The past couple of weeks, we mentioned wisdom as a prayer that God will always answer. Last week we identified the Holy Spirit as the source of wisdom.
The Holy Spirit is a promised gift. Peter lays out for us how we received Jesus’ promised gift. After preaching what is perhaps the most perfect sermon, Peter tells those who have been convicted by the preaching and by seeing God’s mighty acts through the apostles to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. The results of baptism and repentance are the forgiveness of sins and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Peter says, “You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” not “you might receive the Spirit.” It’s a given. In fact, Peter goes on to say that this is such a sure gift, that it’s not just for the people present, but for their children, for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Him. That means us. We are ones far away. We are ones whom God has called. As Charles Spurgeon says, “if you have repented of having done wrong because you see that you have sinned against your loving Lord, and if you come to Him repenting and believing, and confess Him as he bids you confess Him in baptism; then you have full remission, and you shall be partakers of the gifts and graces of his Holy Spirit, and henceforth you shall be chosen witnesses for the Christ whom God hath raised from the dead.”
Calvin defines repentance as a person renouncing self and “taking his farewell of the world, then addicting oneself wholly to God.” Repentance is continual, not so much because we have to start over and over, but so that we can continue moving forward. Professor Matt Skinner of Luther Theological Seminary adds, “The resurrection and ascension of Jesus require from ignorant humanity a new understanding of who he is and an embrace of his authority to exercise God's rule within creation.” This new understanding is repentance.
The Spirit marks us as sons of God; thus in Romans 8, He is called the Spirit of Adoption. The Spirit is the seal of our salvation; thus the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Life and the Spirit of Grace. What has been a sign that the Spirit is working in your life? For some it is overflowing joy; for others it is an overwhelming awareness of God’s love. For some it is a dramatically transformed life or liberation from the bondage of a particular sin or consequence of the Fall. For some it is illumination—actually understanding Scripture perhaps for the first time or in a new way. This is why the Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth. For others it is awareness of one’s spiritual gift and the ability to operate out of that gift; for others the ability to live the way that God intends. The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Holiness. The Holy Spirit does all of this and more. The Spirit reveals the Godhead to us; He is the Spirit of Glory. The Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know how to pray; the Spirit is called the Spirit of Supplications.
There is an interesting thing that happens in the grammar in verse 38-39. The call to repentance and baptism is in the singular. In other words, Peter is saying that each individual is called to repent and be baptized to receive forgiveness of sins. But the promise, “You will receive the Holy Spirit,” is in the plural. In other words, the Spirit is given to the community of which an individual is called to be a part. The Holy Spirit is not a power to be used for our own. He is the power we do not have to live. We can do no good apart from the Spirit. We can bear no fruit apart from the Spirit. He empowers the community through individuals. And part of the given work of the Spirit is to make us witnesses to the risen Christ. It is the Spirit Himself who makes us Christian. Without the Spirit, we do not belong to Christ. The Spirit marks us as Christ’s own. It is the Spirit who baptizes us into Christ’s Body. The Holy Spirit separates us from the world and unifies us in the sure hope of an eternal inheritance. It is only as each of us lets the Spirit come to expression in word and deed as a member of the body that the body grows towards the maturity of Christ.
The Holy Spirit has been given to us. No gift of the Spirit is lacking in this body. The Spirit has equipped us fully to do what God is calling us to do. It’s just a matter of whether we are submitting ourselves to His power and His plan. Are we aligning ourselves with His gift, or are we quenching the Holy Spirit? Are we still trying to do things on our own? Sometimes we attend church to keep what we've got and add a little more. We disregard anything in worship that challenges us to cast aside our self-interest and shift our loyalties. Make us feel good the way we are! Patch us up so we can return to the life we've chosen! Perhaps this is why what occurs in Acts 2 doesn't happen in our churches. But it could! The promise and person of the Spirit has been given to us. God has equipped us fully and completely.
The Spirit is analogous to the wind for good reason. The Spirit will not be tied down to definitions or conventions or institutions or formulae that we dream up. The Spirit is free. The Spirit can be unpredictable. We don’t own the Spirit, the Spirit owns us or “possesses” us. We are possessed by the Holy Spirit. But the Spirit is good. If we are willing to surrender to that power, we will experience the freedom that Spirit offers. In being bound to the Spirit, we become truly free to be all that God intended for us to be. Just as we are promised that if we pray for wisdom, God will grant it, we are exhorted in Scripture to be filled with the Holy Spirit. God also loves to do this! Although we have received the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit never leaves us, we can quench the Spirit. If we refuse to submit to the Spirit, the Spirit in humility does not always force us to comply with God’s right to ownership of us. But if we desire to be filled with the Spirit, and led by the Spirit, then God is happy to fill us and lead us.
May we live as Spirit-filled people of God.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Wait on the Lord--Acts 1
“Patience is a virture. Possess it if you can.
It’s seldom found in women, and never found in a man.”
I learned that little rhyme in 8th grade. I can’t remember what it came from, but it was in some piece of literature. It’s not quite true, but it IS hard to be patient. Americans don’t like to wait. We search for the shortest line in the grocery store. We complain that fast food isn’t fast enough. We instant message because email takes to long. We text because it takes too long to write out whole sentences. We speed because 55 is too slow.
I hate the time it takes for my computer to boot up. I think it’s too slow. I can scrub half a bathroom while I’m waiting. I can’t stand to watch regular tv anymore because I’ve gone so long without it. I hate having to put up with commercials. It’s hard to be patient. This impatience has contributed to our sense of entitlement. Delayed gratification means little in today’s American life. This is part of what fueled our recent economic troubles. Everyone was buying on credit, because we want it now. We don’t want to save up until we actually have enough money to buy what we want because the reality is, we might never save up! But the fake money comes to an end at some point, as we have seen.
We aren’t the only ones who have difficulty waiting. It seems the disciples were too. From the Ascension to Pentecost was just 10 days, but the disciples were impatient. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they had been clothed with power from on high, until they received the promise Holy Spirit. They did well at first. They went back to Jerusalem. They devoted themselves to prayer, because waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing. To wait upon the Lord is to continue in what He has shown you until He shows you something different.
But Peter starts to get antsy. Judas has committed suicide, and Peter thinks it’s time that Judas was replaced. He uses Scripture to justify his opinion. He suggests 2 very capable, well-qualified men to take Judas’s place. Both of these men, Joseph Barsabbas, aka Justus, and Matthias had been with Jesus and the apostles from the time that Jesus was baptized by John and even witnessed the ascension. They were probably among the 70 that had been sent out. They were faithful. Then it says that the gathered believers, 120 minus the women, because Peter only addresses the men at this point, prayed that the Lord would show them which of these men was to be ordained apostle. This prayer seems rather perfunctory. Again it’s something we’re guilty of. We have a session meeting today. The Book of Order says that every session meeting is to begin and end with prayer, as well they should. But too often prayer becomes an agenda item to check off instead of a time to really listen and align ourselves with the Holy Spirit. Or grace before meals. It can become the same kind of thing, or the Lord’s prayer, or bedtime prayers. Paul, however, will reinforce later in I Corinthians chapter 2 that wisdom comes not through persuasion but from the Spirit and that one receives that wisdom of the Holy Spirit as one waits upon the Lord. In verse I Cor. 2:9 Paul quotes Isaiah 64:4, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard and have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” Isaiah originally said, “For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear; neither has the eye seen a God besides You, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.” Paul uses the strongest verb for love—agapao—that unconditional, God-given love, and equates it with waiting on God or longing for God. Now it’s not like the disciples didn’t love God, nor that we don’t love God when we are impatient, but we show our deepest love for God when we wait for His wisdom and direction.
