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Do We De-value the Lord’s Supper?
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day:
16 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? 17 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. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (MSG)
52 Then the Jews started arguing among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ 53 Jesus replied to them: In all truth I tell you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise that person up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in that person. John 6:52-56 (NJB)
“Don’t recoil: your life is going to be a soothing of suffering. This is why you are a disciple of the Master!” (1)
“When I made you a present of that Life of Jesus, I wrote in it this inscription: ‘May you seek Christ. May you find Christ. May you love Christ.’ These are three very distinct steps. Have you at least tried to live the first one?” (2)
When I started writing this blog this morning, I was thinking about the chapel service I led last night for a bunch of seminarians. Great guys, who for the last three weeks I have been privileged to watch engaged in worship, To engage in worship with for a short period of time. Last night, I had the greatest honor, as I fed them the body of Christ, as another pastor gave them the cup of blessing.
The reaction of some was gratefulness, thanks, rejoicing… comments I overheard talked about how they felt more united to each other. That’s cool.
It’s one of the reasons for this blog….those Bible verses above, make it clear – this isn’t just ritual, it is a communion, a time to give thanks, a time to realize the presence of Jesus Christ’s Body and Blood, given and shed for us, that we may live!
This morning, instead of opening the Furrow, (the devotional book I am reading) for some reason I opened the Way. (Both are written by the same guy, St Josemaria Escriva) The two quotes are from the introduction and the forward, They hit me even harder with the necessity of our people to regularly receive the Body and Blood of Christ.
The first is that we encounter much suffering. In the last two weeks, not only have I seen it in the eyes of my friends, my parishioners, but I have seen it as well in the hearts of my brothers who shepherd God’s people, who feed them the Body and Blood of Christ. Severe pain, caused by hard transitions. Some are forced, some are taken on because they knew it was time, even though the pain is excruciating. (Including the pain of those who second guess and play armchair quarterback) We are called to soothe each others wounds, and that is critical in our actions, in our life.
And the best place for dealing with such suffering is on our knees, receiving the Body of Christ. drinking from His fount, reveling in His cleansing presence in our very bodies, in our very lives. For us who are called to soothe suffering and for those who are suffering, this time is precious, it shouldn’t be rushed, it becomes a time of peace.
For the other comment comes into play. Seek Christ, Find Christ, Love Christ. For He is seeking you indeed, but here at the altar, you find him. You know His love, you turn and love in turn.
We devalue this precious time with God in so many ways. When we think it only worth a twice a month offering. When we fail to find ourselves united together with Christ, when we fail to work to see the entire Church able to participate in it together. When we refuse to let what we believe call us to the altar, instead maintaining it must be the name on our church that determines who is worthy. When we fail to point out the healing that occurs, the relationships mended, the life given. We devalue it when we reduce our appreciation of it to what we can observe, when we evaluate the celebration and the bread an from a rational, logical, scientific position. When we fail to recognize the Body and Blood of Christ given and shared with us, for us. When we fail to see the Body of Christ, all those whom it was given for.
This time is precious, it is ordained by God. That alone should be enough for us… but there is so much more…..
Come my friends, you are invited to the feast that is the foretaste of the feast to come…. Let us rejoice and go to the house of the Lord!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Location 72). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 111-113). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
We Are His!
Alleluia! He is Risen…therefore
We are His!
John 17:1-11
In Jesus Name
As we walk through this life together, may we know the grace and peace of God, for He has made us His own…
He is Risen, and therefore…
There is an old tradition among God’s people, to greet and respond to each other during the seven weeks between Christ’s resurrection and Pentecost with the following words,
Alleluia! He is Risen!
(Some respond “He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!”)
Let’s all try that – English and Chinese at the same time
Alleluia! He is Risen!
(response)
We’ve added something to that, this year in our congregation. It is that I respond, “therefore” and the congregation responds, “we have risen indeed! Alleluia!”
In each of our sermons, then, we’ve looked at what it means to be the people of God who are united to Christ in His death and in His resurrection. Today is the last day of that series, and in our gospel reading we see the incredible truth,
He is risen and therefore we know we are His!
If there is something that should cause our praises to be heard throughout California, through the world, it is this. You and I are Christ’s, and therefore dwell in the presence and glory of God!
Let’s look at how this is laid out in John’s gospel….
But first I want to hear it one more time.
Alleluia, He is Risen (response)
therefore, ((response)
The Son Gives us Eternal life
In verse 2, we are reminded why Jesus came, what the moment of His glory was all about. It says there,
2 For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him.
But what is eternal life? My first funeral sermon was done back in 30 years ago at a church in Yorba Linda. Since then, I have done hundreds, and I’ve heard people talking before and after the services about what heaven is, or at least asking the same questions.
“Will my dog be there?”
“Will there be golf?”
“How old will I look?”
“Will we know each other?”
Or one of my favorite comments,
“When I get to heaven, I am going to ask God, (or maybe the Apostle Paul) why….
Most of the questions, we can’t respond to, they aren’t dealt with in the passages that describe heaven, like 1 Corinthians 2:9 – which says it is beyond our ability, or the passages in the Book of Revelation, where it talks its perfection.
