Although Christmas day has passed it still seems like Christmas to me because I heard "O Little Town of Bethlehem" on the radio this morning, and because a gift I ordered online for my wife has not yet arrived. Also, we were unable to make it to our daughter's home for Christmas because of snow and ice so we have not yet exchanged gifts. Since it still seems like Christmas I want to share a Christmas communion meditation.*
An episode in the famous television series, MASH, captures some of what Christmas means. It is Christmas day in Korea and the MASH unit is looking forward to a relatively slow day. But the fragile cease fire called for earlier by both sides is broken and casualties will soon be streaming in. The hospital goes into full frenzy, with doctors operating, nurses moving from patient to patient, and Father Mulcahy doing anything he can to help.
Our attention is soon focused on one patient for whom it is obvious that death is waiting nearby. It is Christmas day though, and the staff is determined to keep the soldier alive until December 26 so they won't have to put Dec 25 on the death certificate. They don't want his family to be reminded of his death every Christmas. "Christmas should be a day of birth," says Father Mulcahey.
Long after the rest of the unit has gone off to celebrate the holiday, Hawkeye, B.J., Margaret and Father Mulcahy continue to do all they can to keep the soldier's heart pumping and his lungs filling. Despite their heroic efforts the patient dies around 11:30 PM. All their work seems to have been for naught. In the midst of war and death they had tried to bring a small piece of light. But they had failed. Or so it seems. Just as the tears begin to well up, Hawkeye goes over to the clock on the wall and moves the hands forward to read 12:05 AM. Can they falsify a record? Can they break a serious regulation? Yes. Father Mulcahy reminds them, "Christmas day is a day of birth." So the death certificate reads December 26.
Christmas is, indeed, a day of birth and yet when we gather around the Lord's Table at Christmas time it reminds us of a death. The death of a cherished son. A painful death. A terrible death. But we remember it because our Lord instructed us to remember it.
No one wants to be reminded of a death on Christmas. Especially the death of a cherished son. We know how Hawkeye and his friends felt about remembering a death on this special day. But as we gather with the shepherds around the manger and look at the baby, what do we see? Vulnerability. Helplessness. Just like any other child he is subject to the world around him.
And so we remember. We remember that this one who came on a Christmas night also died on a dark afternoon. We remember that without a death there can be no resurrection. We remember that the one who lived from crib to cross has brought us from cross to crib and given us the gift of new life. And so we remember his words: This is my body ... This is my blood ... and we give thanks.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Our Covenant Commitment Matthew 26:27-28
You may have heard about the chicken and the pig who were out for a morning stroll. Soon they came upon a small diner and out in front was a sign with big bold letters: "HAM AND EGGS -- 99 CENTS." "Oh boy," said Chicken, I could go for that right now. Let's go in." "Well," said Pig thoughtfully, "I don't think I want to do that. For you its just a contribution ... but for me it's total commitment." A lot of people, also, would like to get by with just a contribution. Making a commitment is difficult. It is not always easy because commitments can cost something and may even require a sacrifice.
In the upper room when Jesus gave directions for remembering him with the Lord's Supper he used a term and called for an action that called for total commitment. He held the cup before his disciples and said, "This is my blood of the covenant," and he asked them all to drink of it. Covenants always require commitments, often costly commitments. In this case it cost Jesus his life.
He was committed, but more than that, he was asking for their commitment. When he asked them to drink from the cup of the covenant he was asking for their commitment. He was asking them to form a covenant community that would be committed to him and to each other.
Did the twelve become that committed covenant community? One went out to betray him and was lost. Another went out to deny him, but was redeemed by the resurrected Christ. Others who had been with Jesus earlier joined them. Then, on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection, 3,000 more joined them and Luke says of them in Acts 2:42, "They continued steadfastly in the apostles teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers." Luke goes on to say that the people in that fellowship took care of each other, "as anyone had need." Here is the covenant community, committed to Jesus Christ and to one another, faithfully breaking bread and joining in fellowship.
Each Sunday we renew our commitment as we share in worship and once again hear Jesus' words, "this is my body," and "this is my blood of the covenant," and as we hear him say again, "drink from it, all of you."