Now I know Scripture is abbreviated. Luke can’t give us every detail of every thing that happened. He doesn’t say if they waited hours or days for the Lord’s answer. Regardless of how long they waited, it wasn’t the duration that Jesus had commanded. They had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit. Does it mean that they didn’t wait long enough to receive an answer from the Spirit? I don’t know. Certainly the Holy Spirit has been at work all along. The Spirit worked all through the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. The Spirit was in the business of endowing wisdom long before Pentecost, so maybe they did really receive the Spirit’s answer.
And to receive that answer, they cast lots to see which one was God’s pick. Notice that they didn’t hold an election and vote. They really wanted to know the Lord’s will. They appealed to Jesus who knows all men’s hearts. But again, they asked God to bless their actions instead of waiting on God’s timing. And again, it’s something we too are guilty of. “God, show me what you want me to do,” and then go through our own forms of divination—lists, charts, coin flipping, getting our friends opinions, etc. To the apostles’ credit, casting lots was sanctioned by the rabbis as a legitimate form of decision making. It was used by the priests beginning all the way back with Aaron. In Leviticus 16 when God gives the process for observing the Day of Atonement, God says, “Aaron shall take 2 goats and set them before Yahweh at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats—one lot for Yahweh, and the other for Azael or the scapegoat,” which would be sent out into the wilderness.
These are God’s words. He told Aaron to cast lots. It seems like the apostles did the right thing after all. Yet, this is the last time that decisions were made by casting lots by the apostles. This type of activity isn’t recorded in Scripture beyond this incident. The apostles aren’t doing anything obviously wrong or sinful. In the same way, the things we do seem right when we have to make a choice. Sometimes our friends advice can help us see things from a new perspective. Sometimes lists and charts help us to organize our thoughts. But sometimes, God just wants us to wait. Luke himself in recording this incident makes no judgment as to whether or not these were appropriate or inappropriate actions.
Although Jesus personally chooses Saul to be an apostle, Paul never counts himself as one of the twelve; rather Paul compares himself with the twelve. And Paul is clear about his own calling, which was apostle to the Gentiles. And once James, son of Zebedee, one of the inner 3, brother of John, and the first of the 12 to be martyred dies, he is not replaced. James, brother of our Lord, becomes the head of the church at Jerusalem, but he is not considered as being on of the 12. Matthias is never again mentioned by name in Scripture. However, according to the early church father Clement of Alexandria, Matthias went on to serve Christ and teach as an apostle. Whether or not Matthias was rightly ordained apostle by men, he was a follower of Jesus and God used Matthias and served through Matthias, just as God does with anyone who surrenders to Him. And he was indeed counted an apostle. Look at Acts 2:14, “Peter, standing up with the eleven.” Matthias is counted as one of the 11. He too is filled with Spirit on Pentecost and speaks in tongues. Acts 6:2, again this is before Saul’s conversion, “The 12 called together the whole community to elect deacons.” Matthias is considered one of the 12. Perhaps his is one of the names on the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem. There were far more than 12 apostles in all, but clearly he is considered one of the 12 by the early Christians. Did Peter and the apostles rightly go about filling Judas’s slot or not? Our text doesn’t say or even imply one way or the other. That which seems to be impatience may not have been. We do know that God blessed it anyway, and that God’s will was ultimately accomplished. In reality this text really says more about God’s grace and mercy than about right and wrong ways to make decisions. Remember that this is the Lord who knows the hearts of all people.
In the same way, God is gracious enough to work through even our hastily, impatiently made decisions, working all things out for good—that good being conforming us to Christ. God blesses our perfunctory prayers. God works through our charts, friends, and even coin flips. God is the knower of our hearts as well. One of my favorite songs by Christopher Williams is called “Never Wrong.” Christopher uses the metaphor and imagery of being lost on a dark, back road, trying to get home with people telling him go this way, no go that way. The chorus says, “Am I lost soul? Do You watch me where I go? Is there something I don’t know? Am I right where I belong? Maybe these mistakes are never wrong!” He comes to the realization that he’s really not in control anyway, and if he surrenders the control he thinks he has, then it’s “never wrong”. He says in the bridge, “I’d rather not know where I’m going, and trust that You will show the way.” Seek the Spirit’s wisdom, and wait upon the Lord, and you will never be wrong.
Question: Do you think the disciples were right in choosing Matthias? Does being “right” matter?
It’s seldom found in women, and never found in a man.”
I learned that little rhyme in 8th grade. I can’t remember what it came from, but it was in some piece of literature. It’s not quite true, but it IS hard to be patient. Americans don’t like to wait. We search for the shortest line in the grocery store. We complain that fast food isn’t fast enough. We instant message because email takes to long. We text because it takes too long to write out whole sentences. We speed because 55 is too slow.
I hate the time it takes for my computer to boot up. I think it’s too slow. I can scrub half a bathroom while I’m waiting. I can’t stand to watch regular tv anymore because I’ve gone so long without it. I hate having to put up with commercials. It’s hard to be patient. This impatience has contributed to our sense of entitlement. Delayed gratification means little in today’s American life. This is part of what fueled our recent economic troubles. Everyone was buying on credit, because we want it now. We don’t want to save up until we actually have enough money to buy what we want because the reality is, we might never save up! But the fake money comes to an end at some point, as we have seen.
We aren’t the only ones who have difficulty waiting. It seems the disciples were too. From the Ascension to Pentecost was just 10 days, but the disciples were impatient. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they had been clothed with power from on high, until they received the promise Holy Spirit. They did well at first. They went back to Jerusalem. They devoted themselves to prayer, because waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing. To wait upon the Lord is to continue in what He has shown you until He shows you something different.
