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Look! There He is!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
Agnus Dei
Lamb of God
Son of God
You take away our sin
Lamb of God
Son of God
You take away our sin
Grant us peace! Grant us peace!
Grant us peace! Grant us your peace!
Your peace
In a little less than an hour, those words , so familiar to Lutheran deacons, will be reintroduced to them with a new melody, as they kick off the afternoon session of their annual continuing ed conference.
They are the words we sing – after the words of institution, after the the passing of the peace, as we re-focus, and think about the Lord, and about His supper, and about why we find this feast to be The Feast.
When I got to my present church, this was when the pastor and the elders communed – while everyone else sang. Now, we wait till after to sing, because I need the time to realize His presence, to examine myself and realize my incredible need for that presence, to comfort, to heal, to make me aware of His love, His mercy, His peace. To welcome me to the feast where He is the host (and the double meaning of that word intended)
But I would advise you, to do the same – to take that time before communion, to stop and consider….
There He is! There is the Lamb of God, the very one John the Baptist pointed out to His disciples. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world…. So let our cries go out to Him. Lord – grant us peace, grant us your peace!!!!!
And as we leave every burden at the rail… as He takes them from us…may we walk away with a smile that betrays the fact that because He has invited us there…. we do know His peace.
Look – there He is… the Lamb of God… for you!
And so may you voice with Simeon – as you take and drink, as you receive His gift…
Nunc Dimittis
O Lord now let your servants depart in heavenly peace
For we have seen the great salvation of Christ our Lord
For-told by the prophets
fulfilled for all to see
A light unto the nations
and Israel’s glory
All glory to the Father
All glory to the Son
All glory to the Spirit
The Great God Three in One
As it was in the beginning
Is now and shall ever be
Amen! Amen! Amen!
For you are His…forever!
Lamb (Photo credit: freefotouk)
God and Man Sat Down!
The Last Supper, by Bouveret, 19th century. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
God and Man Sat Down!
Luke 13:22-30
Rejoice! God has desired to invite you to feast with Him! This is what it means to have had the grace, that love and mercy and peace poured out on you by the Father, through Jesus Christ.
† Jesus, Son and Savior †
A Great Example of Leadership
I would not dare to call him a friend, nor did I know him enough to consider him a mentor, but what he did one day has stuck with me for a long time. It was my last day at Pepperdine, and as was the pattern there, there was a going away party, sort of a reception in the afternoon.
Friends from all over campus would drop in for a few moments here and there, a couple like my two bosses and my assistant manager stayed for most of the afternoon. The surprise was the man I mentioned a moment ago. The President of the University, Dr. Davenport made it a point to come – and stayed a significant time. He talked to me about the church I was going to pastor full-time. He talked about his own time as a pastor. He talked about the projects I had worked on for him, some really fun projects when I was the manager of the bookstore.
It was my last day, and there was nothing for him to gain from going to a going away party for a simple manager. Yet he did. He sat down and spent time with me. He sat down with me… and we feasted together. There was a sense that I was valued, and even as I was leaving, I was still part of the family. I was a valued part of the community, and worth a couple hours of a the man’s life.
There is something about sitting down with others… and sharing lives as we feast together…
As I read this passage, I thought of eating with David Davenport, and some other meals I’ve had with people, and if those can be some of the most special times in our lives, how much more will be when we feast in the Kingdom of God!
Would we find the Door closed?
When I get together pastors and deacons and other church leaders, one of the usual questions I get is, “how do you handle when people show up late to church?” We raen’t talking about people that are 2-3 minutes late, some churches have people that can be 20-25 minutes late. If they are a church where attendance is close to the capacity of the building, the answer is simple – if you show up late – you sit with the elders up front!
One Pastor I know has a 8:55 service – and then the service really starts at 9. Occasionally a pastor or elder thinks of today’s gospel – and thinks about simply locking the doors at 30 seconds after church officially starts.
Jesus talks about a day like that, when the Kingdom of God’s door is closed. However He’s not talking just about a church service. He’s talking about eternity.
I remember back when I was the night manager at a fast-food restaurant. We closed at midnight – and we always had people who drove in the drive through after the car we designated as “the last car”. They would then have to wait in line with others in front of and behind them. Invariably this would lead to someone banging on the window and yelling at us to open up or they would call the corporate offices and complain.
imagine how they will be on judgment day!