In the upper room when Jesus gave directions for remembering him with the Lord's Supper he used a term and called for an action that called for total commitment. He held the cup before his disciples and said, "This is my blood of the covenant," and he asked them all to drink of it. Covenants always require commitments, often costly commitments. In this case it cost Jesus his life.
He was committed, but more than that, he was asking for their commitment. When he asked them to drink from the cup of the covenant he was asking for their commitment. He was asking them to form a covenant community that would be committed to him and to each other.
Did the twelve become that committed covenant community? One went out to betray him and was lost. Another went out to deny him, but was redeemed by the resurrected Christ. Others who had been with Jesus earlier joined them. Then, on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection, 3,000 more joined them and Luke says of them in Acts 2:42, "They continued steadfastly in the apostles teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers." Luke goes on to say that the people in that fellowship took care of each other, "as anyone had need." Here is the covenant community, committed to Jesus Christ and to one another, faithfully breaking bread and joining in fellowship.
Each Sunday we renew our commitment as we share in worship and once again hear Jesus' words, "this is my body," and "this is my blood of the covenant," and as we hear him say again, "drink from it, all of you."
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Something Better To Come
Last Sunday an elder in our church began her communion meditation by saying that her 97 year old mother had died just a week ago. Judy went on to say that she reminded her of the woman whose story has been told on the Internet many times. You may recognize it.
She had been diagnosed with a disease and given three months to live. Her Dr. told her to start making preparations to die. So she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what she wanted to be wearing. The woman also told her pastor that she wanted to be buried with her favorite Bible. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.
"There's one more thing," she said excitedly. "What's that?" came the pastor's reply? "This is very important. I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."
The pastor stood looking at the woman not knowing quite what to say. "That shocks you, doesn't it?" the woman asked. "Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," he said. The woman explained, "In all my years of attending church socials and functions where food was involved (and let's be honest, food is an important part of any church event; spiritual or otherwise); my favorite part was when whoever was clearing away the dishes of the main course would lean over and say 'you can keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming. They they told me to keep my fork I knew that something great was about to be given to me. It wasn't Jell-O or pudding. It was cake or pie. Something with substance. So I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them: 'Something better is coming so keep your fork too.'"
When Judy told this story it made me think -- maybe we should pass out forks when we serve communion. After all, this "great thanksgiving feast" anticipates the banquet of heaven spoken of in Revelation 19:9 -- "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" Yes, when we come to this table we can look toward that day when all is fulfilled and "something better" than anything we have known here will be ours.
She had been diagnosed with a disease and given three months to live. Her Dr. told her to start making preparations to die. So she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what she wanted to be wearing. The woman also told her pastor that she wanted to be buried with her favorite Bible. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.
"There's one more thing," she said excitedly. "What's that?" came the pastor's reply? "This is very important. I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."
The pastor stood looking at the woman not knowing quite what to say. "That shocks you, doesn't it?" the woman asked. "Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," he said. The woman explained, "In all my years of attending church socials and functions where food was involved (and let's be honest, food is an important part of any church event; spiritual or otherwise); my favorite part was when whoever was clearing away the dishes of the main course would lean over and say 'you can keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming. They they told me to keep my fork I knew that something great was about to be given to me. It wasn't Jell-O or pudding. It was cake or pie. Something with substance. So I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them: 'Something better is coming so keep your fork too.'"
When Judy told this story it made me think -- maybe we should pass out forks when we serve communion. After all, this "great thanksgiving feast" anticipates the banquet of heaven spoken of in Revelation 19:9 -- "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" Yes, when we come to this table we can look toward that day when all is fulfilled and "something better" than anything we have known here will be ours.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
AT THE LORD'S TABLE -- THINK!
Do you have this problem? I tend to do some things automatically, without thinking. For instance, I automatically close my garage door when I leave home and then a block or so away I wonder, 'Did I close the door?' Several times I have driven back to make sure the door was closed. Once, when we left on a trip, I left it open and didn't think to check it. there it was, wide open for anyone to take whatever they wanted. Fortunately, our neighbor knew we were leaving and closed it for us.