But Peter starts to get antsy. Judas has committed suicide, and Peter thinks it’s time that Judas was replaced. He uses Scripture to justify his opinion. He suggests 2 very capable, well-qualified men to take Judas’s place. Both of these men, Joseph Barsabbas, aka Justus, and Matthias had been with Jesus and the apostles from the time that Jesus was baptized by John and even witnessed the ascension. They were probably among the 70 that had been sent out. They were faithful. Then it says that the gathered believers, 120 minus the women, because Peter only addresses the men at this point, prayed that the Lord would show them which of these men was to be ordained apostle. This prayer seems rather perfunctory. Again it’s something we’re guilty of. We have a session meeting today. The Book of Order says that every session meeting is to begin and end with prayer, as well they should. But too often prayer becomes an agenda item to check off instead of a time to really listen and align ourselves with the Holy Spirit. Or grace before meals. It can become the same kind of thing, or the Lord’s prayer, or bedtime prayers. Paul, however, will reinforce later in I Corinthians chapter 2 that wisdom comes not through persuasion but from the Spirit and that one receives that wisdom of the Holy Spirit as one waits upon the Lord. In verse I Cor. 2:9 Paul quotes Isaiah 64:4, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard and have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” Isaiah originally said, “For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear; neither has the eye seen a God besides You, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.” Paul uses the strongest verb for love—agapao—that unconditional, God-given love, and equates it with waiting on God or longing for God. Now it’s not like the disciples didn’t love God, nor that we don’t love God when we are impatient, but we show our deepest love for God when we wait for His wisdom and direction.
Now I know Scripture is abbreviated. Luke can’t give us every detail of every thing that happened. He doesn’t say if they waited hours or days for the Lord’s answer. Regardless of how long they waited, it wasn’t the duration that Jesus had commanded. They had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit. Does it mean that they didn’t wait long enough to receive an answer from the Spirit? I don’t know. Certainly the Holy Spirit has been at work all along. The Spirit worked all through the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. The Spirit was in the business of endowing wisdom long before Pentecost, so maybe they did really receive the Spirit’s answer.
And to receive that answer, they cast lots to see which one was God’s pick. Notice that they didn’t hold an election and vote. They really wanted to know the Lord’s will. They appealed to Jesus who knows all men’s hearts. But again, they asked God to bless their actions instead of waiting on God’s timing. And again, it’s something we too are guilty of. “God, show me what you want me to do,” and then go through our own forms of divination—lists, charts, coin flipping, getting our friends opinions, etc. To the apostles’ credit, casting lots was sanctioned by the rabbis as a legitimate form of decision making. It was used by the priests beginning all the way back with Aaron. In Leviticus 16 when God gives the process for observing the Day of Atonement, God says, “Aaron shall take 2 goats and set them before Yahweh at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats—one lot for Yahweh, and the other for Azael or the scapegoat,” which would be sent out into the wilderness.
These are God’s words. He told Aaron to cast lots. It seems like the apostles did the right thing after all. Yet, this is the last time that decisions were made by casting lots by the apostles. This type of activity isn’t recorded in Scripture beyond this incident. The apostles aren’t doing anything obviously wrong or sinful. In the same way, the things we do seem right when we have to make a choice. Sometimes our friends advice can help us see things from a new perspective. Sometimes lists and charts help us to organize our thoughts. But sometimes, God just wants us to wait. Luke himself in recording this incident makes no judgment as to whether or not these were appropriate or inappropriate actions.
Although Jesus personally chooses Saul to be an apostle, Paul never counts himself as one of the twelve; rather Paul compares himself with the twelve. And Paul is clear about his own calling, which was apostle to the Gentiles. And once James, son of Zebedee, one of the inner 3, brother of John, and the first of the 12 to be martyred dies, he is not replaced. James, brother of our Lord, becomes the head of the church at Jerusalem, but he is not considered as being on of the 12. Matthias is never again mentioned by name in Scripture. However, according to the early church father Clement of Alexandria, Matthias went on to serve Christ and teach as an apostle. Whether or not Matthias was rightly ordained apostle by men, he was a follower of Jesus and God used Matthias and served through Matthias, just as God does with anyone who surrenders to Him. And he was indeed counted an apostle. Look at Acts 2:14, “Peter, standing up with the eleven.” Matthias is counted as one of the 11. He too is filled with Spirit on Pentecost and speaks in tongues. Acts 6:2, again this is before Saul’s conversion, “The 12 called together the whole community to elect deacons.” Matthias is considered one of the 12. Perhaps his is one of the names on the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem. There were far more than 12 apostles in all, but clearly he is considered one of the 12 by the early Christians. Did Peter and the apostles rightly go about filling Judas’s slot or not? Our text doesn’t say or even imply one way or the other. That which seems to be impatience may not have been. We do know that God blessed it anyway, and that God’s will was ultimately accomplished. In reality this text really says more about God’s grace and mercy than about right and wrong ways to make decisions. Remember that this is the Lord who knows the hearts of all people.
In the same way, God is gracious enough to work through even our hastily, impatiently made decisions, working all things out for good—that good being conforming us to Christ. God blesses our perfunctory prayers. God works through our charts, friends, and even coin flips. God is the knower of our hearts as well. One of my favorite songs by Christopher Williams is called “Never Wrong.” Christopher uses the metaphor and imagery of being lost on a dark, back road, trying to get home with people telling him go this way, no go that way. The chorus says, “Am I lost soul? Do You watch me where I go? Is there something I don’t know? Am I right where I belong? Maybe these mistakes are never wrong!” He comes to the realization that he’s really not in control anyway, and if he surrenders the control he thinks he has, then it’s “never wrong”. He says in the bridge, “I’d rather not know where I’m going, and trust that You will show the way.” Seek the Spirit’s wisdom, and wait upon the Lord, and you will never be wrong.
Question: Do you think the disciples were right in choosing Matthias? Does being “right” matter?
Monday, March 15, 2010
3 Responses to the Gospel--Luke 8:26-56
One size rarely fits all. I’ve noticed on clothing nowadays they’ve begun to say “one size fits most” or “free size.” The same is true in following Jesus when it comes to sharing our faith with others. Every believer is called share the gospel with others, but we are not all called to share the gospel in the same way with every person. A couple of years ago, we did the Contagious Christian study in which we looked at ourselves and how we relate to others and then looked at a variety of valid ways to share the gospel, some of which we connect to more readily than others, and also learning how others might more readily connect to the good news so that we might best be able to share with those who have ears to hear, and to present the gospel in such a way that it might be heard. We don’t change the components of the gospel—for example, we need to share that Jesus Christ came to save sinful people, that He is the true, living, way, that He died on the cross and rose from the dead, and that all who believe in Him have eternal life. But how we share can vary. Some people are visual—they like drawings or pictures. Some people connect with personal stories. Some are analytical and like to see the Bible for themselves or ask questions. Some people need to be heard before they can hear. People are different even though there is 1 gospel.
For example, I received a letter last week from some missionary friends in Thailand. Thailand is mainly a Buddhist country. You don’t use John 3:16 as a starting point in sharing the gospel in Thailand, because it is totally incomprehensible to that people group. For God—Buddhists don’t believe in God. So loved the world—love is a passion to be controlled, and why would you love the world? The world is to be escaped. That He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him—Buddhists try to be their own savior; vicarious atonement makes no sense in Theravada Buddhism. Might not perish but have everlasting life—Buddhists believe in reincarnation not a place of punishment and why would you want eternal life? In Buddhism the goal is nonexistence.
However, Buddhists might readily connect with today’s first story. Despite the fact they don’t believe in God, they do believe in demons and have had similar experiences with them. They put large demon statues outside of their temples to keep demons away. They would be curious about Someone who has the power to drive away demons and especially that someone being good and loving. When people can make connections, they are willing to hear more.