The Greek here is harsh – for people will present their logic, arguing that they belong in heave. “We once ate and drank and listened to your teaching!” As Jesus pictures them pounding on the doors of heaven.
Jesus simple response seems harsh, “I don’t know you, I don’t even know you exist! Go away!” No, it doesn’t just seem harsh – it is harsh. So harsh that I think we avoid talking about it, because the idea of God not keeping the door open, means that there will be people who will not be in heaven. Some of those people we know – and some of them we love…deeply. Would God act this way towards them? Really?
All that hell, fire, brimstone, gnashing of teeth and crying will really happen.
People will say God – we had it made with you. We did stuff. We listened to pastor sometimes. We’ve sung the hymns, we sung the praise songs, and even chanted. We had Bibles in our home… we can’t remember where they are.. But we had some!
As one pastor once said, it’s not about just being in a church, for that doesn’t make you a Christian any more than being in McDonald’s means you’re a French fry.
In the end, it’s not a joke. We are either in a relationship with God – either Jesus knows we are His, or we are on the outside when it matters.
A Little – but well used door!!!
The beginning of this conversation started when a man asked him about whether there would be many saved – or only a few. We’ll talk about that in Bible Study, for I think this was asked by someone who thought he would be standing outside, a Samaritan in one of the towns he was passing through.
The discussion centers on being saved. I am not even sure the man who asked that knew what he was asking about, except that he knew the Messiah was supposed to save them.
Jesus talked to him in a way we might find a bit confusing – he talked about him trying his hardest to enter the narrow door – and we might hear that as we need to work to be saved. The focus isn’t on the work, but the right door.
Not the easy ways, as in those that seem to allow you the greatest freedom, that allow you to bring your sin and false gods and such with you. I think that’s where the “try your hardest”, or in Greek “agonize over” entering the narrow door.
In other words – go through Christ! Stop trying to save yourself and rely on God, who has promised to do so. It’s not about how many will be saved, or who deserves to be saved. It’s about the struggle to trust God for what He has promised, to see the open door and realize that you belong with Him.
The door is narrow though, because Christ has to cleanse us from sins and idols and burdens that don’t belong in the presence of God. You do… but all that junk… it does not.
Everything else will fail you. Everything else has, so stop focusing on those things, given them up – and look to the Jesus – who has already guaranteed your salvation! Who has already guaranteed your place at the feast!
This is about knowing Christ, knowing His love and His work in our lives to know the value of the cross, to know the value of water and word in Baptism, to cherish His presence in our lives. To know God’s love, and to adore Him for it, and realize that He is our life.
We come to the feast from all over!
That is why Jesus brings up the great gathering of the nations in this reading. That people will come from every direction, from every place on earth, and will enter heaven through Him. Why those who would rather try to live life their own way, without God will see them streaming by them like a river of humanity, entering into God the Father’s presence through Christ.
Coming to take a place at the feast! Coming to be welcomed in the Kingdom of God, coming from every continent – even as we have (save Australia and Antarctica) Welcomed as we are welcome around this altar, where we will indeed feast with God.
Will only a few be saved?
That’s not the concern Jesus expresses to the man, nor the concern we have. Will we be saved? Will those we love find themselves in the Kingdom, reclining at table with Jesus?
Or will we and they be the ones banging on the door, trying to get into a place that was open for us?
We do not do altar calls here, the kind where you have to do something to become a Christian, where you have to prove your confession.
We do invite you, on God’s behalf, to this altar though, but for a different reason. Not to be saved – but to take you place in His kingdom, at His feast. Trusting His promise, that He is saving you, that He has saved you, we will rise, praising Him, we’ll leave behind our burdens as we give them to Him in prayer, and rejoicing in His love, we will come and take our place with God at table, for He has set the table, and He welcomes you home.
His home – a kingdom of unbelievable peace, where our hearts and minds are safe – as Christ keeps us secure in His love.
AMEN?
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)
The Lord’s Supper: A Tangible Invasion of My Darkness…
Christ Washing the Feet of the Apostles by Meister des Hausbuches, 1475 (Gemäldegalerie, Berlin). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Devotional thought of the day….
I’m GOD’s favorite. He made me king of the mountain.” Then you looked the other way and I fell to pieces. Psalm 30:7 (MSG)
As I look at this verse, part of the passage I will discuss in this week’s sermon, I think it well describes the life of a Believer.
