ken castor

Romans 5:1 ~ on a rainy day

Okay... so here's a great verse:

 ^{ROMANS 5:1 (NIV)} Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...

Notice that this is not the complete sentence... oh no... there is much more to this statement.  But for a moment, let's obey the verse designations and ponder the first verse of Romans chapter 5.

Therefore ~ See the post from yesterday for a whole obsessed discussion about this word.

since ~ Paul is reminding his readers about his multi-chapter line of reasoning.  He's already helped us come to a conclusion... and now he's launching off of it.

we have been justified ~ "We have been justified" is actually the first word of this sentence in Greek (Δικαιωθέντες).  In English we feel compelled to put "therefore" first... but Greek sentence structure often calls for the topic of the phrase to be upfront.  So it is that the emphasis and focus of this first phrase is 'justified'.   Paul just completed a huge thought at the end of Chapter 4 about being credited as "right" even though we were wrong.  Because of the fact that "we" (Paul and those he addresses in Rome) have been "made right" (NLT)... Since the reality is that "we" are "set right" (Message)... Since it is true that we have been justified... something cool is about to happen...

through faith, ~   The Greek word for "faith" here is πίστεως.  Faith in this way means not a set of statements, but a deep, active, soul-full conviction of God in relation to one's life.  This kind of faith in God actively trusts God for righteousness, for justification, for being credited... all in the realization that on human merit alone there is nothing someone can do to earn God's favor.  "Justification" (being declared "all right" by God) comes about when someone becomes convicted and then engages in trusting God with one's life.

we have peace ~ My favorite Greek word of all time is the word for "peace" (εἰρήνη,n  \pronounced i-ray'-nay).  Dr. Bill Heth at Taylor University taught our class way back in 1991 that "because of Jesus we could have 'peace' on 'aye rainay' day."  Get it?  It's worked for me.  Virtually every time it rains, I repeat to my heart, "I have peace today because of Jesus."  It's a little English trick to remember a wee Greek word... but it is still remarkably profound.  Since we have been made right with God, we have peace.  Isn't peace what everyone needs?  In the midst of chaos and uncertainty and war and broken relationships and non-stop-busyness... Isn't peace what we are all searching for?  When Jesus was born, what did the angels proclaim?  PEACE ON EARTH! (See Luke 2:14)

with God ~ The whole problem with humanity since the beginning has been a frictious relationship with God.  Not God's fault.  God didn't stop short... Romans 3:23... we did.  Ever since we have had turmoil and heartache.  But because we have been made right with God, we have peace with God.  So simple a truth... and yet so amazing.

through our Lord Jesus Christ, ~ Jesus Christ is called "The Prince of Peace" for a reason.  His governance is one of peace.  His authority ushers peace through the gates.  His lordship is a rule of goodness.  THROUGH faith in Jesus we have been justified... THROUGH Jesus we have peace.  I'm wondering who makes out best in this deal?  Seems like Jesus is doing some amazing work of grace for us.

Note: Today is a great day to invite Jesus into our lives... whether we have not yet done so or even if we have.  Jesus makes us right with God and Jesus gives us peace with God.  If this isn't enough to convict us to place our trust today in Jesus then we might as well convert to all the man-made philosophies and religions of this world in which humans hopelessly strive to earn their way to the Divine.  And then, when we reach the extent of our exhaustion, perhaps it'll be time to just place our faith in Jesus... inviting him to help us, or to be with us, or to make his ways true in our life.  I've known a few people who gave their lives over to Jesus precisely because of this verse.  All the human baggage of Romans 1-4 is set free in the half-sentence of Romans 5:1.  What a great verse.

Can a religious person still be good?

"Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph.  He was a member of the Jewish high council..." - Luke 23:50 (NLT)

Just a simple but important thought for today:

It is possible to be a religious person and still be a good person.

I know, I know.  You're right.  Many of the problems in our world are caused by religious people.

And I know, I know.  Yes, many of the problems in North American churches are caused by religious people.  Makes me sick.