In today’s reading we have 3 different miracles by Jesus, and Jesus commands the recipients of these miracles to respond in 3 different ways. In every story there is a crowd as well as the recipients of the miracles. In the first story, we have the healing of the demon possessed man. Here Jesus is ministering among Gentile people. While there are differences among manuscripts as to the particular city, the area as a whole was a Gentile area near the Sea of Galilee. This explains why there were people keeping pigs. Jews wouldn’t have done that.
Let’s look first at the crowd’s reaction. The reaction of the crowd was to ask Jesus to leave. They ask Him to leave because of economic loss, but more than that, it is out of fear. We see a similar incident in Acts 16. Paul heals a demon possessed lady in Philippi who was a slave. She was used by her owners as a fortune teller. Once she was healed, she could no longer tell fortunes. Her owners, upset at their economic loss, started a riot saying that Jesus would cause others to lose money and also caused fear because Jesus has power over demons and false gods. The people already knew what the demons could do. Although they cause trouble, they are somewhat predictable, and therefore manageable. It’s a system of tolerance and maintenance. It’s the same pattern we see with people in abusive relationships. The relationship is one of pain and hurt, but the abused respond with tolerance and maintenance. They try to leave, but often go back because the known is somehow safer and more tolerable than the unknown. When you can’t trust what you already know, how can you trust what you don’t know and don’t understand? It’s scary. And Jesus is scary. Jesus is untamable. Jesus cannot be controlled or manipulated, even though some of us are guilty of trying it! And because of Jesus’s power, the people were afraid. Jesus had messed up their status quo. Will you allow Jesus to mess up your status quo? Are there demons that you have gotten comfortable living with even though you know they bring you pain and trouble? What demons are you trying to control? Will you allow Jesus to deliver you from your demons? Remember that Jesus’s Word is powerful enough to confront whatever powers or forces of evil you may encounter.
The man who is freed, clothed and in his right mind, desires to follow Jesus. But Jesus says no. The best way for this man to serve Jesus is not by following Him from town to town. Instead, Jesus tells him to go back to his own town and tell everyone what God had done for him. The man obeys. He goes back and tells everyone what Jesus had done for him. This man understands that Jesus is divine. He equates Jesus with God. Why did Jesus tell the man to go back to his town? I believe Jesus wanted these people to have a correct fear of Him. He didn’t want them to be terrified of trusting Him. If they could see this man’s transformed life, a person whom they had previously feared, although controlled by chaining him up, they might be able to trust someone more powerful whom they don’t understand, but Someone with the power to destroy evil and create good. Jesus might not be understandable, but He can be known. He might be feared, but He is also to be loved. Yes, He is powerful, but His is power that overcomes evil with good. If the man had left with Jesus, the people wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see the changes in his life. They would be left in terror instead of rejoicing in the one whom even the demons must obey.
In the second incident Jesus heals the woman with the issue of blood while on His way to Jairus’s house. This woman was an outsider among her own people because she was perpetually unclean. Anyone who had any dealings with her would have been unclean and had to go through purification rites before being able to worship. This woman would have been barred from worship and fellowship because she could never be considered clean. Why did Jesus make her expose herself after she touched Him? Remember that our faith is personal but not private. Jesus wouldn’t let her be private. He tells her so go in peace and that her faith had made her whole, but He didn’t let her go until she had testified to what had happened. Like the freed man, this woman is called to testify to the crowd. The man is called to go and tell, but this woman is called to tell immediately what the Lord had done for her. Why? If Jesus had let her slip away unnoticed, the people would have not had the responsibility to reach out to her and restore her into the community. Jesus calls her to share both for her sake and for the sake of the crowd. Jesus holds the woman accountable for the part that she has in being restored among her community. The crowd couldn’t respond to an unknown need, but with her testimony, the need for restoration is made evident. Restoration of fellowship is the responsibility of both parties. We are called to be in community with those who profess faith in Christ. Are you neglecting your brother or sister in Christ? How have you been shirking your responsibility to your brothers and sisters in Christ? Are you feeling neglected by the family of faith? What is your part in your own restoration to the community? Is Jesus telling you to let someone know how you feel and voice what you are going through?
Jesus calls us to be restored to one another. This woman was to be an outcast no longer. The crowd knowing that she has been purified is challenged by Jesus to accept her back into their midst. Now that they know she is no longer unclean, they must decide what to do about her. The correct thing is that she shows herself to the priest, goes through purification rites, and rejoins the community with all of the rights and privileges as a member. When we are confronted with the truth, we must respond. We cannot claim ignorance. Truth always demands a response.
In our final story, Jairus’s daughter has died while Jesus was “delayed” by the woman. But Jesus goes to the house, and tells the crowd of mourners who have already gathered that the girl is only asleep. They laugh at Jesus. Jesus calls Peter, James, and John, Jairus and his wife into the room where the girl was. Jesus raises her from the dead, tells her parents to feed her, and also tells them to tell no one what happened. In the previous 2 stories, Jesus called for public declaration from those who had been healed, but now He insists on silence. Why? Lazarus’s resurrection would be public, and Jesus raised the widow’s son publicly. Once again, the crowd has something to do with it. The mourners had already mocked Jesus. They had demonstrated their unbelief. If the parents had told, they would have been mocked as well. Will they encounter this young girl again? Of course. Will they believe that maybe she hadn’t really been dead after all? Perhaps. Will some eventually come to believe? Very possibly. But at this point, they did not have ears to hear. Jesus isn’t forbidding the parents to share their faith. He would never do that. We are always called to share the faith. We are even called to share our faith at the risk of losing our lives. But Jesus is forbidding them to share the experience. It would be as Jesus says elsewhere, “Like casting pearls before swine or giving what is sacred to dogs.” We do not always have to share our precious experiences with others. We do not have expose our intimacies with Jesus with those who are unwilling and unable to accept them. This audience was both. There have been things in my own life—personal encounters with Jesus that I have shared selectively. They are not stories for the masses. To share what is sacred with those who are scorners can cause their hearts to become harder. The precious things can become twisted and misused by those who don’t have ears to hear. While this family was not permitted to speak, they weren’t commanded to relocate and live in secrecy. No, they were to live openly. They were to be part of their community. And in living, they might gain the opportunity to speak later. But this was not the time. We too are called to live our lives openly. We are called to live out our faith and to be ready to answer anyone who questions us about the hope that we have within us. To do that, we must live in a way that our hope is evident.
Believers are called to share their faith. Sometimes we are told to go and tell, sometimes we are called to tell immediately, and sometimes we are told to wait and let people observe our lives before we tell. We must listen and obey those promptings of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel for the salvation of humankind.
For example, I received a letter last week from some missionary friends in Thailand. Thailand is mainly a Buddhist country. You don’t use John 3:16 as a starting point in sharing the gospel in Thailand, because it is totally incomprehensible to that people group. For God—Buddhists don’t believe in God. So loved the world—love is a passion to be controlled, and why would you love the world? The world is to be escaped. That He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him—Buddhists try to be their own savior; vicarious atonement makes no sense in Theravada Buddhism. Might not perish but have everlasting life—Buddhists believe in reincarnation not a place of punishment and why would you want eternal life? In Buddhism the goal is nonexistence.
