Communion

One of the responsibilities of the Elders of our church is to lead communion. As a new Elder, this morning is my first time. We'll see how it goes, but here are my thoughts on the subject.

When Christ initiated this moment 2000 years ago, there must have been a reason. And as I've considered what to say about communion, I've been struck by the fact that the reason goes beyond the fact that we're forgetful. Of course He wants us to remember Him and what He did, but the reason beyond that is the why.

Christ's death, burial and resurrection accomplished two things. They are both gifts. They both require faith. They are both complete. But they are not the same.

One requires nothing of us, the other, everything.
One is about rest, and one is about action.
One is about peace, one is about war.
One is about escaping death, the other, living life.
One is about freedom and the second? Response-ability.

The First
We have been redeemed. Christ died to take our sin to the grave once and for all and holy, righteous and complete new creatures. This loving gift is ours to have, and we are called to remember this - and allocate it into our lives - each time we take communion. Nothing is required of us to take this gift of rest, peace, escape from death and freedom.

And freedom is the why of this first part of communion. We are called upon to remember that we are new creatures no longer enslaved to the power of sin. We are free. Free to be all that was in the mind of our Creator when we were first designed. Free.

The Second
But it strikes me that we are free whether we remember it or not. There is nothing in scripture that says we must remember we are saved in Christ in order for it to be true. We are saved in Christ. Period. End of story, done.

But Christ did not die on the cross to enable us to sit at the table of communion and remember He died on the cross. He died on the cross so His plans could be fulfilled despite the fallen, dying, decomposing world in which we live. He died and rose to enable us to live out the purpose within our hearts - the ones HE put there. He died to empower us to live from our hearts.

The bible is explicit in teaching us that the heart is the wellspring of life, that God has put desires in our hearts, and that we will need Christ's help desperately in order to live out those desires. THIS is why we're called upon to take communion: it is a time to remember that it is through Christ that we can do all things. It's about response-ability.

Christ's death, burial and resurrection empowers our ability to respond to our calling and the world around us. A calling to power-full relationships, marriages and positions. Having life sustaining relationships, passionate and loving marriages, and positions of influence and power in the marketplace and community requires action. It requires everything we are, and we cannot possibly give everything we are without remembering the One who made us. The One who died and rose again to sustain us and moves us in living our design every day.

Lord, as we take the bread and the wine, give us your mercy and grace in abundance. Give us your mercy in a way that tangibly washes us clean. A clean that we know to be true in such a way that our knowledge of being FREE cannot be shaken. Give us this foundation. and give us your grace. Your empowering grace to MOVE in the things we know we are called to. The things of your word, the things of our prayers and the things that you've placed deep in our hearts. Give us the grace to live this life you've given us.

In Christ. Amen.

Dying Decently

Ever since I first read "the glory of God is man fully alive," I've considered it my favorite quote (it's from St. Iraneaus, btw). It resonates deep within me as the perfect summation of God's heart for His redeemed. Christ said that He came to give us life and if that's true, then it follows that He is glorified when we live.

The significance of the quote, besides that it was written 500+ years ago, is that it is so NEEDED today. Instead of people living fully alive - and I'll define that for me in a later post - I see people barely living at all. This non-living has been called many things: mediocre, satisfied, boring and waiting. I often choose waiting when describing this tragedy because what I see is people who know they're saved and going to heaven and they think that's all there is. So they merely seek to get through life until death when "they get to go home."

But these words like waiting have never quite explained my deepest thoughts on the subject. The people I seek to describe are dear, dear people. They are people I know personally as well as millions, perhaps billions that I don't. They are not bad. They are not lazy. They are striving and moving towards a worthwhile goal in their lives on earth and in the life to come.

But "waiting" fails to describe the frustration and struggle apparent in Christians. We, as a people, SAY we are joy-full and peace-full, but we're not. We live nice, friendly, mostly sinless lives, but we're not victorious, and it's because we sense there's something more that we're missing. So, we're restless and discontented.

Then I read this quote from Thomas Carlyle last night:
"The courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully."

Dying decently, while a worthy goal, is simply not compelling enough, meaningful enough or challenging enough. It is the perfect lie because it makes us feel good and it keeps us moving. But it's ultimately hollow and meaningless - to us and the world around us. But because it LOOKS right, we're left assuming that we'll find contentment if we work at dying decently even HARDER.

We need to abandon this notion of dying decently - and living decently - and exchange it for the idea of LIVING. Living from a holy, righteous, empowered heart centered on God and His will. A will that requires us completely. And requiring us completely is God's heart. God sent His Son for you because He needs you for something - a something that He created you for. Living fully alive happens when you move in that intended creation. It happens when you move in the things of life that require YOU. And rest assured that the you that this living requires is exactly what your heart cries out to be.

It exemplifies your heart's desire to live manfully or womanfully because that is the heart's cry of your God.

To Believe In That World

By William James:

"In human life, although we only see our world, yet encompassing it a still wider world may be there; and to believe in that world may be the most essential function that our lives in this world have to perform. The "scientific" life itself has much to do with maybes, and human life at large has everything to do with them. Not a victory is gained, not a deed of faithfulness or courage is done, except upon a maybe; not a service, not a sally of generosity, not a scientific exploration or experiment or textbook, that may not be a mistake. It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all. And often enough our faith beforehand in an uncertified result is the only thing that makes the result come true."

We must risk if we are to live at all.

Atheism - By Scott Adams

I just HAD to link to this totally humorous and TRUE post about Atheism by Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert). The comments are awful so don't even bother, but I like Scott's logic.

Enjoy!

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