Jesus describes eternal life here though, in this passage, in a way that is simple and clear.
3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.
Eternal life is simply knowing the Father and the Son, to be in a relationship with them, to dwell in their presence, to dwell in their glory. This is what it is, this relationship with God that is described here eight times in these verses, that we are His!
I think that deserves a Alleluia! Or if we translate that – a “Praise the Lord” or in Mandarin (teach English speakers to say it J )
Eight times as Jesus prays we are described as being God’s, either the Father’s or that we’ve been given to Christ by the Father!
- Keep His Revelation
We are God’s people, that has been the plan since before the foundation of the world, it is what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and it is there that we are united to His death, and to His resurrection.
We see that relationship described in verse 6 as well, as we are described,
6 “I have revealed you* to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
We are described here in a way that is incredible. We have kept the Father’s word,
“Kept His word.” Some translations in English translate this as obey, as if God’s word is simply about obeying the Ten Commandments, checking each one off, one by one. The words go deeper than that – the word for kept is to guard, to observe, to value and treasure and protect. In English it goes back to the most secure place in the community, the castle keep, where you put all of your treasure. TO keep something was to secure it, to guard it with every ounce of your strength, for it is precious.
It is the same word as in verse 11, where Jesus asks the Father to protect us by the power of His Name. The word for word is rhema in Greek – God’s declaration, God’s official statement regarding the issue.
In this context, I think of the word, as that which we find in Moses writings, and in the prophets, the statement that God makes to us.
“You will be My people, and I will be your God” or “You will be My people, for I AM your God”.
That is a declaration of God that should be at the core of who we are, for it completely defines who we are.
We are His!
And that is worth treasuring, not just with “a” Alleluia, or a Praise the Lord, but a life filled with praises, a life glorifying Him, as we live in complete awe of His love for us!
- Keep/protect Us
I mentioned before, that the word translated as “kept” was also seen in verse 11 as “protect”, when Jesus prays,
11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name;* now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.
This word, keep/protect, brings up the last point of our message, our reason to celebrate today. The power of God seen in our lives again, as God protects us, as God guards us, protects us with the full power of His name.
That is something to have confidence in, to be in awe of, and to contemplate. That God cares about us so much, that we are protected and His treasured people. That He would take the time to cleanse us of sin, to deliver us from the bondages of that sin, and of Satan, that He would free us of our anxiety and fear of death, for we know we have life eternal.
It is from this place of security, this place of peace, this walking with Christ daily that holiness and unity flows.
We are one, not because of our work, nor are we holy because we decided to be holy. We find our unity, our eternal life, in God, in His making us His people.
All because God the Father send Jesus to us, to claim us for we are His.
For jesus Christ was born of Mary, was crucified, died and Alleluia! He is risen! (let them answer) and therefore ( We are risen indeed.)
Hear it as Paul wrote to the churches in Colossae,
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT)
So treasure the eternal life you’ve been given, know the blessings of God revealing that you are His children, His people, and be confident, that you are kept in Christ and we are one in Him! To sum it up,
He is Risen, and therefore We are His!
What Does the Rich and Satisfying Life in Christ Look Like?
Alleluia! He is Risen! And Therefore
We are a community that perseveres
Acts 2:42-47
In Jesus Name!
The grace, mercy and peace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ shall build here His family, His community, as we serve in love. AMEN!
The Purpose of God Revealed
As we travel these weeks of Easter with those who lived in and witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we see the will of God revealed to His people, and we see the will of God revealed in His people.
The message is repeated over and over, as a friend says, “we preach the same thing every week, we just use different words.” Or in the case of our reading from the Acts of the Apostles this morning, we see those words describing a picture of God’s people, those He gathered.
The church pictured there is incredible, not because it has the best people, or is the biggest. It is a church that shows the effect of their Resurrection, not just in their words, but in their deeds.
A church with the same purpose as Jesus revealed His purpose to be. A church where the will of the Father is lived out in view of mankind. They become a picture of what Jesus prophesied about in the gospel, when He said,
“My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
A life portrayed in Acts 2, a life portrayed here in our lives, if we take time enough to look.
A life lived, because Jesus is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!) and therefore (We have Risen with Him! Alleluia!
So let’s look at what this abundant, rich and satisfying life looks like, compared to life lived outside of Christ, life lived without the resurrection.
The Before
Mere hours before the Crucifixion, we see a tiny picture of the world in one room. There are people there, arguing about who is most important to the group after Christ. Another one thinks his holiness is sufficient that he doesn’t need the Lord Jesus to cleanse him, or minister to him. He will later deny Christ, just like the rest. Another is ready to betray one he loves, a betrayal so severe that it will wreaks havoc not only with the relationship, but it will end his life, ashamed and desperate for the guilt that overwhelms him. By the end of the evening, all relationships will be broken and shattered as promises fail, as they abandon Jesus.
Sin seemed to reign over them, even in the midst of the very first Communion service. Even in the presence of God, as Jesus was there, washing their feet, teaching, breaking the bread, giving them the cup.