However, Buddhists might readily connect with today’s first story. Despite the fact they don’t believe in God, they do believe in demons and have had similar experiences with them. They put large demon statues outside of their temples to keep demons away. They would be curious about Someone who has the power to drive away demons and especially that someone being good and loving. When people can make connections, they are willing to hear more.
In today’s reading we have 3 different miracles by Jesus, and Jesus commands the recipients of these miracles to respond in 3 different ways. In every story there is a crowd as well as the recipients of the miracles. In the first story, we have the healing of the demon possessed man. Here Jesus is ministering among Gentile people. While there are differences among manuscripts as to the particular city, the area as a whole was a Gentile area near the Sea of Galilee. This explains why there were people keeping pigs. Jews wouldn’t have done that.
Let’s look first at the crowd’s reaction. The reaction of the crowd was to ask Jesus to leave. They ask Him to leave because of economic loss, but more than that, it is out of fear. We see a similar incident in Acts 16. Paul heals a demon possessed lady in Philippi who was a slave. She was used by her owners as a fortune teller. Once she was healed, she could no longer tell fortunes. Her owners, upset at their economic loss, started a riot saying that Jesus would cause others to lose money and also caused fear because Jesus has power over demons and false gods. The people already knew what the demons could do. Although they cause trouble, they are somewhat predictable, and therefore manageable. It’s a system of tolerance and maintenance. It’s the same pattern we see with people in abusive relationships. The relationship is one of pain and hurt, but the abused respond with tolerance and maintenance. They try to leave, but often go back because the known is somehow safer and more tolerable than the unknown. When you can’t trust what you already know, how can you trust what you don’t know and don’t understand? It’s scary. And Jesus is scary. Jesus is untamable. Jesus cannot be controlled or manipulated, even though some of us are guilty of trying it! And because of Jesus’s power, the people were afraid. Jesus had messed up their status quo. Will you allow Jesus to mess up your status quo? Are there demons that you have gotten comfortable living with even though you know they bring you pain and trouble? What demons are you trying to control? Will you allow Jesus to deliver you from your demons? Remember that Jesus’s Word is powerful enough to confront whatever powers or forces of evil you may encounter.
The man who is freed, clothed and in his right mind, desires to follow Jesus. But Jesus says no. The best way for this man to serve Jesus is not by following Him from town to town. Instead, Jesus tells him to go back to his own town and tell everyone what God had done for him. The man obeys. He goes back and tells everyone what Jesus had done for him. This man understands that Jesus is divine. He equates Jesus with God. Why did Jesus tell the man to go back to his town? I believe Jesus wanted these people to have a correct fear of Him. He didn’t want them to be terrified of trusting Him. If they could see this man’s transformed life, a person whom they had previously feared, although controlled by chaining him up, they might be able to trust someone more powerful whom they don’t understand, but Someone with the power to destroy evil and create good. Jesus might not be understandable, but He can be known. He might be feared, but He is also to be loved. Yes, He is powerful, but His is power that overcomes evil with good. If the man had left with Jesus, the people wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see the changes in his life. They would be left in terror instead of rejoicing in the one whom even the demons must obey.
In the second incident Jesus heals the woman with the issue of blood while on His way to Jairus’s house. This woman was an outsider among her own people because she was perpetually unclean. Anyone who had any dealings with her would have been unclean and had to go through purification rites before being able to worship. This woman would have been barred from worship and fellowship because she could never be considered clean. Why did Jesus make her expose herself after she touched Him? Remember that our faith is personal but not private. Jesus wouldn’t let her be private. He tells her so go in peace and that her faith had made her whole, but He didn’t let her go until she had testified to what had happened. Like the freed man, this woman is called to testify to the crowd. The man is called to go and tell, but this woman is called to tell immediately what the Lord had done for her. Why? If Jesus had let her slip away unnoticed, the people would have not had the responsibility to reach out to her and restore her into the community. Jesus calls her to share both for her sake and for the sake of the crowd. Jesus holds the woman accountable for the part that she has in being restored among her community. The crowd couldn’t respond to an unknown need, but with her testimony, the need for restoration is made evident. Restoration of fellowship is the responsibility of both parties. We are called to be in community with those who profess faith in Christ. Are you neglecting your brother or sister in Christ? How have you been shirking your responsibility to your brothers and sisters in Christ? Are you feeling neglected by the family of faith? What is your part in your own restoration to the community? Is Jesus telling you to let someone know how you feel and voice what you are going through?
Jesus calls us to be restored to one another. This woman was to be an outcast no longer. The crowd knowing that she has been purified is challenged by Jesus to accept her back into their midst. Now that they know she is no longer unclean, they must decide what to do about her. The correct thing is that she shows herself to the priest, goes through purification rites, and rejoins the community with all of the rights and privileges as a member. When we are confronted with the truth, we must respond. We cannot claim ignorance. Truth always demands a response.
In our final story, Jairus’s daughter has died while Jesus was “delayed” by the woman. But Jesus goes to the house, and tells the crowd of mourners who have already gathered that the girl is only asleep. They laugh at Jesus. Jesus calls Peter, James, and John, Jairus and his wife into the room where the girl was. Jesus raises her from the dead, tells her parents to feed her, and also tells them to tell no one what happened. In the previous 2 stories, Jesus called for public declaration from those who had been healed, but now He insists on silence. Why? Lazarus’s resurrection would be public, and Jesus raised the widow’s son publicly. Once again, the crowd has something to do with it. The mourners had already mocked Jesus. They had demonstrated their unbelief. If the parents had told, they would have been mocked as well. Will they encounter this young girl again? Of course. Will they believe that maybe she hadn’t really been dead after all? Perhaps. Will some eventually come to believe? Very possibly. But at this point, they did not have ears to hear. Jesus isn’t forbidding the parents to share their faith. He would never do that. We are always called to share the faith. We are even called to share our faith at the risk of losing our lives. But Jesus is forbidding them to share the experience. It would be as Jesus says elsewhere, “Like casting pearls before swine or giving what is sacred to dogs.” We do not always have to share our precious experiences with others. We do not have expose our intimacies with Jesus with those who are unwilling and unable to accept them. This audience was both. There have been things in my own life—personal encounters with Jesus that I have shared selectively. They are not stories for the masses. To share what is sacred with those who are scorners can cause their hearts to become harder. The precious things can become twisted and misused by those who don’t have ears to hear. While this family was not permitted to speak, they weren’t commanded to relocate and live in secrecy. No, they were to live openly. They were to be part of their community. And in living, they might gain the opportunity to speak later. But this was not the time. We too are called to live our lives openly. We are called to live out our faith and to be ready to answer anyone who questions us about the hope that we have within us. To do that, we must live in a way that our hope is evident.