But please don't lose sight of this:  It is possible to be a religious person and still be a good person.

And a righteous one too.

Hard to believe nowadays.  I know.  It can seem like "religious" people are some of the worst people there are.

But there is a quiet revolution happening... and I pray that you will rest on the hope of this truth: There are many, many people who are religious... and who also are good.  One example:

His name was Joseph... and he was uncomfortably and frustratingly and embarrassingly an official representative for one of the most notorious religious teams in history.  He was a member of the brute-squad that crucified Jesus.  I don't think this made him feel good about himself though... I don't think he took any pride in being associated with haters.

Religious groups can tend to do that... hate people, divide people, spit vehemence at people, and throw violence at people.

But not all religious people are fractious. 

Some, it is possible, are good...

... and  do good...

... and disagree with the decisions and actions of those other "religious" people who are fractious...

... and they still believe in the truth...

... and they still act in the truth...

... and therefore they still pursue goodness and mercy.

Joseph was just such a person.  Here's the rest of the passage: "Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph.  He was a member of the Jewish high council, but he had not agreed with the decisions and actions of the other religious leaders.  He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he had been waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.  He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.  Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock.  This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation for the Sabbath." - Luke 23:50-54

I am so encouraged by Joseph of Arimathea.  He is a hero of mine.

Even while the rest of his cohort crucified and condemned people with their words and dismissals, he quietly, but confidently, behaved admirably.  Joseph did not deny his faith in the Kingdom of God.  He lived it... even if mournfully and even if humbly and even if determinedly... Joseph lived a life characterized by goodness.

Now that is a witness I can follow.  That is a witness the world appreciates.

This year, as the world grows weary of the religious, may the good and righteous shine through.  Amen.

 

the judged judge

I am once again blown away by the significance of Good Friday. 

Jesus is the Judge. (2 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 20:4)

        And yet...

Jesus, the Judge, allows himself to be arrested. (Luke 22:47ff)

Jesus, the Judge, allows himself to be questioned by the High Council. (Luke 22:66ff)

Jesus, the Judge, allows himself to be questioned by the governor, Pilate. (Luke 23:1ff)

Jesus, the Judge, allows himself to be questioned before Herod Antipas. (Luke 23:8ff)

Jesus, the Judge, allows himself to be jostled between courts. (Luke 23:1-12)

Jesus, the Judge, allows himself to be declared innocent by the rulers. (Luke 23:13ff)

Jesus, the Judge, allows the people to condemn him as guilty. (Luke 23:18ff)

Jesus, the Judge, allows a murderer to be freed as a substitute for his incrimination.  (Luke 23:18-23)

Jesus, the Judge, allows himself be insulted, mocked, laughed at, abhored, humiliated, stripped bare, beaten, ridiculed, harassed, exposed, accused, and nailed to wood.  (Luke 23)

Jesus, the Judge, allows himself to carry his own instrument of execution.  (Luke 23:26)

Jesus, the Judge, allows himself to be executed between two criminals.  (Luke 23:32ff)

Jesus, the Judge, allows himself to feel excruciation. (Luke 23)

Jesus, the Judge, allows himself to be painfully and frightfully hung in a slow death of asphyxiation.  (Luke 23)

Jesus, the Judge, allows himself to die a criminal.

            And yet, in the middle of this whole process...

Jesus, the Judge, pleads with his Father, "Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing."  (Luke 23:34)

all wrapped up in myself...

I can get all wrapped up in myself.  That's a strange thing to say from a language perspective... and perhaps an even stranger thing to say from a life perspective. 

From a language perspective, if I'm wrapped up in myself then it sounds as if I myself am holding myself... or I myself am containing myself.  In which case then the wrapping is the same substance as what is being wrapped. Effectively (or ineffectively actually), I serve as the wrapping of myself.  In which case there is truly no wrapping other than that which is being wrapped.  Make sense?  No, you're right, it doesn't!  This is no way to live!