It was life, well life that was neither rich, nor satisfying, if we think about it.
It was a life that needed something…
Just like our lives, when they are lived outside of Christ need something. For the broken relationships we see at the last supper, and in the garden are what we encounter in our lives. Sometimes the arguments, the superior attitudes, the betrayals and denials, the shame and the grief are all we see in our lives.
The After
Less than two months later, the same group gathers, the men from the upper room now leading a group of thousands, but a group that is so radically different, than you know something has happened.
For it is true, Praise God, He has Risen! (He has Risen indeed) and therefore…. ( We have Risen with Him! Alleluia!)
How else can you describe a group that acts like these people do, when 50 days before they were acting like jerks?
Look at the change described in verses 44, look at how they loved each other…
44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people.
That seems like a pretty incredible group – worshipping together daily, sharing in the Lord’s Supper, not just in church together, but in each other’s homes. They even helped each other financially, the word there for need was “in debt”. They shared in meals, they shared in each other’s lives, they shared in everything….
This wasn’t because of being commanded to, it was a matter of desire, of volition, it’s what happens to people when they become part of God’s family.
They could, because when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, they were raised from the dead with Him.
Just as we have risen with Him, alleluia? O come on – that means to praise God, not just too sort of compliment him. We have risen with Christ! Alleluia!
How?
Living in Christ, our lives focused on Him, walking with Him, is where this transformation happens. It is the reason we do the things in verse 42, for in each of these we encounter Christ, we learn of His love. Which is why they were devoted to it, together, Let’s look…
That’s what the apostles’ teaching, or as older translations put it, “the apostles’ doctrine” is all about. The fact that Christ was born of Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, died, rose, ascended and will judge the quick and the dead. Those words sound familiar, because that is our Creed – it is what we believe. It is what the apostles handed down to us. And so they were devoted to this together, because Jesus had given them the words of life.
They devoted themselves as well to fellowship, to being a community together, not just to being a bunch of individuals who each looked after #1. How well this shows the work of the Holy Spirit in them! How it testifies to the love of Jesus working in their lives. It is who they are in Christ, It is who we are!
They shared in meals, especially the Lord’s Supper! The purest, most basic form of fellowship, sharing in the blessings of God as we take and eat, and take and drink the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus. For in this meal, in the simplicity, we come to know the blessings of God, we begin to understand that He died on the cross for each one of us. We begin to know the depth of His love! The intimate relationship that God has called us into, which is seen in communion, is one that we are called into together. The church devoted itself to this practice, as have we.
The picture of God reconciling us to Himself that in the sacraments is so clear! These sacred times of baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and private Confession and Absolution/ Cleansing. We remember our baptism daily, Luther reminds us, and we commune frequently, for there are many among us who need this blessing.. indeed we all need it. Finally, who of us doesn’t need to hear the words, “your sins are forgiven, by the authority of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!”
How precious is this grace of God given us, in the Apostles teaching in scripture and the sacraments! Because they communicate to us that He is Risen! And therefore….
The last thing they engaged in, as Christ engages them, is prayer. The laying of all burdens down before God, of knowing and trusting in God so that we keep nothing back. That is why Phillip Melanchthon, one of Luther’s most gifted friends and students includes prayer among the sacraments in the Apology of the Augsburg confession, saying,
16 Ultimately, if we should list as sacraments all the things that have God’s command and a promise added to them, then why not prayer, which can most truly be called a sacrament? It has both the command of God and many promises. If it were placed among the sacraments and thus given, so to speak, a more exalted position, this would move men to pray.
Praying together, knowing those burdens are taken, that we can release them to Him and that He will provide us peace, the life that is complete and rich and satisfying. A life in which that peace of God is ours, our hearts and minds secured in that peace by Jesus Christ. AMEN?
He is Risen! therefore We Recognize the Lord!
Alleluia! He is Risen! And Therefore
We Recognize the Lord!
Luke 24:13-25
May you become more aware of the grace of God that is yours, the love and mercy revealed in Christ Jesus!
Why didn’t He Reveal Himself Sooner?
Two men, walking down the road together, trying to get home for dinner.
Distraught, emotions all over the place as they try to make sense of Jesus’s death. Emotionally drained, they desperately need rest.
Even as Jesus begins to walk with them, He will comment about the deep discussion they are having, which leads me to one question.
Why does He wait so long to reveal Himself to them? Why?
Or is there a lesson for us, in how Jesus ministers to these men, who are crushed and broken
including perhaps, realizing how God ministers to us?
Our Struggle to Hear God!
It seems sometimes, like everyone has gone, or is going through a walk like these men.
You don’t even have to hear their voices, to hear the stress, the anxiety, the despair as they speak.
The Man they thought was the answer not to just their dreams, but the dreams of a nation. The Messiah, the long awaited anointed one of God, who was to deliver them to change their lives, to fix everything, from their economy to their families.
They had the kind of dreams that we see in one of those California Lottery commercials, as the winner dreams of the new yacht, the chaffered limousine, the mansion up on the hill with the heliport.