Believers are called to share their faith. Sometimes we are told to go and tell, sometimes we are called to tell immediately, and sometimes we are told to wait and let people observe our lives before we tell. We must listen and obey those promptings of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel for the salvation of humankind.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
"No Barriers" a sermon based on Luke 9:28-43, II Cor. 3:7-4:6 given on Feb. 14
Jim and I have a saying in our house, “No Barriers.” We use it in many different contexts. Neither of us like barriers, but they are there. And after a lifetime of building up barriers, some of them are hard to remove. Some barriers are stubborn, and we keep running into them. Fear erects barriers. We put barriers into place because we think we are protecting ourselves. Adam and Eve made coverings for themselves and hid from God because they were afraid. But the barriers didn’t help. They weren’t protected. And yet we still do the same thing.
It takes commitment, trust, honesty, and hard work to remove barriers. It takes love. Love overcomes barriers. Love removes barriers. Why? Because as the apostle John says, perfect love casts out fear. God’s is perfect love. When we can tap into that love, and love becomes stronger than our fears, barriers are removed.
In the children’s message, I shared that Jesus is the best Valentine. Jesus is the Valentine sent by the Father to show us his great love for us. And Jesus’s sacrifice of love for us removes the barriers erected between ourselves and God. In our Corinthians passage today, we have the removal of barriers. Jesus removes the barrier of sin. Jesus removed the barrier of curses that were erected because of the failure to keep the Law. To keep God’s commandments brings blessing, but to break God’s commandments brings curses—negative consequences. The Israelites couldn’t free themselves from the curse of the Law, but elsewhere Paul says that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” In removing the curse of the law, Jesus opens us up to the blessings that were promised to Abraham.
We read in Corinthians that the barrier between us and God’s glory has been removed in Christ Jesus. We are familiar with the fact that when Christ was crucified, the curtain in the temple that divided the inner court from the holy of holies was torn in two. With that barrier removed, everyone could see into the most holy place. It symbolized the direct access that anyone has to God through Christ Jesus. When the people saw God’s glory on Moses’s face when he came down from Mt. Sinai, they were afraid because they had broken God’s laws. The presence of God meant God’s judgment. They were afraid and would not come near the tent of meeting when God’s glory filled it. They couldn’t stand in God’s holy presence like we talked about last week. For Moses to veil himself was an act of mercy. But when we repent, when we turn to the Lord, we can witness God’s glory because of Christ. Now, God’s glory doesn’t mean judgment for us but redemption. God’s presence means our salvation.
Paul says that another barrier that is removed in Christ is in our understanding of the Scriptures. Because of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit living inside us who brings clarity to hearing of the Word and applies it to our hearts. The Holy Spirit is our teacher. I’m sure, like me, you’ve had the experience of reading a passage of Scripture, and it just didn’t make sense, and then you reread it later, maybe even years later, and it couldn’t be any clearer. That’s the Holy Spirit illuminating God’s Word.
In addition to being Valentine’s Day, today is Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday, and our gospel reading was that incident of Jesus being glorified on the mountaintop in the presence of Peter, James, and John. Paul writes “Now all of us with unveiled faces, seeing as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit not only illuminates the Scriptures to us, but transfigures us with the same glory as Jesus into the image of Jesus. The Holy Spirit makes us more Christlike.
When Moses reflected God’s glory, he had to put a veil over his face because the people were afraid. Now we are called to reflect God’s glory boldly. We aren’t supposed to cover it up. There will be people who don’t get it because their eyes have been blinded, but as we go out into the world, we are to shine brightly, reflecting and revealing Jesus to those around us. And we must live in such a way that we do not erect barriers between God and others, for those barriers have been removed in Christ. Instead we are called to help others see that those barriers are removed, and continue working on tearing down the barriers between each other that we have rebuilt. May the love of Christ in us be greater than our fears.
It takes commitment, trust, honesty, and hard work to remove barriers. It takes love. Love overcomes barriers. Love removes barriers. Why? Because as the apostle John says, perfect love casts out fear. God’s is perfect love. When we can tap into that love, and love becomes stronger than our fears, barriers are removed.
In the children’s message, I shared that Jesus is the best Valentine. Jesus is the Valentine sent by the Father to show us his great love for us. And Jesus’s sacrifice of love for us removes the barriers erected between ourselves and God. In our Corinthians passage today, we have the removal of barriers. Jesus removes the barrier of sin. Jesus removed the barrier of curses that were erected because of the failure to keep the Law. To keep God’s commandments brings blessing, but to break God’s commandments brings curses—negative consequences. The Israelites couldn’t free themselves from the curse of the Law, but elsewhere Paul says that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” In removing the curse of the law, Jesus opens us up to the blessings that were promised to Abraham.
We read in Corinthians that the barrier between us and God’s glory has been removed in Christ Jesus. We are familiar with the fact that when Christ was crucified, the curtain in the temple that divided the inner court from the holy of holies was torn in two. With that barrier removed, everyone could see into the most holy place. It symbolized the direct access that anyone has to God through Christ Jesus. When the people saw God’s glory on Moses’s face when he came down from Mt. Sinai, they were afraid because they had broken God’s laws. The presence of God meant God’s judgment. They were afraid and would not come near the tent of meeting when God’s glory filled it. They couldn’t stand in God’s holy presence like we talked about last week. For Moses to veil himself was an act of mercy. But when we repent, when we turn to the Lord, we can witness God’s glory because of Christ. Now, God’s glory doesn’t mean judgment for us but redemption. God’s presence means our salvation.
Paul says that another barrier that is removed in Christ is in our understanding of the Scriptures. Because of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit living inside us who brings clarity to hearing of the Word and applies it to our hearts. The Holy Spirit is our teacher. I’m sure, like me, you’ve had the experience of reading a passage of Scripture, and it just didn’t make sense, and then you reread it later, maybe even years later, and it couldn’t be any clearer. That’s the Holy Spirit illuminating God’s Word.
In addition to being Valentine’s Day, today is Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday, and our gospel reading was that incident of Jesus being glorified on the mountaintop in the presence of Peter, James, and John. Paul writes “Now all of us with unveiled faces, seeing as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit not only illuminates the Scriptures to us, but transfigures us with the same glory as Jesus into the image of Jesus. The Holy Spirit makes us more Christlike.
When Moses reflected God’s glory, he had to put a veil over his face because the people were afraid. Now we are called to reflect God’s glory boldly. We aren’t supposed to cover it up. There will be people who don’t get it because their eyes have been blinded, but as we go out into the world, we are to shine brightly, reflecting and revealing Jesus to those around us. And we must live in such a way that we do not erect barriers between God and others, for those barriers have been removed in Christ. Instead we are called to help others see that those barriers are removed, and continue working on tearing down the barriers between each other that we have rebuilt. May the love of Christ in us be greater than our fears.
Jesus at the Heart
Calling…it’s something we all question and want to know. I know that in the 28 years that I’ve known Jesus, I’ve questioned my calling a thousand times or more. The simple answer is: our calling is Jesus Christ—to live by Him, in Him and for Him. So what does that mean?
That’s where my specific calling as Minister of Word and Sacrament comes in. It is my calling to peach Christ and Christ crucified.