I think about Elijah, and the drastic change from the man on Mt Carmel, to the man buried in self-pity in a cave a month’s journey away.
Peter comes to mind – at one moment hearing that the words of his mouth was a revelation directly from the Father, to the next, his pride turned to disgrace as the same mouth is confronted as being the adversary to God. Never mind the night of the last supper, as he goes from correction regarding the foot washing, to the glory of being there for the first celebration of the Lord’s Supper, to the failure to stay awake and pray, to the absolute pit of despair as He hears a rooster crow…and realizes how he has failed again… and denied the Messiah, the Savior.
It’s my life – the moments were I am so sure of God’s presence – with which I get to passively participate, to the moments that I question my ability to stand in His presence, because I am confronted with my own failures, my own thoughts and desires, my own sin. I tell you, there are days I wonder if there are any good caves on the market – (suitably furnished with wi-fi and a refrigerator stocked with Diet Coke with lime and some good cotto salami and cheese) Seriously, there is so much darkness in the world, and in my own life, that I wonder what headway is being made. I wonder if there is anything that will help people… and if I can help them, by God’s mercy, i have some proof of God’s work in my life.
Maybe our lives our like jig-saw puzzles – and it seems when I see the beautiful scene that God has designed coming into focus, someone comes along and tosses all the pieces back in the box.
I know my road may not be as dark as some, and perhaps not as many pieces are thrown in the box (just as I know others who try to comfort themselves with the same thoughts), yet there are times in life where it falls apart, or my mind tries to cope with all the stuff that is flying around me. It doesn’t matter whether it is my own issues, or those of those I count as my family (which includes family, friends, fellow believers that I work with, and well the people on FB that I correspond with often) Our pains aren’t individualized ( Romans 12:15-16) we share them – and the burdens can add up. And when we realize we don’t see God, everything falls apart…. breaks up,… our anxieties build, and..
It is dealing with such things – that I’ve come, more and more, to appreciate the Lord’s Supper, the feast were we Commune with God, what we call the Eucharist, or the Sacrament of the Altar. A piece of bread, a sip of wine, these things we eat and drink, that tangibly invade my darkness, my place where I am broken, among people who are broken….
For the bread and wine aren’t just empty carbs, they are the Body and Blood of Christ, in and under that bread and wine. He is present, tangibly, His holiness, His mercy, His love.
That which is broken, He’s come to repair, that which is hurt, is healed, the pieces are picked up, the tears are dried off, the cold darkness replaced by His warmth and life and …..glory. Yes – by His glory.
For He is here…. comforting us and causing us to realize in that moment, that He always was… He will always will be.
Some have talked about how the Lord’s Supper is something that recharges them, that lifts them up… I think the reason why is simple – it calls us to interact with God in a… well,,. supernatural, divine way. A way that reminds us of the transformation, the very work of Christ in our lives. It calls us to remember the promises, the mercy – but most of all – it recenters us on His presence……
May we always treasure this celebration, and give thanks and praise to the One who is our gift, our grace.
Related articles
- Need Hope? No Answers? Come Experience Jesus, Have Hope! (evangelical catholic VI) (justifiedandsinner.com)
Realizing and Revealing the Lord is With You, assuring You of His Presence!
Realizing and Revealing…
The Lord is With Us
Assuring us of His Presence!
Judges 6:33-4:1
† IHS †
May you be so blessed as God reveals His presence in the journey of your life, that you find your journey so full of mercy and peace, that His presence in revealed to others.
Gideon’s Fleece Overlooked
Have you ever watched a favorite movie, or read a favorite book, and come across a scene that you did not remember? A part of the plot that made the scene, that was critical for really comprehending the entire story.
Where we walk with Gideon tonight, as he realizes the presence of God is really, really with him, is a story familiar to many of us, even if we don’t remember who Gideon was, or where in the Bible this story is found. Because this is where we get the phrase about “putting a fleece before the Lord”.
It’s where we get the concept of asking God to make clear which way we are to go, which road we are to take, if this is really God’s plan for our lives.
And if that is the concept we have, we are going to see a missing piece to the story tonight. One that will correct our understanding a little, and in the end, bring us even more comfort, as we realize His presence in our lives, and how He saves people, rescuing them from what oppresses and binds them, revealing how He loves and provides for His people.