Except, the odds of Jesus being the Messiah were about a trillion to one better than the lottery. You see, as they informed “undercover Jesus”, they had based their hopes on the fact that Jesus had done miracles, and had talked with great authority. That He was a leader, confirmed not only by people, but by God himself. Blind could see, people who never walked, completely healed, those who had been dead, raised to life. Even the Samaritans and Gentiles knew hope because of Jesus. It had to be him.
They knew that Jesus spoke for God.
Then, they killed him.
If that isn’t a reason to put your trust in Him, to look for Him to fulfil the promises that were so well known, the promises they heard about in their synagogues ever Sabbath all their lives…
Those hopes, those expectations, everything they know about the Messiah, were crushed. Everything they had hoped for, taken away in a few hours on Friday…
So why didn’t Jesus relieve their suffering, calm their storm by simply revealing His presence?
Yet God hid himself, even though they saw Jesus, they didn’t know Him….
Who Are These Two That Hear the Whole Story?
Beyond that question, I have another question about these two men, walking so defeated, so overwhelmed on the road to Emmaus. Why them? Why do they get to hear Jesus explain they entire Old Testament?
Shouldn’t it be Matthew or John? They will be writing the Gospels…
Shouldn’t it be Peter and James? Why aren’t the leaders of the apostles
Why Cleopas and some guy we don’t even know the name of?
Why did Jesus choose to minister to these two? Having chosen them, why didn’t He reveal Himself sooner? Why did Jesus deliver to them a lecture about the Old Testament, instead of simply revealing Himself so that their pain would cease?
The Story Reveals
When we hear, that over several hours as they walk, Jesus explained that everything from the first five books of the Bible that Moses wrote, through all of the prophets, we have to hear the conclusion that is drawn. Look there in verse 27, the things concerning Him. Jesus explains that the Bible is all about Him. That is what it reveals, or rather, who it reveals.
In this way the Lord shows us the proper method of interpreting Moses and all the prophets. He teaches us that Moses points and refers to Christ in all his stories and illustrations. His purpose is to show that Christ is the point at the center of a circle, with all eyes inside the circle focused on Him. Whoever turns his eyes on Him finds his proper place in the circle of which Christ is the center. All the stories of Holy Writ, if viewed aright, point to Christ.
What these men needed to know, was that Christ’s death was from the beginning, the plan. Jesus had to suffer, Jesus explains, it needed to be done. Over and over that was the plan revealed in the Old Testament. The word of God, the Old Testament Covenant promises, the Old Testament pictures of Christ like Isaac on the altar, the sacrificial system, the picture of the tabernacle and the temple and the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea….
They needed Jesus to be revealed to them, and He was. Not the way we would expect at first. Rather, they learned that God had planned, from before the foundation of the world, to have Christ suffer and die. It was necessary, it wasn’t a detour, but the very way in which we are saved. They needed to understand this, so that they understand the depth of the love of God for His people.
Jesus taught them, He revealed Himself to them, without revealing Himself to them.
They couldn’t let Jesus leave. Not that they realized there was one revelation left that had to happen to them.
He Reveals Himself
That is where the most miraculous moment for these two men, and for all of us like them occurs.
Thanks is given, bread is broken, and even as they lose sight of Jesus, yet they finally know Him.
They realize He is with them, and all of the hopes and all of the blessings come flooding back. These men, moments before, weary, tired and broken, know Him in the breaking of the bread. The presence of Jesus overwhelms them, even as it gives them the strength to climb back up the mountain to return to the apostles. We aren’t talking about a hike from here to the Towne Center – we are talking about walking from here to Disneyland – if Disneyland was uphill.
Why didn’t Jesus reveal himself earlier?
I don’t know. What I do know is that when He did reveal himself, it was the perfect time, they had heard, they knew of His love. They got it, and their life was forever changed. Even as they confirm what the others had seen, had known, what matters in that moment, was Jesus appearing, and how they recognized him in the breaking of the bread.
for us.
Why don’t we see God all the time? Why do we have to walk these roads, knowing the despair? Knowing the pain, and wondering, “where is God in all of this?”
I don’t know. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt He is here, with His people. But I don’t know why sometimes we walk that same road, not hearing the testimony of those we would normally trust.
I do know that we have all the same promises that God will redeem His people. We can know Christ through the pictures of Him that are drawn all over the Old Testament, We can hear all the prophecies and know that God has never, and will never abandon His people. We know He walks with us, even if we aren’t always aware of His presence.
We can recognize His presence, here and now, even in the breaking of the bread.
Knowing those promises, that God will use even what was planned for evil for good, that nothing can separate us from Him, that all will work for good, and that He will complete the work He began in us, we taste and see He is good. Our eyes are opened to His presence. We are 21 days out from Easter, yet the season continues. We know He is Risen – just as we have learned this has been His plan…. But because He is risen, we can recognize Him, we can know Him, and rest assured of His love and work that we shall know His peace, even now throughout all eternity.
A peace that goes beyond our understanding – but guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. AMEN?
AMEN!
