can point to specific historical events in which our faith is rooted. The sermons in the book of Acts demonstrate how our faith is rooted both in the history of Israel and in the life of Jesus as well as in the life of the early church.  One of the historical events that is of particular significance to us now is the execution of Jesus on the cross, and his meeting with the apostles for the last supper in the upper room.  As we think about these and other events in the life of Jesus our faith comes alive.  It is anything but "dull."

        We remember, therefore, what Jesus said in the upper room.  Paul was the first to record the history of this event when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, "For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and said, 'this is my body that is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.'  In the same way, he took a cup also, after supper, saying, 'this cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'"  Paul concluded by saying, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."  So let us do what Paul says and proclaim history -- proclaim his death until he comes.

WHY BOTHER?

        I visited briefly not long ago with Doug Priest.  Doug and Marge were in Athena where he was the minister of the Christian Church part of the time that I lived in Milton-Freewater.  We spent several happy hours hiking and fishing in the Wallowa Eagle Cap Wilderness before he took his family to Ethiopia for missionary work.  They served in a remote area where the gospel had never been preached before.

        One day, when he was on furlough, he mentioned a problem that they had in Ethiopia concerning the Lord's Supper.  There were no grapes in their out-of-the-way area.  How do you have the Lord's Supper without grape juice?  It was not feasible to ship it in and they certainly did not want to introduce wine to the area.  Instead, they brought in packets of grape Kool-Aid.  However, some areas did not have Kool-Aid so they used lemon juice.  He also told me of missionaries in Papua New Guinea where no flour was available for making bread, so they used sweet potatoes.

        A more desperate situation was faced by J. Russell Morse when he was a missionary in Southern China.  In 1951 he was arrested by the communists and held in solitary confinement for 15 months.  He suffered many deprivations and was tortured both mentally and physically in ways that he never described even to his own family.  For a long time he expected each day to be his last.  He said:

Back in my prison, I prepared to die and I followed a procedure that I feel sure was followed by     thousands in the early New Testament Church. ... Daily, for months, I partook of those emblems,       using steamed bread and water, which I had saved from my meals.  And each day I prepared             myself for that death which I thought might come at any hour.

        When I think of how so many Christians, in so many places, over hundreds of years have persisted in observing the Lord's Supper in whatever way they could I have to ask, "why bother?"

        Morse answered that question for himself -- and I expect for countless other Christians also -- when he said:

I remember that [the early Christians] had been admonished to forsake not the assembling of             themselves.   Also, in regard to the Lord's Supper, they had been told, "This do ... in remembrance     of me", as they partook of the emblems of the Lord's broken body and shed blood.  As they                 themselves faced death, they partook of them, remembering that He had been scourged by Roman     soldiers; a crown of thorns had been pressed down upon his head; ... He had been forced to carry       the cross upon which he soon was to be nailed to die there.  And Jesus had said, "A servant is not       greater than his Lord."*

        Why do we bother to assemble each Sunday?  Why do we bother to take the Lord's Supper?  Why bother?  How would you answer?

*Gertrude Morse. The Dogs May Bark But the Caravan Moves On, 304.

Snatching Victory From Defeat

        We have just celebrated Independence Day.  In his book 1776 David McCullough reminded us of how we came to not winning independence.  He described a rag-tag, undisciplined, poorly equipped, often unpaid bunch of laborers, farmers, tradesmen, and business men who fought against a superior force of experienced military people.  Not surprisingly, they lost battle after battle.  How they won the war is difficult to say.  As the old saying goes, they "snatched victory from the jaws of defeat."  The outcome was, in the opinion of many, both providential and miraculous.

        An even greater victory through defeat occurred when Jesus died on the cross.  In chapter 11 of Ron Heine's book, Classical Christian Doctrine, Ron explains that there are "three major ways the redemptive work of Christ as been understood by Christians."  One of these is most clearly consistent with what can be seen in both the church fathers of the second and third centuries and also in the New Testament.  It portrays Christ as "doing battle with the devil and the forces of evil that hold this world captive."  It would come to be called by the term Christus Victor."

        In the Gospels the battle with the devil can be seen from the very beginning of Jesus ministry.  His temptations set the theme for all that would follow.  Sometimes his confrontation with evil was in the form of evil spirits, but more often it was in the form of sickness, prejudice, violence, and sinful actions or attitudes.  The battle was fierce.  Often he would withdraw to pray.  Finally, we see him, as Isaiah prophetically said, "despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief ... we esteemed him stricken, smitten, and afflicted ... he was wounded for our transgressions ... bruised for our iniquities ... he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth ..." (Isa 53).

