St. Boniface House

Today we heard Jesus teach about marriage, and as always we must understand that in the broader context of the relationship between Christ and the Church.  Today as we come to the Lord’s Table I want to talk about our worship as “Covenant Renewal”, so that we can taste the blessing that is this meal we eat with Jesus just a little bit better.  (more…)

In the parable Jesus told about the unforgiving servant, he painted a picture of a man forgiven a debt so great that it could not have been repaid in many lifetimes, who then turns around and refuses to be merciful to those who owe him far less.  When the king who forgave the debt found out that his servant had not been merciful in accordance with the mercy he had been given, he was cast into prison until he should pay every penny. The point, of course, is that we have all already received far greater mercy from God through Jesus Christ than we could ever possibly be asked to give by our brothers and sisters who sin against us.  How then could we hold a grudge against our brothers and sisters who sin against us?  How could we fail to forgive them even as we have been forgiven? (more…)

I want to spend a couple of moments this morning as we come to the Lord’s Table to talk about why we use wine for communion, and why we think this is so important. As you know we are in a minority, at least in this part of the world, among Christian churches that do not use grape juice at the Lord’s Table.  Why do we think this is so important? (more…)

In the passage we considered this morning, John the Baptist declares that the repentant disciples of the Kingdom will “bear fruit worthy of repentance”, and that the coming King will “gather his wheat into his barn.” This fruit/wheat combination is no accident, we find it all over the Bible, and we find it here, spread out on this table in a feast before us this morning. Here is Jesus’ fruit, and here is Jesus’ wheat. And not only that, you are the result of Jesus’ good work, you are those he has gathered together for the great feast. You are Jesus’ fruit, and you are Jesus’ wheat. (more…)

Several years ago I ran across a book in a Christian book store. It was a children’s book, the purpose of which was to serve as a sort of introduction for children to what we do when we come to worship. One of the things that caught my attention in this little book, and which has remained with me since then, was a page in which an adult character in the story, I think it was a parent, explained that sometimes we are happy in worship and sometimes we are sad. Now, that is true. Sometimes we come to worship happy, and we worship happily. Sometimes we come to worship in a state of sorrow, and we worship sorrowfully. And that’s OK. Not only that, sometimes things that happen in worship make us sad, and other things make us joyful, and that’s entirely appropriate. We worship not only with our minds and bodies, but with our emotions as well. (more…)

Last week as we considered the blessing of the Lord’s Supper we were reminded that when we come to the table we are declaring Jesus King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and that any ruler who claims to rule apart from or above the authority of King Jesus does so at his own peril. This morning let us remember the other side of the coin, so to speak—that the Lord’s Table, precisely because it forms us into this community separate from the world in submission to the Lord Jesus, is not only a judgment upon them but also a blessing for them. (more…)

Once there were a couple of boys who were the recipients of a promise from their father that he would play football with them in the backyard on a Saturday afternoon. They looked forward to playing with their father all week, and then when Saturday came, they found their father sitting on the couch watching college football on television. The conversation that followed went something like this: (more…)

A man and a woman are celebrating their wedding anniversary, so what do they do? They go out to eat together. A family wants to spend time with another family from the church or from the neighborhood, so what do they do? They invite them over for supper. Two men want to get together to encourage one another, to seek one another’s counsel, visit together, so what do they do? They have lunch together. When people want to spend time together, to fellowship together, they gather together around a table. (more…)

A man and a woman are celebrating their wedding anniversary, so what do they do? They go out to eat together. A family wants to spend time with another family from the church or from the neighborhood, so what do they do? They invite them over for supper. Two men want to get together to encourage one another, to seek one another’s counsel, visit together, so what do they do? They have lunch together. When people want to spend time together, to fellowship together, they gather together around a table. (more…)

This past week our family spent a couple of days in Kansas City, and one of the things we did was to visit the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Our intention in going there was primarily to see the collection of artifacts from the Ancient Near East, from Egypt, from Greece and Rome, and Medieval Christian Europe. We were not disappointed. It was tremendously fascinating. Among the many things we saw was a relief—a picture engraved in stone, of an Ancient Assyrian King whose servants are bringing him bread and wine and other foods as he is seated at his table after a battle. We see this all over the place in ancient culture, and also in the Bible—that a king, after he victoriously returns from battle, sits down and drinks wine in celebration of his great conquests. (more…)