It can be risky to do things without thinking. This seems to be what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. He began by criticizing them for their divisions when they came together and then, after reminding them of how Jesus began the Lord's Supper in the upper room, he said to them, in effect -- THINK when you do this. Here is how he puts it in verses 28-29, "examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves." "Examine," "discern," he says -- in other words, THINK when you do this. But think about what?
First, he says, "examine yourselves" -- think about yourselves. This certainly means to look into your own heart, to be aware of motives, weaknesses, failures. It means being honest with yourself when you come to the table.
But he makes it clear in the next verse that examining yourselves is not a strictly private experience. He goes on to say that if you don't "discern the body you eat and drink judgment against yourselves." What does he mean by "the body?" Some say it refers to the body of Christ Himself as he hung on the cross. Certainly, that is involved. We do need to think about Christ on the cross. But if we had time to read this entire section, beginning in verse 17, you would see that he is thinking about the church as the body of Christ.
Specifically, he is thinking about the unity of the church. When the Corinthian church came together they had so many cliques and divisions among them (see chapters 1-4) that it destroyed the meaning of the meal. He actually says, "when you come together it is not really to eat the Lord's Supper."
I have always been thankful that ours is a thinking church. We think about each other. When we come to the table there is a strong sense of fellowship and unity. As we continue to grow it will be important that we maintain this by knowing each other, by caring for each other, praying for each other, and in many other ways, "discerning the body" as we come together.
Saying the confession of faith is one of the ways we express our unity of faith -- will you say it with me now.
Twin Oaks Christian Church, November 16, 2008.
It can be risky to do things without thinking. This seems to be what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. He began by criticizing them for their divisions when they came together and then, after reminding them of how Jesus began the Lord's Supper in the upper room, he said to them, in effect -- THINK when you do this. Here is how he puts it in verses 28-29, "examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves." "Examine," "discern," he says -- in other words, THINK when you do this. But think about what?
First, he says, "examine yourselves" -- think about yourselves. This certainly means to look into your own heart, to be aware of motives, weaknesses, failures. It means being honest with yourself when you come to the table.
But he makes it clear in the next verse that examining yourselves is not a strictly private experience. He goes on to say that if you don't "discern the body you eat and drink judgment against yourselves." What does he mean by "the body?" Some say it refers to the body of Christ Himself as he hung on the cross. Certainly, that is involved. We do need to think about Christ on the cross. But if we had time to read this entire section, beginning in verse 17, you would see that he is thinking about the church as the body of Christ.
Specifically, he is thinking about the unity of the church. When the Corinthian church came together they had so many cliques and divisions among them (see chapters 1-4) that it destroyed the meaning of the meal. He actually says, "when you come together it is not really to eat the Lord's Supper."
I have always been thankful that ours is a thinking church. We think about each other. When we come to the table there is a strong sense of fellowship and unity. As we continue to grow it will be important that we maintain this by knowing each other, by caring for each other, praying for each other, and in many other ways, "discerning the body" as we come together.
Saying the confession of faith is one of the ways we express our unity of faith -- will you say it with me now.
Twin Oaks Christian Church, November 16, 2008.
Monday, October 27, 2008
A TIME TO FORGET
Anyone who competes in athletic games knows the importance of forgetting. I make a lot of bad shots as a golfer but I can't dwell on them or it will affect my next shot -- I have to forget the past and focus on the next shot. When the American gymnast, Paul Hamm, fell after vaulting he had to forget it and concentrate on the next event. Anyone who lives in the past will lose his future.
At the Lord's Table we often speak of remembering, and of course, we should, because Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me."
On the other hand, when we come to the table it should also be a time of forgetting. We must not only remember God's saving grace in Christ, we must forget the past mistakes and failures that keep us from accepting His grace and moving on toward the future that God has for us.
Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, " ... I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
At the Lord's Table we see with double vision. We look to the past and remember his sacrifice on our behalf, but we also look to the future and anticipate our destiny with him. As Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 11, speaking of our action in the Lord's Supper, "We proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." Remembering his death and what it means for us helps to wipe out the memory of our failures. It frees us to look to the future, to His return, and to "press on toward the goal" that Christ has set for us.
At the Lord's Table we often speak of remembering, and of course, we should, because Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me."