Gideon was Enveloped/Clothed/Came Upon
When we left Gideon last week, he had desecrated and destroyed an idol that had kept the people of God in bondage. He started, with God’s guidance, the rescue that the people of God had cried out for, even in their unbelief, even in the midst of their rebellion. This had a tremendous impact on God’s people, even to the point that Gideon’s father, who once was proud of hosting the idol’s altar, challenged the idolatry publicly, defending his son.
The battle to rescue God’s people tonight shifts, as now the battle goes from spiritual to physical. Side question to consider sometime – why do we find the physical battles in life more “serious” or more “threatening” than the spiritual battle?
In order to take on the physical – and I love how the New American Bible phrases this – the Holy Spirit envelops Gideon – other translations use clothe, or comes over, the picture is wrapping around for protection and warmth. Gideon’s walk with God takes on a new dimension, a new vocation; he is called to be one who speaks for God, who leads God’s people, while God rescues them.
It is the same kind of language that describes our Baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit given to us then. We are clothed with Christ, the Holy Spirit comes upon us as is talked about in Acts and we are sealed in the Holy Spirit in Ephesians.
Gideon wanted confirmation… of God’s presence
He got it… and went..
Even as Gideon begins to live within what we would call the life of the baptized, he, like us, still struggles with the idea that God would dwell with Him that the Holy Spirit would continue to be there. Perhaps like Paul he struggles with the things he wants to do, but does not and the things he knows He should not do, but does.
That is why Gideon needs to have confirmation, to know not only that God is with Him, but also that God is with Him in this particular journey, in this mission to save God’s people. He needs to know, even as he looks at the life of Israel, that God isn’t giving up on them, that this is really God’s intent.
It would be as if we were to send out a missionary to Cambodia – or wait an even more challenging place – Washington D.C. to save all the people there, wouldn’t the one chosen to go really want to know God’s desire – that God really desires to save them? Are you really serious God – do you really want to save these people of Cerritos and Artesia, La Palma and Whittier and Bellflower? That you want to use people like us?
Lord, do you still want to keep your promise?
Do you still love them? Do you still love us?
The lambskin was treated as it needed to be, to become proof of God’s love, of His presence of God’s will. Proof to assure Gideon of the promise. Just as another Lamb, the very Lamb of God became proof of God’s love, as God prepared to send those apostles out. even as He sends us out. As we go out, to neighborhoods, to offices, to workplaces, in response to people crying out to be rescued, to be loved, to see that which enslaves defeated…
That they would come to know that which we know… even as we celebrate the presence among us of the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world… and grants us peace.
AMEN?m
Time to Go Home…& the Eucharist…
Devotional/discussion thought of the Day:
It’s been too many days away…. even though the men I am with on this retreat are fun loving guys, and there is a great sense of camaraderie among them, it is not the same as being home with my wife and son, and my congregation. I have confidence in the vicar preaching there this morning, ( as I do in the other vicar and deacon extending the ministry this morning) but there is something about being there.
I can’t wait to get home. I can’t wait to get back to my people. (and out of the range of the country western stuff I was subjected to all week)
As i long for that, I think about the Lord’s Supper, the Communion feast of God and His people, the Eucharist.
It is, more than anything, the place I know I am home. It is where we belong, very consciously aware of the presence of God, the awe found in His presence, which rips our sin, our idols, our anxieties away.
I have to admit a bit of jealousy of my Catholic brothers in ministry, who don’t wait a week in between celebrating this feast, this homecoming, this little glimpse of the joy of heaven, this peace which crushes all else.
It’s time for going home… it’s time for the family to dine, the host to bless us, even as He thanks the Father for the cross that made this feast possible.
I love how St. Josemarie Escriva put it, “As he was giving out Holy Communion that priest felt like shouting out: this is Happiness I am giving to you!” (1)
This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, happy are those who are called to His Supper,
Lord, we are not worthy to receive, but only say the words……and we are healed….
For we are home, with God.
(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1105-1106). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The journey is too great for you… arise and eat…
Is our Journey too great? Arise, Take and Eat
I Kings 19:1-8
† In Jesus Name †
As we journey toward the day when all are gathered around our Father’s throne, may we know the mercy and peace that comes from hearing His voice call to us and say,
Arise and eat…
Not the answer I want to hear!
But it is the one I need to hear!
Tired,
Alone.
Exhausted.
Hunted,
Barely sleeping on the hard ground, as he hides under a tree with spikes for branches..
He’s at the end of his rope, a little while prior to hearing the angel’s voice, he had been praying that God would bring it all to an end, that God would take his life.