        As Jesus hung upon the cross all appeared to be lost.  His disciples thought so.  The women mourned and the men ran away in fear.  Peter denied him.  It appeared that the forces of evil had won.  Jesus was dead -- really dead and buried!  Defeated!  But then angels rolled away the stone and God raised him from the dead -- snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.  As a result we have freedom from death, hope for life to come, and peace with God.

Many texts in the NT mention this battle and victory but one that I particularly like is Hebrews 2:14 that speaks about Jesus partaking of flesh and blood so "that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil."  It was this that led Paul to express our praise in 1 Corinthians 15:57, "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

God's Broken People

If this seems a little strange at first, bear with me.  I want to begin with one of Shel Silverstein’s humorous poems, but one that leads to a profound concept.  It is titled: Hector the Collector.

Hector the Collector collected bits of string,
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that would not ring.
Pieces out of picture puzzles,
Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks,
Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
Paper bags and broken bricks.
Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
Gatlin’ guns that wouldn’t shoot,
Leaky boats what wouldn’t float
And stopped up horns that wouldn’t toot.
Butter knives that had no handles,
Copper keys that fit no locks,
Rings that were too small for fingers,
Dried-up leaves and patched-up socks.
Worn out belts that had no buckles,
‘Lectric trains that had no tracks,
Airplane models, broken bottles,
Three-legged chairs and cups with cracks.
Hector the Collector loved these things with all his soul–
Loved them more than shining diamonds,
Loved them more than glistenin’ gold.
Hector called to all the people,
“Come and share my treasure trunk!”
And all the silly sightless people
Came and looked ... and called it junk.    (Where the Sidewalk Ends, 46)

Jesus tended to collect broken people, people who were marred and scarred by failings of all kinds.  Peter the impetuous, Simon the insurgent Zealot, Matthew the despised tax collector, a woman of the street, and many others.  But, like Hector, he “loved them more than shining diamonds, loved them more than glistenin’ gold.”.

Later, when Paul looked at the composition of the church in Corinth he said about them: “not many of you are wise, mighty or noble.  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen ...” (1 Cor 2:26-28).

A few chapters later his description of these people was more precise and graphic: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived.   Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you (1 Cor 6:9-10.).  He sounds like Hector the Collector.  God gathered a church full of sinners and called them saints and the “silly sightless” world doesn’t understand.

Paul knew this and followed his description with these words: “And such were some of you.  But you were washed ... sanctified ... justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (6:11).  Washed by the blood of Christ and in the waters of baptism, we gather at this table as his broken people made whole by the power of Jesus Christ.  Here we celebrate being cleansed, justified and made whole.  We give thanks that he loves us “more than shining diamonds and more than gilstenin’ gold.”

A Place to Come Back To

        Dr Bob Wetzel, Chancellor of Emmanuel Christian Seminary in Johnson City, Tenn., wrote in the seminary newsletter about the decision he and his wife Bonnie made several years ago to be cremated.  When they told their girls it resulted in a lot of conversation.  The first obvious question his girls asked was, "What shall we do with the ashes?"  Bob said, "You would have to understand our family to appreciate the macabre humor that followed.  One possibility was to throw them off the bank in the woods near our home of almost 50 years.  Or the ashes could be taken back to the home of our youth in Western Kansas and let the prevailing southwest wind blow them as part of a typical dust storm."

        "The humor continued with even more ridiculous possibilities for 'waste management.'  But then our older daughter became serious and said, 'No, we need a place to come back to.'  Then," Bob said, "I thought of how I always visited my parents' grave whenever we visited Western Kansas.  Nearby is the grave of our son who died in infancy.  Yes, I had a place to come back to, to remember, and somehow say to them, 'You are remembered and loved.'"

        After Jesus died, they put him in a borrowed tomb.  It became for a couple of days "the place to come back to."  And several disciples went there -- but it was empty.  Since then disciples go to the "tomb" in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem but he isn't there either.  Some go to the beautiful garden of the tomb in Jerusalem and while it feels more authentic, it too does not qualify as "a place to come back to."

Jesus must have known that his disciples would need a place to come back to.  A place that actually exists, a place that is tangible and real.  A place that every disciples knows about and knows just where it is.  And a place where he is not absent.  This could well be one of the reasons for giving us the Lord's Supper.  It certainly serves this purpose.

        Frances and I have taken communion thousands of times in our home churches over the years but we have also taken it in a Lutheran Church in Wisconsin, a Cathedral in England, among the ruins of ancient Corinth, and many other places.  But wherever the Lord's Supper is observed it is the place to come back to, to remember, and somehow to say to him, "you are remembered and loved."

        For this reason, as we come to the Table, we remember his words:  "This is my body, given for you ... This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood ... Do this in remembrance of me."