Why I Can’t Wait For Sundays (and Wednesday Nights)
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day:
15 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, LORD. 16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness. 17 You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong. 18 Yes, our protection comes from the LORD, and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king. Psalm 89:15-18 (NLT)
“In the periods expressly reserved for this rendezvous with our Lord, the heart is broadened, the will is strengthened, the mind, helped by grace, fills the world of human reality with supernatural content. The results come in the form of clear, practical resolutions to improve your conduct, to deal more charitably with all men, to spare no efforts—like good athletes—in this Christian struggle of love and peace. Prayer then becomes continuous, like the beating of our heart, like our pulse. Without this presence of God, there is no contemplative life. And without contemplative life, our working for Christ is worth very little, for vain is the builder’s toil if the house is not of the Lord’s building. (1).
It is Monday morning, a morning that is filled with groans, with near despair. We return to our work, our normal daily life. We leave behind, or so we think, what philosophers call the sacred, and we are forced to embrace the profane, the secular, the world.
I write that sentence and I am already tired, discouraged, weary, waiting for the time when the people that are my brothers and sisters in Christ will gather, when I will hear their voices praising God, and yes pleading with Him. Crying out in awe at His love, and crying out “Lord, Have mercy!”, as they give him that which causes anxiety, that which causes heartbreak, that which pains them. As they come before the altar and I am able to give them something tangible, a treasure beyond any belief. As they take the bread, His body broken for them, as they drink the wine, His blood shed for the forgiveness of sin, there is a visible manifestation of relief, of joy, of peace that floods over them. Their body language changes dramatically, it is amazing.
I long for those moments, and for the times we spend in scripture together, asking the tough questions. Not tough questions as in the doctrines that we study in seminaries, amonst academics and theologians. The questions of why God allows evil, or pain or illness. Or the questions about how do I love that neighbor/coworker/family member who said “that”, or always acts like a jackass. The questions of living daily, as children of God. THe questions that haunt them at night. ( I don’t know anyone who spends all night contemplating the “communication of magisterial attributes” or even the how the Trinity’s interaction can be explained – okay maybe one or two ….) But to deal with them, to struggle through them, to realize that the answer is sometimes simply greater than we can comprehend, but God is still in charge….
I long for these Sundays, and Wednesday Nights ( and every other thursday, and the tuesday once a month where our area pastors gather together)
Yet if it wasn’t for the roughly 160-164 hours a week I am not being gathered with other believers…there would be a hole in my life as well. I wouldn’t understand how the God we are gathered to praise sustains us, even at the point where our endurance is measured by inches. Yes, I long for those moments of God revealing Himself among us, sustaining us, holding us.
I need the time where we aren’t gathered, it stretches my faith (which like working out isn’t always “fun”) but is necessary. I need to see the impact of our gatherings on us when the chips are down, when the road seems lonely, where the world threatens… for there our trust in God is forged, where it is tempered, where we find out He is as He promised, He is present, merciful, forgiving, loving……ours.
There is a relationship between our times, our appointments with God and HIs people, and the peace we have in the world. I love how St Josemaria says it, this time of strengthening, this time of our heart be broadened. These words resonate so deeply, it is these times, that remind us of the presence of God, that “synchronize” our lives with the breath of God, that remind us of the cleansing work of God, of how He is crafting us together, as His people, as a masterpiece of incomparable worth……
And these short hours, they do something more, they infect the rest of our lives, as we realize more and more His presence….
How I long to celebrate that with those that God gathers together here… for while this world is not our home…the church, the people of God that are gathered in His name… yeah – that is home.
Have a great Monday, knowing God is with you… and soon, we shall sing His praises together!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). Christ is Passing By (Kindle Locations 550-556). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Rejocing During Lent? Inconcievable? Not at All!
Devotional THought of the Day:
25 Then David and the elders of Israel and the generals of the army went to the house of Obed-edom to bring the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant up to Jerusalem with a great celebration. 26 And because God was clearly helping the Levites as they carried the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who carried the Ark, and also the singers, and Kenaniah the choir leader. David was also wearing a priestly garment. 28 So all Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant with shouts of joy, the blowing of rams’ horns and trumpets, the crashing of cymbals, and loud playing on harps and lyres. 29 But as the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David skipping about and laughing with joy, she was filled with contempt for him. 1 Chronicles 15:25-29 (NLT)
16 “To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends, 17 ‘We played wedding songs, and you didn’t dance, so we played funeral songs, and you didn’t mourn.’ Matthew 11:16-17 (NLT)
1 Don’t let your life be sterile. Be useful. Blaze a trail. Shine forth with the light of your faith and of your love. With your apostolic life wipe out the slimy and filthy mark left by the impure sowers of hatred. And light up all the ways of the earth with the fire of Christ that you carry in your heart. (1)
Tonight my church will gather to celebrate the love of God. Perhaps it is more accurate to say God will gather them, for that too is part of the celebration.