On the other hand, when we come to the table it should also be a time of forgetting. We must not only remember God's saving grace in Christ, we must forget the past mistakes and failures that keep us from accepting His grace and moving on toward the future that God has for us.
Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, " ... I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
At the Lord's Table we see with double vision. We look to the past and remember his sacrifice on our behalf, but we also look to the future and anticipate our destiny with him. As Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 11, speaking of our action in the Lord's Supper, "We proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." Remembering his death and what it means for us helps to wipe out the memory of our failures. It frees us to look to the future, to His return, and to "press on toward the goal" that Christ has set for us.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Where Joy And Sorrow Meet Hebrews 12:2
Why should Jesus, as he hung on the cross, be ashamed? Ashamed of what? Of healing the sick? Of feeding the poor? Of criticizing the self-righteous? He had nothing to be ashamed of.
And yet, in the eyes of the public it was a shameful thing to be crucified. The Gospel writers do not ignore the pain and suffering of the cross but if you look closely at their accounts of the crucifixion it is clear that they stressed something else. You don't find graphic pictures of Jesus in agony or strong adjectives describing how much pain he had. Instead the descriptions stress the humiliation, disgrace, and shame of the cross.
Honor and shame were, and still are, pivotal values in the Mediterranean and near East world. We have heard even in recent times of so-called honor killings when a man thinks his daughter or wife has brought shame upon him. Love of honor was a powerful, driving force in Jesus' day. Contempt, loss of face, defeat and ridicule were to be avoided at all costs. Those who heard or read the story of Jesus' death understood this. the Gospels give us details of how the Roman soldiers and some Jewish leaders deliberately heaped shame upon him. They stripped him, hung a purple robe on him, forced a crown of thorns on his head, and then mocked him as a king. The focus of a man's honor is his head so they struck him in the face and spit upon him. As he hung helplessly on the cross they hurled insults at him and ridiculed him.
It is no wonder that Paul refers to Christ crucified as a "scandal," and "offense," a "stumbling block," to many because of the shame involved (1 Corinthians 23). The writer of Hebrews 12:2 explicitly calls the cross "shame." But notice how he puts it: "Fixing our eyes on Jesus ... who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
He endured the cross and the shame. Here is suffering joined to shame but both are linked with joy. For the joy ahead he endured the cross and despised the shame. Here is where joy and the sorrow of suffering and shame meet. The cross of Christ is still, for us, the place where joy and sorrow meet.
Some words from a modern song by Avalon express it well:
The Lord's Table reminds us of that place where joy and sorrow meet.
And yet, in the eyes of the public it was a shameful thing to be crucified. The Gospel writers do not ignore the pain and suffering of the cross but if you look closely at their accounts of the crucifixion it is clear that they stressed something else. You don't find graphic pictures of Jesus in agony or strong adjectives describing how much pain he had. Instead the descriptions stress the humiliation, disgrace, and shame of the cross.
Honor and shame were, and still are, pivotal values in the Mediterranean and near East world. We have heard even in recent times of so-called honor killings when a man thinks his daughter or wife has brought shame upon him. Love of honor was a powerful, driving force in Jesus' day. Contempt, loss of face, defeat and ridicule were to be avoided at all costs. Those who heard or read the story of Jesus' death understood this. the Gospels give us details of how the Roman soldiers and some Jewish leaders deliberately heaped shame upon him. They stripped him, hung a purple robe on him, forced a crown of thorns on his head, and then mocked him as a king. The focus of a man's honor is his head so they struck him in the face and spit upon him. As he hung helplessly on the cross they hurled insults at him and ridiculed him.
It is no wonder that Paul refers to Christ crucified as a "scandal," and "offense," a "stumbling block," to many because of the shame involved (1 Corinthians 23). The writer of Hebrews 12:2 explicitly calls the cross "shame." But notice how he puts it: "Fixing our eyes on Jesus ... who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
He endured the cross and the shame. Here is suffering joined to shame but both are linked with joy. For the joy ahead he endured the cross and despised the shame. Here is where joy and the sorrow of suffering and shame meet. The cross of Christ is still, for us, the place where joy and sorrow meet.
Some words from a modern song by Avalon express it well:
There is a place where hope remains
In crowns of thorns and crimson stains
And tears that fall on Jesus' feet
Where joy and sorrow meet.