Not just because he’s had it, but also because he realizes that he’s not up to the challenge, he’s as weak as those who have gone before him.
“Enough is enough!” he cried….
And now, prodded and poked awake by the Angel of the Lord, the messenger of God, he hears the answer to his cry.. the answer he didn’t want to hear.
“the journey is too great for you….”
At first look, that is NOT the answer to my plea that I want to hear, as I try to go on in this life. It’s not the answer I want to hear as I see the trauma of life around me, even as I look back to the blessed victories.
“the journey is too great for you…”
It may not be what we want to hear, even as I am sure Elijah would much rather have heard – “You can do it!”. Instead, we hear with him,
“the journey is too great for you…”
And though we may not want to hear it, it is the exact answer we need to hear…
The Journey is long
Even after victories
Anxiety kicks in… why?
We even can abandon those God sent to lift us up…
We can even cry out as Elijah did..
In Elijah’s life, we see how fast things can change. He barely had taken in the incredible victory over those who would lead God’s people deeper into sin, when his world falls apart. Ahab and 450 prophets of Ba’al were little challenge, as the god they made in their own image was proven non-existent, Elijah even mocked them, suggesting their “god” was on vacation, or maybe using the bathroom. That event ends with people praising God, the living God. Good times, a revival moments away..
One victory is not the journey, and as high as that mountain top experience was, it all seems to come crashing down, as Jezebel’s demonic oath unsettles him, as he realizes he needs some rest, and the desire for rest is changed by anxiety into a desire to run and hide. As his praises and awe of God’s work in his life changes into pleas and despair, as he wonders how will he survive this time.
Well, not really, he doesn’t wonder, for if his words tell us that he doesn’t want to survive. He wants God to come and collect him, to claim his life. He is so dogged by this anxiety, this sense of failure, that he abandons the young man he mentors, whom he trains to trust God in everything!
Don’t we do that sometimes as well? The very people God would have us mentor in life, those whom God sent to life us up, we unload on them, or worse, we abandon them, as we go and find some place to be miserable. What is worse, we do it to God as well, instead of seeking His rest, His comfort, we just want to give up.
We might even cry out Maranatha – the Greek for Come Lord Jesus! Return NOW…. Not because we are desiring to be in heaven, but because we are so tired of this life, so weary of all that challenge us.
I am not just talking about temper tantrums here, but those points in life, where life just doesn’t make any sense anymore. Where exhausted, we crash wherever we think it will be safe for the moment.
How do we go on in such times? It seems like I am asked that more and more..
Then we hear the voice of God agreeing that the journey is indeed… to much!
How do we go on?
We rest, we arise, we eat that which is provided…and healed by God, we find we walk in His strength. sustained by that bread He has provided.
We aren’t alone
The Angel is the Angel of the Lord
He to whom we Journey, is on the Journey with us
He’s honest with us
But He provides what we need for strength.. in a meal which sustains us til we reach
You see in these tough times we need to realize that, we can’t lose God’s presence, nor are we hidden from those He sends to minister to us, and the Spirit that has taken up residence in us, in our baptism.
As the Angel ministers to Elijah, it is good to remember that we talk about this specific Angel, who bears the title “the Angel of the Lord”, as being God himself. All sorts of great theological discussion on this, but what matters here, more than that, is that we realize we aren’t on the journey of our lives alone, any more than Elijah was alone.
That’s a good thing – because, as the Angel of the Lord points out – with point blank honesty, “the journey is too much for you!”
No matter how strong our pride is, on our own, we aren’t strong enough to overcome in this life. That pride, which says we can do it on our own, is simply our struggle with sin. We do not like to depend on anyone, even God. Yet our journey is one we cannot manage alone, and when we try, we end up rolled under a bush somewhere, with God poking us awake, reminding us that He can and does provide for us.
We don’t need to be strong enough on our own, we don’t have to run ourselves into the ground, to the point where we think that we’ve had enough. But even when we reach that point, we aren’t alone. He is with us. And…
He provides the rest we need.
He provides the strength we need…
He provides that which sustains us, the bread of life, the living water, a feast that sustains us throughout our entire period of suffering, our entire period of pain…
He’s here.
Cleansing us
Healing us…
Sustaining us, when we are too weak to go on.