In our Revelation Bible study, we’ve been looking at heavenly worship. The sole focus of heavenly worship is Jesus. Everything revolves around and reflects Him, including the faces of the angels. In heaven, there is no more “me”. Everyone and everything is focused on Christ. The elders cast their crowns at His feet. The songs are all in praise of and to Him. Our study asked us how we might make our earthly worship more heavenly. With Jesus at the center of our worship, we can’t go wrong. When I graduated from seminary, our baccalaureate speaker was the Rev. John Wood, who admonished us to make sure that every sermon has something of Jesus in it. And every service should have in it somewhere something that says, “This is the Father. This is the Son. Here is the Holy Spirit. This is the relationship that God wants to have with you.”
There is an unfortunate trend today which promotes a “Christless Christianity.” We become so focused on the next best thing, the newest, hottest programs, desiring to be welcoming, and not wanting to offend that we present a Jesus that is too safe. We want Jesus to be our friend, but forget that He is our Savior. Jim and I went to a lecture a few weeks ago on this very topic. Jesus becomes an add-on instead of our Redeemer. We end up hearing sermons that except for the mention of Jesus name, we could hear at any self-help seminar or humanitarian gathering. It is reflected in our hymnbook, where almost all references to the blood of Jesus have been taken out. It is a theology of glory—bigger and better, as opposed to a theology of the cross—self-denial and sacrifice in exchange for Christ and His life.
But the gospel is offensive. It has and always will be offensive to every human culture, although God has provided ways in every culture through which we can connect to the gospel. Jesus is called a “scandalon”—a Rock of Offense. The blood of Jesus is offensive because it means our sins are worthy of death. The theology of the cross challenges our self-seeking. The cross means we have to die. We don’t want to admit we are that bad and that bad off. The human heart resists that God’s mercy at the cross is also God’s judgment on sin and religion (in the sense of humans trying to get to God versus God coming down to us).
But if we come to the Stumbling Stone and accept the gift that Jesus offers, we realize that the gospel is tremendous news. We don’t have to “do more and try harder.” Instead, we can rejoice, “Look what God has done!”
This is what I strive to say week by week. I know there are weeks when I fail miserably and am aware that I will have to give an account to God for what I preach and teach. But when we can say, “Look what God has done,” we are swept away into God’s new world. Salvation is the transference from one kingdom (the kingdom of the world) into another one (the kingdom of God). Corporate worship is an opportunity for us to realize in which kingdom we truly live and leave the world behind, at least for an hour or so. I hope that as Grace Presbyterian Church we can find more ways to celebrate how God is transforming us.
Jesus is relevant to our lives everyday. In fact, He’s MORE than that. Jesus is the source of our ability to live lives that are pleasing to God. Jesus is the source of our life! Christ is our Transformer—often this occurs bit by bit more than huge dramatic changes, although He does that too. My job is to lead you to a deep intimacy with the Trinity—to introduce you to God and help God to become real to you. My focus is on discipleship, Christian education. Jesus called us to make disciples. Discipleship is hard work. It costs us. Not everyone wants to be a disciple. That’s between God and individuals, but my primary concern is with those who do, whether they are just coming to know Jesus or have been walking with Him for decades.
On the other hand, I was not called to the entertainment business. Nor am I called to use the pulpit for self-promotion. The apostle Paul wrote in II Cor. 4:5, “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus Christ.”
May God forgive me if I make Jesus boring, for He most certainly is not!
That’s where my specific calling as Minister of Word and Sacrament comes in. It is my calling to peach Christ and Christ crucified.
In our Revelation Bible study, we’ve been looking at heavenly worship. The sole focus of heavenly worship is Jesus. Everything revolves around and reflects Him, including the faces of the angels. In heaven, there is no more “me”. Everyone and everything is focused on Christ. The elders cast their crowns at His feet. The songs are all in praise of and to Him. Our study asked us how we might make our earthly worship more heavenly. With Jesus at the center of our worship, we can’t go wrong. When I graduated from seminary, our baccalaureate speaker was the Rev. John Wood, who admonished us to make sure that every sermon has something of Jesus in it. And every service should have in it somewhere something that says, “This is the Father. This is the Son. Here is the Holy Spirit. This is the relationship that God wants to have with you.”
There is an unfortunate trend today which promotes a “Christless Christianity.” We become so focused on the next best thing, the newest, hottest programs, desiring to be welcoming, and not wanting to offend that we present a Jesus that is too safe. We want Jesus to be our friend, but forget that He is our Savior. Jim and I went to a lecture a few weeks ago on this very topic. Jesus becomes an add-on instead of our Redeemer. We end up hearing sermons that except for the mention of Jesus name, we could hear at any self-help seminar or humanitarian gathering. It is reflected in our hymnbook, where almost all references to the blood of Jesus have been taken out. It is a theology of glory—bigger and better, as opposed to a theology of the cross—self-denial and sacrifice in exchange for Christ and His life.
But the gospel is offensive. It has and always will be offensive to every human culture, although God has provided ways in every culture through which we can connect to the gospel. Jesus is called a “scandalon”—a Rock of Offense. The blood of Jesus is offensive because it means our sins are worthy of death. The theology of the cross challenges our self-seeking. The cross means we have to die. We don’t want to admit we are that bad and that bad off. The human heart resists that God’s mercy at the cross is also God’s judgment on sin and religion (in the sense of humans trying to get to God versus God coming down to us).
But if we come to the Stumbling Stone and accept the gift that Jesus offers, we realize that the gospel is tremendous news. We don’t have to “do more and try harder.” Instead, we can rejoice, “Look what God has done!”
This is what I strive to say week by week. I know there are weeks when I fail miserably and am aware that I will have to give an account to God for what I preach and teach. But when we can say, “Look what God has done,” we are swept away into God’s new world. Salvation is the transference from one kingdom (the kingdom of the world) into another one (the kingdom of God). Corporate worship is an opportunity for us to realize in which kingdom we truly live and leave the world behind, at least for an hour or so. I hope that as Grace Presbyterian Church we can find more ways to celebrate how God is transforming us.
Jesus is relevant to our lives everyday. In fact, He’s MORE than that. Jesus is the source of our ability to live lives that are pleasing to God. Jesus is the source of our life! Christ is our Transformer—often this occurs bit by bit more than huge dramatic changes, although He does that too. My job is to lead you to a deep intimacy with the Trinity—to introduce you to God and help God to become real to you. My focus is on discipleship, Christian education. Jesus called us to make disciples. Discipleship is hard work. It costs us. Not everyone wants to be a disciple. That’s between God and individuals, but my primary concern is with those who do, whether they are just coming to know Jesus or have been walking with Him for decades.
On the other hand, I was not called to the entertainment business. Nor am I called to use the pulpit for self-promotion. The apostle Paul wrote in II Cor. 4:5, “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus Christ.”
May God forgive me if I make Jesus boring, for He most certainly is not!