We are in the beginning days of Lent, just a week ago we celebrated Ash Wednesday, with a service that…could only be called a celebration. It wasn’t just that we had a much larger group than is our pattern. It was the idea that people gathered, and with reverent smiles they were marked with ashes, knowing that this reminder of their sin, which grieves them, would be accompanied by another trip forward, to receive the Body and Blood of Christ, proof that God wouldn’t leave them in ashes, that they would not be left in the dust.
That’s something to rejoice in, that’s something to celebrate, and even…like King David, dance over.
Yes, like Isiah, we are people who sturggle with sin, (and sometmies struggle is a strong word) , who live in a world that more and more rejoices in sin. This is indeed something we should grieve over, it is something that we should never be callous about either. Christ grieved and wept as He looked over Jeruslaem, the prophets wept as they reminded Isarel of what would be the consequences of their sin, especially their abandoning their relationship with God in order to choose idols of their own making. Even so, Jesus went on to the cross, to do something about that grief, just as the prophets would foretell not just of doom and judgment, but of the glory of Christ incarnation, death and resurrection, and what it means.
So to, our journey of Lent, the remorse and grief we find as we review our lives, is tempered by the glory of God. The shear joy of realizing that we will soon be in Holy Week, Good Friday, Easter Sunday! The joy of knowing that our grief has been dealt with, our expectation of God’s promises have been fulfilled. This is also a season of expectation, a season of hope that is guaranteed by the presence of the Holy Spirit! How can we not be excited y the promise, and knowing it is fulfilled in Christ.
And so each service is a mini-lent to easter celebration, from the death of sin, to the resurrection to life in Christ, celebrated as we feast together at the altar (and on Wednesday nights, at the table)
Rejioce? How can I not, when the glory of God is present, when His people are gathered together, when He gives us life and shares with us His mercy, His peace, His love?
As we walk through lent, even as the priests and David walked with God toward the Holy CIty, let us rejoice in His glory. As well, may the light of His glory draw all to Him.
AMEN.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 171-173). Scepter Publishe(1rs. Kindle Edition.
A Day filled with memories… yet that word…brings to mind
Devotional thought, late in the day:
23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NLT)
I started this morning by heading out to visit my mother. Along the way, I stopped for breakfast a a place I worked during college. Five years or so ago, they remodelled it. I guess the did recently, restory the walls tables and dining counter. It was like being at home, after a long time ago. (the hostess figured out how long ago… nice girl reminding me how old I am!)
On the way, I stopped at my dad’s gravesite, or more exactly, the National Cemetary columbarium – the wall in which his ashes are now kept. The picture here is of his plaque.
Then my mom and I shared quite a few memories over lunch, which in and of itself brought other memories. Dad’s been gone 4 months tomorrow, and yet… it doesn’t seem like its been that long.
Then one of the first songs I leared on the guitar, (gulp 42 years ago) came on among the music they played in the restaurant. Thoughts of the catholic brother who taught me came to mind. Then, I looked up at the television hanging off the ceiling behind my mom, and there was a game at Pepperdine, where i worked for most of the 1990’s. Without a doubt, that University is fhe finest place I’ve worked for, and watching basketball games in the fieldhouse there was always great. In the 14 years since i’ve left, I haven’t seen them on television once, yet this day, on a television in a restaurant some 100 miles from the campus, in a retirement town, there they are?
Then came the news, a reminder that 20 years ago, (while I was at Pepperdine) we suffered the Northridge Earthquake. At the time, Kay and I were living in this cute i bedroom apartment. Memories of seeing the carpent and linoleum ripped in half – the early morning spent on Topanga Blvd with 600 other victims. We would not live in that place again, save for a night without water, electricity, etc, when they said it was safe – only to wake up the next morning with signs we had to rip through, telling us the building was again red tagged and you weren’t allowed to enter. (nice of them to let us know when they made the decision sometime around midnight!)
Memories abound,,, some are good… some are… well, let’s just say some are. They mean something because of the time we invested, the people we knew.
One of the things that really comes alive in Lutheran theology is the understanding of remembering and the sacraments. Luther’s words about starting and ending each day remembering that you are baptised are often repeated, not because of the act itself, but because of the promises given to us,
Even more, the passage above is precious, for it is more than just memories – it is the process of re-living the moment, of our minds dwelling on and in the moment. All of those memories of past times are very important, but this time with Christ, with comprehending with heart and soul as well as mind – that He is with us, that His love meant dieing for us, and bringing us through that death so that we will live with Him….
There are memories, then there is doing this…
May it be ever more than a distant memory….May it be our lives, lived in communion with Him. AMEN
Choose Life, Be a Disciple, Show Kindness to….
I Appeal to You… Show Kindness to….
Philemon 1-21
Hagia Sophia ; Empress Zoë mosaic : Christ Pantocrator; Istanbul, Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As you learn of the grace of God our Father, the love and mercy poured out with the blood of Christ… may you show the same kindness towards those who also don’t deserve it…and find the glory therein…
The Appeal…
In each of the readings this morning, there is a challenge, a request of the people of God to choose to continue to be the people of God. To commit themselves into God’s hands, into His care…to be His disciples.
Moses asks them to choose life, to choose to embrace the God who delivered them from Egypt, and to love Him and treasure His commands.
