Tomorrow is Memorial Day in the United States. It is a day that has been set aside by our government to remember. We remember those who answered the call of their country and willingly gave their lives for something bigger than themselves. To remember, millions go to military cemeteries to remember the fallen. To remember, a small American flag will be placed on the grave of every fallen soldier in Arlington National Cemetery and in cemeteries around the country. To remember, many will place beautiful flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers. To remember, we set aside our schedules and our day to day routines to honor sacrifice.
There are a lot of similarities between Memorial Day and our Communion Service. Everyone in church services today has someone who loved him or her enough to lay down his life on the cross for their sins. And so we take time out of our schedules and our routines and we gather to remember.
We remember he was “pierced for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities.”
We remember “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
We remember that Jesus “himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
But the key to understanding communion is in the differences between it and any other memorial observance. There is no tomb for us to visit and lay flowers on. No, we serve a risen savior, who’s in the world today. Flags and flowers do not honor him. No, we gather at a table instead of a tomb and we lay our lives at the foot of the cross as a living sacrifice for Jesus.
Each Lord’s Day millions gather around the Lord’s table to remember the crucified and risen Lord. Let us eat the bread and drink the cup “in remembrance” of our wonderful Savior.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
A Good Knight
Why does a knight serve his king? (I'm talking about the mythical medieval knight here.)
The reasons are plenty. A knight could serve his king because of the pay, the position it would put his children in, the fun parties, the celebrity status, the power over people associated with the position, family traditions, or a variety of other selfish reasons. There are many ways that a king can get knights to serve him. But none of them would really stick - well, maybe family tradition might. Another king could come along and offer more pay, offer higher societal positions for the knight's children, bigger parties, a higher seat at the table, or more power.
So what is a king to do if he wants a knight that is truly loyal?
He would have to offer a vision of the way he wants to shape the world that would cause the knight will put aside his dreams for higher pay, the societal status of his children, his enjoyment of the most grand parties, his celebrity status, his power over others, and even the traditions of his family. The knight, the kind a king would want, would put aside all his selfish ambitions to help the king bring about his plan for the world.
Does God want any less of us than a king wants of a good knight?
He offers us the opportunity to join with him in making our houses and our neighborhoods a better place. All he asks is that we buy into his vision of the world. We need to put on the breastplate of faith and love and wear the helmet of the hope of salvation (1 Thes 5:8). In the end, we need to put aside all of our selfish ambitions, surrender our hearts and desires to God, and begin to work on shaping the world into the world he planned for it to be. Anything else is just serving for the wrong reasons.
And God is different than a king. A king can be tricked by outward appearances, posturing, and traditions. God cannot. He can see straight into our hearts and see if it is really His.
The reasons are plenty. A knight could serve his king because of the pay, the position it would put his children in, the fun parties, the celebrity status, the power over people associated with the position, family traditions, or a variety of other selfish reasons. There are many ways that a king can get knights to serve him. But none of them would really stick - well, maybe family tradition might. Another king could come along and offer more pay, offer higher societal positions for the knight's children, bigger parties, a higher seat at the table, or more power.
So what is a king to do if he wants a knight that is truly loyal?
He would have to offer a vision of the way he wants to shape the world that would cause the knight will put aside his dreams for higher pay, the societal status of his children, his enjoyment of the most grand parties, his celebrity status, his power over others, and even the traditions of his family. The knight, the kind a king would want, would put aside all his selfish ambitions to help the king bring about his plan for the world.
Does God want any less of us than a king wants of a good knight?
He offers us the opportunity to join with him in making our houses and our neighborhoods a better place. All he asks is that we buy into his vision of the world. We need to put on the breastplate of faith and love and wear the helmet of the hope of salvation (1 Thes 5:8). In the end, we need to put aside all of our selfish ambitions, surrender our hearts and desires to God, and begin to work on shaping the world into the world he planned for it to be. Anything else is just serving for the wrong reasons.
And God is different than a king. A king can be tricked by outward appearances, posturing, and traditions. God cannot. He can see straight into our hearts and see if it is really His.
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