Feeding us, that which will restore in us life, not just “barely surviving life” but the life which is rich and abundant…
He nourishes us with His Body, and with His Blood, even as He nourished Elijah with the bread that was brought to Him.
Arise, take and eat… the journey is to long for you… without my presence, without me. But I will lift you up, I will strengthen you – the entire family of God.
As we were united with Christ in our baptism, as the cleansing of water and word brought us life together, so to that community is seen on our journey, as we celebrate the feast of Christ, the feast that is a prophecy, an inkling of the feast to come.
The Body and Blood of Christ, broken and shed for you! It is indeed so rich a blessing! It gives life to road weary bones. As we celebrate and feast, as we rest in a peace that assures us that we will complete this journey, not on our own strength, but in Christ, dwelling secure in His peace.
That is what makes this place, this time special, sacred. The people of God being ministered too by God. A God who knows when we face such challenges, when we are weary, when the journey is too long. He comes to us, causes us to rest – feeds us that we may be strengthened, and go on, not weary, but in His strength.
So my weary friends, in a moment it’s time to rise and eat, as we prepare to continue our journey with Him
Maybe it is me, but this year so far is a wearying one… one which too often we try to do things in our own strength, and yes to make the journey alone.
It is time for that to end, not just for us, but for those out there who are weary, as broken, as in need of a poke from God, as in need to hear those words,
The journey is too great for you… arise and eat…
As you do, may this bread, this very body of Christ, nourish and sustain you, as you confidently continue in this journey of life, knowing that until we have all joined the angels and archangels, and the entire company of heaven, we journey sustained by Christ, dwelling in His peace. AMEN
The Communion-Community of Christ
Discussion/Devotional Thought of the Day:
“544 The Communion of the Saints. How shall I explain it to you? You know what blood transfusions can do for the body? Well, that’s what the Communion of the Saints does for the soul.” Escriva, Josemaria. The Way
As a pastor, one of the things I do is to bring the Lord’s Supper to those who cannot make it to church, to those too weak or sick, to those who were once quite active, but now are counted as shut-ins. In doing so, the discussion always includes their asking about how things are going at church, it never fails to astound me, how concerned they are for their brothers and sisters in Christ. Often they talk of their desire to get well, to gain strength, just so they can once again commune in the sanctuary, with their friends, the people they love, with whom they have walked through their lives, even if they only knew the people at church for a small while.
We are on their hearts and minds.. and in bringing communion to them, they are reminded that they are part of the community. It is bittersweet, for they realize they are part of the community that Christ has established.
How I wish we were in the future, and we had transporter units like in Star Trek. Then we could beam them into the sanctuary, and fulfill a desire that they would have. (It would also be cool if upon “reassenbly” their ills and pains and weaknesses could be quarantined and separated from them!
St Escriva’s words hit home a lot today, as I consider one of the people I visit, who I can’t anymore. I know how much visiting him meant to me, how in many ways it was like the transfusion spoke of in this quote. Yet in bringing him communion, he two received a transfusion I am learning. The very life of the church was shared, the life we share in every time we gather and we eat together and drink together. For sharing in the Lord’s Table, kneeling at the Altar together is a community, thing, just as our life as Christ’s body is a community thing.
It is tragic that we don’t comprehend this blessing we have in sharing in the feast of Christ – that we would relegate it to less important than other things we do, that we place limits on its time, both the time we spend preparing for it, and the time we spend celebrating it. That we reduce the precious words to a formula, a incantation, rather than savor them, listen intently, and hear and absorb them. It is tragic that the gathering of God’s people is an afterthought in many lives.
As a pastor, I am partially responsible. If you know not why a priest, or a pastor, could describe the gathering of God’s people together around His sacrament as a spiritual transfusion, we haven’t done our job as those who proclaim the world well enough. If we haven’t taught you to treasure this incredible time, we have, in large part failed. If we don’t keep you in prayer, and help your prepare for this incredible gift, then perhaps we need to reconsider what our job is, to preach the word in its fullness, and to administer the sacrament – that those who are broken can encounter His healing, His mercy His presence.
Keep us, all the pastors and priests – and the deacons and elders and worship leaders who stand alongisde us, ready to serve, to minister to you… in your prayers. That we would feed you so richly that your heart would long for the next gathering the next time His people gather around His word, and His table.
“Lord Have Mercy!” we cry, and as we kneel and take and eat… and drink of the Blood shed that sins would be forgiven, we realize how much He has had the mercy we pray for!