"The Medicine of Immortality"

        In John 6:54 Jesus made this remarkable statement: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."  An early church leader who may have studied under John at Ephesus and would have known this teaching well was Ignatius of Antioch.  Shortly after the turn of the first century he was the leading bishop, or elder, of the church at Antioch of Syria.  He was arrested by the Roman authorities and sent to Rome where he died in the Colosseum as a Christian martyr during the reign of Emperor Trajan.  As he traveled toward Rome he wrote several letters and one was sent to Ephesus where he might have been with John.  Ignatius may have been thinking of John 6:54 when he said this about the Lord's Supper: " ... and break one loaf, which is the medicine of immortality, and the antidote which wards off death but yields continuous life in union with Jesus Christ."

        I remembered his words one night last week.  About a month ago I went to see my primary care doctor for a physical exam.  I have been blessed with good health and had not seen my doctor for a long time.  Strangely, after getting a good report, within two weeks I was struck down by a vicious stomach bug, sprained a shoulder muscle, and then developed a kind of asthmatic bronchitis.  I don't like being sick.  I am not used to it.  It is an unpleasant experience, as I'm sure all of you know.  It drove me back to my doctor and to my pharmacist.

        Last week in the middle of the night I was thinking about this and at the same time wondering what to use for today's communion meditation when the idea struck me that there is a good analogy here.  Sin is like a sickness in several ways.  It is like a sickness in that it affects all of us.  Is there anyone here who has not been sick?  And so it is with sin.  As Paul said, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

        Sin is like a sickness because it leaves us feeling terrible.  We hurt in a lot of ways.  And sin is like a sickness because it makes us do what we don't want to do and keeps us from doing what we want to do.  Paul said exactly that about sin in Romans 7 and then raised this plaintive question: "Wretched man that I am!  Who will set me free from the body of this death?"  Which points to another similarity.  Sin, like sickness, leads to death.  If one sickness doesn't get you, another one will.  And, of course, the Bible is clear on the ultimate effect of sin.  As Paul said in Romans 5:12, "... death spread to all, because all have sinned."

        When Paul cried out, "Who will set me free from the body of this death?" he answered his own question immediately with the exclamation, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord."  Sin, like sickness, requires both a physician and a pharmacist.  In Jesus Christ we have both.  As we come to this table he is our Good Physician, he is our "Medicine of Immortality."  "This," he said of the bread, "is my body...";  "this," he said of the cup, "is my blood."  And to us all he says, 'Eat, Drink, and Live forevermore.'

A THING OF BEAUTY

       There was nothing beautiful about a Roman cross.  It was made out of rough lumber, a simple cross beam, either at the top or nailed on part way down.  Some had a protruding piece at the bottom where the victim could rest his feet.  Crosses were not attractive things that you would use to decorate your house.

       Nor was the person hanging there a thing of beauty.  A beaten, bloody body is not a pleasant sight.  In a prophetic word about the suffering servant Isaiah said, "he had no beauty that we should look upon him" (53:2).

       But today the cross is used as a thing of beauty.  I tried to find a picture of a typical Roman cross on the internet but what I found looked too nice.  We use precious metals to make it into jewelry with which we adorn our bodies.  Or we use fine lumber and make beautiful replicas to decorate our churches.

       For a long time this struck me as ironic.  Picturing or thinking of the cross as beautiful surely must be misleading.  How can a cruel and ugly instrument of execution be turned into a thing of beauty?  How can we do such a thing?

       Well, we can't -- but God can.  He transformed it by placing Jesus upon it.  In his book, Beauty Will Save The World, Brian Zahnd points out: "The unique form of Christianity is the cruciform -- Christ upon the cross, arms outstretched in offered embrace, forgiving the world of its sins.  This is the beauty that saves the world, and the symbol of this saving grace is the cross."

       He goes on to say: "That the Roman cross, an instrument of physical torture and psychological terror, could ever become an object of beauty representing faith, hope and love is an amazing miracle of transformation.  Every cross adorning a church is in itself a sermon -- a sermon proclaiming that if Christ can transform the Roman instrument of execution into a thing of beauty, there is hope that in Christ all things can be made beautiful" (60).

       However, it must be said, that to see the beauty of the cross in all of its glory, as with many beautiful images, we must stand in the right place.  It must be viewed from this side of the resurrection.  It must be seen through the prism of the resurrection.  From that perspective we can join with the hymn writer to say:

In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,

A wondrous beauty I see.

For twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died

To pardon and sanctify me.

As we see him on the cross let us also hear his words spoken at the last supper: 'this is my body, given for you; this ... is my blood shed for you.'  How beautiful is that!