Jesus will ask us to be true disciples, to set everything else in life aside, and love life that knows the cost of walking with Him, and chooses to do so, knowing the price.
I think both of those challenges are one’s we need to, as a church, answer this morning. But the challenge in Philemon takes it from being a theological issue, to being downright personal. It will question our heart, our devotion to Christ, the very core of our faith. We will be challenged to minister with great love and patience, to those who’ve betrayed us…to those who have, and who can hurt us.
In other words – discipleship means trusting in Christ when it hurts…and when it terrifies us…
And as Paul challenged Philemon, I quote those words to you….”I appeal to you, show kindness to….(fill In the blank)” Only you know the name that goes there….. The phrase means to come alongside and render aid and support. It is the very word of the Holy Spirit.
Like Paul wrote – this isn’t a matter of command, but a matter of love… Christ’s love.
The Problem of Pain….
This would be an easy task, except for the problem of pain and the anxiety it causes. None of us, once hurt, can easily choose to risk that pain again. Even if we no it is what we should do, we cannot bring ourselves to, we struggle to embrace what we know is right and good, because it will hurt, and maybe hurt worse. Between the pain and the anxiety we can almost become paralyzed, and we need others encouragement, others to minister to us.
Because what Paul called Philemon to do, what Jesus calls us to do, is risky, and we are not sure of whether the risk is worth it. After all – what kind of heroes does God think we are?
The anxiety gets worse, when we realize that others are watching – and what we do might be criticized for the precedent that we set – or we will be judged as fools. Philemon was supposed to make Onesimus a example – branding him, beating him, even killing him. Revenge and an example to others were supposed to be poured out in great wrath. Paul asks Philemon not just to put aside the pain of the betrayal and the theft, but the continued questioning and judgment of the community.
It’s going to take a church to pull around Philemon and His wife. Archippus the pastor will need to build a consensus…and get the church to pull around Philemon and His wife, should they attempt this…
Even then, can Paul or God really expect us to put away our pain? To trust this much? To Risk this all? Does God really know what He is asking Paul to ask Philemon? Does God really mean for us to hear this and act likewise?
The Road of Discipleship
That’s the challenge of discipleship, where being a living sacrifice, where bearing one’s cross is an incredible challenge. Where some people will walk away…and think they can wait for another day.
But those days, spent living in resentment, in building up anger, in not dealing with the problem, that isn’t really living either. Living in the fear, and the anxiety and pain…even re-living the betrayals…
Paul sees the ability, sees Philemon trying to be the man God would desire him to be, and knows this next step is critical – even more for Philemon than it is for Onesmus.
For Paul has been in Onesimus place… he saw the awe and joy in the face of those who he had betrayed. It was the first thing he saw… as a new believer.
What Paul experienced….
Remember, Paul was tasked with arresting and persecuting and killing those who were followers of Jesus. Luke records the story in chapter 9 of Acts, where Paul is blinded by his encounter with Christ and His glory – and Annanias is tasked with being the one to come to Paul and minister to him. He too doubted, here are his words,
11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. 12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.” 13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! 14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.” 15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” Acts 9:11-16 (NLT)
As Ananias prays for Saul/Paul, Paul is healed – and will begin to preach, and the people are amazed at the power of God to transform someone. Despite the Old Testament being chock full of such stories, they never seem to lose their power. The one written off, given the freedom of forgiveness from those they threatened and betrayed, are changed. How Ananias’s faith in God’s work must have soared! How the people who trusted in Christ rejoiced!
You want to see God’s power at work? Trust in Him enough to free those indebted to you, believe in His promises, delivered in word and sacrament to forgive those who trespass against you.
Hear God’s appeal to love your neighbor, hear Paul’s encouragement to Philemon to not just not punish Onesimus, but to free him from all debt, to set him free from both the civil law that condemns and the spiritual debt of sin which utterly condemns.
but How?
I am asking each of us, me included, to do that which the world would shake their heads at… that they would count us as idiots, suckers and worse. On God’s behalf…
“I appeal to you, show kindness to… “ Show love and mercy.
And here is how… realize that you are being prayed for – and pray for those around you, ask God’s help for you and others, as we go to God for the strength to do this.
Remember Paul’s words early in this letter,
I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good (things) we have in Christ.
That is the key, fully coming to know the grace of Christ we have had poured over us. The forgiveness and mercy and love and peace poured over us when we are baptized, nourishing us as we feast with Him together as the people of God. The transformation, literally the metamorphosis that is occurring within us, as we spend time with Jesus, exploring His righteousness, His love, demonstrated in Christ Jesus.
It’s then, as He is at work in us, that the joy of knowing His powerful love, strengthens us to do these very things. Focusing on His work – on the One who loved enough to die on the cross – for people who betrayed Him, who will betray Him again… to know that is us.. and yet He loves and forgives..
To hear. I appeal to you… show kindness to…
And we can… knowing His kindness..knowing His love… His unsurpassable peace in which He guards us…we learn to love as Philemon did. AMEN
Vacation?
