Learn From This

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?

The Most Important Social Task of Christians

“[I]f, as I contend, the church is a truthful polity, the most important social task of Christians is to be nothing less than a community capable of forming people with virtues sufficient to witness to God’s truth in the world. Put as directly as I can, it is not the task of the church to try to develop social theories or strategies to make America work; rather the task of the church in this country is to become a polity that has the character necessary to survive as a truthful society.”

–Stanley Hauerwas, A Community of Character, 3.

Nothing But Wine Will Do

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?

Updating the Blog

Sorry for all the reruns coming up as new posts.  I have been reformatting some of the older Eucharistic meditations so they can be tagged as such–and they’re coming up as new posts.  These four, however, were until today unpublished (though they were written last summer): Take Up Your Cross, You Are At Peace,  You Are Not Strangers, and All Communion is Paedocommunion.

You are Jesus’ Fruit, and You are Jesus’ Wheat

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.

Worthy to Eat With Him

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.

We Are Common Grace

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.

Unto My Memorial

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:

They Eat Together

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.

They Eat Together

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.