There's a place of thirst and hunger where the roots of faith grow deep.
And there is rain and rolling thunder when the road is rough and steep.
There is hope in desperation, there is victory in defeat
At the cross of restoration where joy and sorrow meet.
The Lord's Table reminds us of that place where joy and sorrow meet.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
The Table of Reconciliation
Is there any greater need in our world today than the need for reconciliation? Whether it is the conflict between Russia and Georgia, or husband and wife, or rich and poor, black and white -- or whatever -- the need for reconciliation is overwhelming. True reconciliation between humans, however, can never take place without first being reconciled to God. And God himself has provided the model that shows us how it can come about.
Leanna Pemberton, a long-time missionary to the troubled land of Zimbabwe, spoke at the Winema Week of Missions on the Oregon coast recently of how we. as Christians, have been chosen to carry God's word of reconciliation to the world. She read 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, "God has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their sins to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation."
She spoke of how it is often difficult, in different cultures, to express what is meant by words like "reconciliation," or what it can mean to people. Then she told of how her preacher-missionary husband, John Mark, who died much too young of a sudden heart attack, discovered a way to make God's act of reconciliation meaningful to the people they worked among. It had to do with burial concepts.
He often preached from 1 Corinthians 15 that defines the gospel message as the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. We talk a lot about the death and resurrection but not so much about the meaning of burial. Among the people of Zimbabwe, however, burial is an important function and provided a clue for John Mark's preaching of the Gospel. It came to him when two young men from different villages were drinking together with some friends. An argument broke out. It became violent and one man killed the other. The offended family refused to bury their son until the reconciliation price was paid. They even took the body and left it at the entrance of the other family's village. The police came and said, "you can't leave it here. You must bury it." They replied, "you can bury it if you want but we will not until reconciliation is paid." Finally the other family paid the number of cows, or whatever was required, and the young man was buried.
In his sermons after this John Mark would say, "See how much God loves you. He sent his Son but your sins killed him. But God did not refuse to bury him. He loves you and allowed his son to be buried without requiring a payment of reconciliation. God himself has paid the price by giving his Son on your behalf."
In whatever culture, and whatever language, God is calling upon us to be reconciled to him and to one another. We call this the Lord's Table, but we could also call it the table of reconciliation. It reminds us, as Paul said in Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us ... when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son."
The price for our reconciliation with God has been paid -- and we are welcome at the table of reconciliation.
Leanna Pemberton, a long-time missionary to the troubled land of Zimbabwe, spoke at the Winema Week of Missions on the Oregon coast recently of how we. as Christians, have been chosen to carry God's word of reconciliation to the world. She read 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, "God has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their sins to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation."
She spoke of how it is often difficult, in different cultures, to express what is meant by words like "reconciliation," or what it can mean to people. Then she told of how her preacher-missionary husband, John Mark, who died much too young of a sudden heart attack, discovered a way to make God's act of reconciliation meaningful to the people they worked among. It had to do with burial concepts.
He often preached from 1 Corinthians 15 that defines the gospel message as the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. We talk a lot about the death and resurrection but not so much about the meaning of burial. Among the people of Zimbabwe, however, burial is an important function and provided a clue for John Mark's preaching of the Gospel. It came to him when two young men from different villages were drinking together with some friends. An argument broke out. It became violent and one man killed the other. The offended family refused to bury their son until the reconciliation price was paid. They even took the body and left it at the entrance of the other family's village. The police came and said, "you can't leave it here. You must bury it." They replied, "you can bury it if you want but we will not until reconciliation is paid." Finally the other family paid the number of cows, or whatever was required, and the young man was buried.
In his sermons after this John Mark would say, "See how much God loves you. He sent his Son but your sins killed him. But God did not refuse to bury him. He loves you and allowed his son to be buried without requiring a payment of reconciliation. God himself has paid the price by giving his Son on your behalf."
In whatever culture, and whatever language, God is calling upon us to be reconciled to him and to one another. We call this the Lord's Table, but we could also call it the table of reconciliation. It reminds us, as Paul said in Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us ... when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son."
The price for our reconciliation with God has been paid -- and we are welcome at the table of reconciliation.
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