26 If (one) part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy. 27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it. 1 Corinthians 12:26-27 (NAB)
I am sitting here, after driving 10 plus hours (somehow getting through Soledad took more time than taking the 91-405-101 during morning drive-but that is another blog)
I am beginning to rest, the camper is all set up….and I finally think back to our church services yesterday. I think about our Taiwanese congregation, who are in those challenging days where they are looking for their new pastor….I think about the guests we had in our multi-cultural service, friends of friends. I think of our people suffering through cancer, through depression, through work issues and family issues. Sunday was my 5th anniversary with these people…we have been through the ringer…and have come out all the more dependent upon God’s love and mercy!
It was a little strange as so many of my friends, my parishoners said that I needed some rest that I needed to get away…. as if it was them that I needed to escape from! Be assured…we will get physical rest. But spiritual rest for me comes as we sing together, as we praise the God who brought us together, the God who is with us. When we witness God working through each other, even those whom those who don’t know God’s love and mercy would consider the weakest. Especially them, for they are the most amazing to watch God work through! Watching the people of God trust in Him…watching that trust grow and build…it does a pastor’s heart good!
The verse above perhaps explains my rambling a bit better. We are the people of God. We belong to Him, and therefore are bonded to each other. Distance can’t separate us.. lack of cell phone service or internet…( bahahahaha,,,,the campground has wonderful wireless!) can’t separate us. We’ve dined together with God.
There is nothing better….
Now to go and rest… knowing my people are in God’s hands…for that is not just my desire…it is His!
And my dear people at Concordia know this…above all….The Lord is with them! ( And also with me!)
And also…with you.
Related articles
- Some thoughts on Church Leadership. EC XVI (justifiedandsinner.com)
A Most Precious Gift….to receive often..
15 I assume I’m addressing believers now who are mature. Draw your own conclusions: 16 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? 17 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. 1 Corinthians 10:15-17 (MSG)
828 Have you ever thought how you would prepare yourself to receive Our Lord if you could go to Communion only once in your life? We must be thankful to God that he makes it so easy for us to come to him: but we should show our gratitude by preparing ourselves very well to receive him. (1)
Question: Who, then, receives such a sacrament in a worthy way? Answer: Of course, fasting and other physical preparations are excellent disciplines for the body. But anyone who believes these words, “Given for you,” and “Shed for you to forgive sins,” is really worthy and well prepared. But whoever doubts or does not believe these words is not worthy and is unprepared, because the words, “for you” demand a heart that fully believes. (2)
For it is just this incomprehensible overflowing of God’s goodness, showered upon us through Christ, that moves us above all to love him most ardently in return, to be drawn to him with fullest confidence, and, despising all else, be ready to suffer all things for him. Wherefore this sacrament is rightly called “a fountain of love.(3)
English: The Lord’s Supper. Christ standing at an Orthodox altar, giving the Eucharist to the Twelve Apostles. Frescoes in the upper church of Spaso-Preobrazhenski cathedral. Valaam Monastery Русский: Алтарная апсида верхнего храма Спасо-Преображенского собора Валаамского монастыря. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
ing normal, not special, reduced in its meaning. And so we celebrated it once a month, or even worse, once a quarter.
I would later be told that it was the devotion given prior to celebrating the Lord’s Supper that would stop this from happening. THe weight of preparing those devotions then became crushing, as we believed that what we said could diminish this precious gift of God.
Luther and Escriva both knew well the miraculous nature of the Lord’s Supper, the incredible blessing of communing with Christ, of His giving Himself to us. The treasure of that moment, stilled in time, where life gets its proper perspective, where our eating and drinking aren’t just about our physical bodies needing nourishment, and its not about just our spiritual nature getting a ” holiness booster shot.” It is about us, and Him, every part of us, all of Him, being united in a way that has been planned from before the foundation of the world. It is the feast that is now – and not yet, – a full sampling of our eternity, a full revelation of the relationship of God and His people.
We see it even in the Old Testament, this feast of the covenant, this meal of God’s love and mercy;
9 Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain again. 10 There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. 11 And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence! Exodus 24:9-11 (NLT)
God’s plan, a most precious gift, that isn’t about the strength that we do draw from it, nor is it about the transformation that occurs to us, as we live in the presence of God. it is about the relationship that He has created, the blessing that He wants us at His table. Though we do not deserve it in our eyes, or in the world’s. Yet it is for this reason that Christ dwelt among us and died, and rose, and gave us this way to know Him and His love.
So do not fail to gather together with others who know and trust in God’s love, feast together, know He is with you… as you take and eat His body, as you drink His blood. Taste and see the goodness of God.
AMEN
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2940-2942). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Luther’s Small Catechism: Developed and Explained.
(3) Luther, M. (1999). Luther’s works, vol. 36: Word and Sacrament II. (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald, & H. T. Lehmann, Eds.) (Vol. 36, p. 46). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
Related articles
- Luther on Frequency of Eucharist (talkingdonkey.wordpress.com)
- Why I don’t hate “religion”, because it is His One, holy, catholic/christian and apostolic church (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Would you like a better life? (justifiedandsinner.com)