Celebrating the Lord's Supper
Our Book of Order says, “Prayer is at the heart of worship” (W-2.1001), but while prayer is at the heart of worship, Reformed worship centers around Word and Sacrament. “The Reformed tradition has emphasized the importance of the Lord’s Day as the time for hearing the Word and celebrating the Sacraments in the expectation of encountering the risen Lord, and for responding in prayer and service. Sacraments are signs of the real presence and power Christ in the Church, symbols of God’s action. Through the Sacraments God seals believers in redemption, renews their identity as the people of God and marks them for service” (W-1.3011a.(2), W-1.3033(2)).
Two General Assemblies ago, a paper came out asking us to place more emphasis on the Sacraments in worship. We were encouraged to give prominent places to table and font and to celebrate the Lord’s Supper more often, even as often as weekly, which was already provided for in our constitution (W-2.4009). The previously referenced section also states that the Lord’s Supper “is to be celebrated regularly and frequently enough to be recognized as integral to the Service for the Lord’s Day.” Some Presbyterian churches do celebrate the Lord’s Supper every week. Others celebrate it only once a quarter. Our session has voted to celebrate the Lord’s Supper every month plus a couple of extra times a year for special services.
While the Sacraments are joyful celebrations, they are also solemn occasions in the sense that they are serious. Although the Lord’s Table is open to all baptized believers, not all baptized believers have to partake of the Lord’s Supper. If we truly understand that Christ nourishes us spiritually with Himself in this meal and that Christ also unites us with all the saints in this meal, then it will be something we desire. Jesus Himself said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I give for the life of the world is My flesh. Truly I say to you, unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you shall not have life within you. Those who eat my flesh and drink My blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. For My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink. Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood abide in Me, and I in them” (see John 6:35-58).
This is not to say we understand how Christ does this, for it is a great mystery. However, if Communion has gotten stale for you, then instead of taking the elements, as they come by, serve the person next to you and use this time in the service to contemplate what Christ means to you. No one will judge you if you choose not to partake. In fact, it is better not to. The Scriptures admonish us, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. 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” (I Cor. 11:27-29). Paul earlier states that “discerning the body” means checking our relationship to our fellow believers, our attitude toward the church of God as well as our relationship with Jesus.
Something to think about: Do you come to worship expecting to encounter Jesus? Why or why not?
Two General Assemblies ago, a paper came out asking us to place more emphasis on the Sacraments in worship. We were encouraged to give prominent places to table and font and to celebrate the Lord’s Supper more often, even as often as weekly, which was already provided for in our constitution (W-2.4009). The previously referenced section also states that the Lord’s Supper “is to be celebrated regularly and frequently enough to be recognized as integral to the Service for the Lord’s Day.” Some Presbyterian churches do celebrate the Lord’s Supper every week. Others celebrate it only once a quarter. Our session has voted to celebrate the Lord’s Supper every month plus a couple of extra times a year for special services.
While the Sacraments are joyful celebrations, they are also solemn occasions in the sense that they are serious. Although the Lord’s Table is open to all baptized believers, not all baptized believers have to partake of the Lord’s Supper. If we truly understand that Christ nourishes us spiritually with Himself in this meal and that Christ also unites us with all the saints in this meal, then it will be something we desire. Jesus Himself said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I give for the life of the world is My flesh. Truly I say to you, unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you shall not have life within you. Those who eat my flesh and drink My blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. For My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink. Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood abide in Me, and I in them” (see John 6:35-58).
This is not to say we understand how Christ does this, for it is a great mystery. However, if Communion has gotten stale for you, then instead of taking the elements, as they come by, serve the person next to you and use this time in the service to contemplate what Christ means to you. No one will judge you if you choose not to partake. In fact, it is better not to. The Scriptures admonish us, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. 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” (I Cor. 11:27-29). Paul earlier states that “discerning the body” means checking our relationship to our fellow believers, our attitude toward the church of God as well as our relationship with Jesus.
Something to think about: Do you come to worship expecting to encounter Jesus? Why or why not?
Monday, March 9, 2009
Presbytery Speech
Our presbytery, the Presbytery of Coastal Carolina, voted this past Saturday on the proposed amendments to our Book of Order. One of those amendments, 08-B, was an attempt to remove what is known as the "fidelity and chastity" clause from our current BOO. This clause states that ordained persons are "to live in fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman or in chastity in singleness." Our presbytery voted to retain this clause and against the new language, which is intentionally vague 205/110. This is the opposite vote of our neighbors to the north and west, but I applaud our presbytery's actions. Several speakers on both sides of the issue spoke. Below is a copy of my speech.
"This amendment (08-B) is not simply a gay ordination issue. It is as much, if not more, a standard for heterosexuals. Too many of us have been in churches that have literally been torn apart by ministers and elders who have had affairs both with members of their congregations or people outside of their congregations. Churches have been deeply damaged by unmarried clergy and ordained persons who are known to be philanderers in their communities. To remove the fidelity and chastity clause is to trivialize the pain of these congregations and to excuse the reckless sexual behavior of our church officers, particularly when that behavior does not fall under the sexual misconduct policy because that behavior does not involve other church members. What recourse would we have to address the minister living with his girlfriend outside of wedlock? I have multiple sets of parents in my congregation that are grieving the choices of their college age children to live with boyfriends/girlfriends outside of marriage. If it’s okay for pastors, surely it’s okay for our kids too. Our divorce rate is barely different from society at large. No wonder our profession gets little respect these days. As ordained persons, we are called to a higher standard of living than the world around us. We are called to live by biblical standards, and although we all fall short of these, we cannot excuse such behavior as an acceptable way of life, rather we are called to repentance and restoration. The Church by its very nature is countercultural. To say that Jesus is Lord, is to surrender our rights, except the right to become a child of God, and with that one right to inherit all the immeasurable privileges given in Christ Jesus. As Paul said, “May it never be” that we use our freedom in Christ as license to sin."
"This amendment (08-B) is not simply a gay ordination issue. It is as much, if not more, a standard for heterosexuals. Too many of us have been in churches that have literally been torn apart by ministers and elders who have had affairs both with members of their congregations or people outside of their congregations. Churches have been deeply damaged by unmarried clergy and ordained persons who are known to be philanderers in their communities. To remove the fidelity and chastity clause is to trivialize the pain of these congregations and to excuse the reckless sexual behavior of our church officers, particularly when that behavior does not fall under the sexual misconduct policy because that behavior does not involve other church members. What recourse would we have to address the minister living with his girlfriend outside of wedlock? I have multiple sets of parents in my congregation that are grieving the choices of their college age children to live with boyfriends/girlfriends outside of marriage. If it’s okay for pastors, surely it’s okay for our kids too. Our divorce rate is barely different from society at large. No wonder our profession gets little respect these days. As ordained persons, we are called to a higher standard of living than the world around us. We are called to live by biblical standards, and although we all fall short of these, we cannot excuse such behavior as an acceptable way of life, rather we are called to repentance and restoration. The Church by its very nature is countercultural. To say that Jesus is Lord, is to surrender our rights, except the right to become a child of God, and with that one right to inherit all the immeasurable privileges given in Christ Jesus. As Paul said, “May it never be” that we use our freedom in Christ as license to sin."
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