Which is why from a life perspective, it does us no good to wrap ourselves up in ourselves.  It provides us no freedom to be bound up within ourselves.  To wrap ourselves in our own affair is to become inward and immobile and adulterous to others whom we are to love.  The selfish, arrogantly anxious wrapping we use is ultimately ineffectual as a wrap- as it provides no true layer of presentation.

So it is that most people who are wrapped up in themselves must adhere a secondary exterior.  For anyone who is wrapped up in themselves can attest, they are unconcerned with present-ing (gifting) themselves to others... but they are remarkably concerned with representing (showing) themselves to others.  Therefore, a person who is wrapped up in themselves must put on another outward display... a demonstration, a projected layer that allows their egotostical self to remain in itself unaffected by others.  This secondary exterior usually reflects the grander aspects of the self-wrap, minus the gnawing defects that create the anxious arrogance of the self-wrap in the first place. 

I'm struck by Jesus who wasn't wrapped up in himself when he present-ed (gifted) himself to us.  He could have wrapped himself in majesty and strength and light (etc etc etc - even though with integrity he truly could have presented himself this way).  Remarkably, Jesus chose to wrap himself in swaddling clothes, both in birth and in death (Luke 2:6-7; Luke 23:53).  He offers us a humble present-ation (gift giving) of his inner self.  And in the humility of his offering, we are drawn into the depths of wonder and love that are self-contained within him.

I'm also struck by Jesus who longs to be wrapped within us.  Colossians 3 reminds us that we are to allow Christ to "rule in our hearts" and to "live in us".  Christ's words are to be alive in us. 

Profoundly, as Jesus lives in us, we are to let go of our own anxiety in ourselves and allow Christ to wrap us up in him.  Colossians 3 encourages us to strip off (cast off, throw off) the false image of ourselves that we demonstrate.  We are to "clothe ourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience... forgiveness... [and] love."  In other words... we put on Christ.  We are to wear Jesus inside and out.

We are supposed to wrap ourselves in Jesus... through and through.

Generational Transference in the Bible: The Gospels

 

             John Wilkes suggests, “Responsibility without authority disables rather than empowers followers.”^[1]  So it is that Jesus gave his authority and blessing to his disciples.  Jesus gave them opportunities to practice the challenges to leadership through an environment in which they were formed spiritually and empowered.  It’s interesting to note that Jesus sent the twelve disciples on a responsibility-based action-learning experience early on in his ministry.^[2]  He then did the same with seventy-two followers.^[3]             

            But with authority came also the necessity of humility to pass on ministry to the next generation.  “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,” Jesus said.  And, perhaps by no coincidence, Jesus calls his followers his children, and then passes on responsibility to them.^[4]  He then intimates that his disciples will carry on his mission after him through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.^[5]

            These emerging leaders were entrusted not just with the responsibility of continuing the mission of Jesus, but also enabled with the permission, opportunity and capability to do so.  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,”^[6] Jesus said.  And the authoritative responsibility transferred to this group of next generation leaders was specifically in the interest of developing further successive generations of leaders.  In fact, because all of Jesus’ authority had been transferred to the disciples, their appropriate action was to “therefore, go and make disciples of all nations.”^[7]  Jesus demonstrated the fruitfulness of generational transference by sharing the responsibility of God’s mission with others.  To give authority and responsibility to the disciples demonstrated how much Jesus valued these people as leaders.  Wilkes comments,  “when Jesus called the disciples to himself on the side of a hill and commissioned them to continue that mission, he was not abdicating his own responsibility for it - he was sharing that responsibility.”^[8]

            The Gospel of John illustrates the transfer of leadership in terms of mission and character.  For instance, John the Baptist, resolute in purpose, promoted Jesus through personal humility.  John the Baptist described Jesus saying, “the one who comes after me has surpassed me.”^[9]  There is not a hint of possessive leadership with John the Baptist.  When Jesus came onto the scene, John the Baptist encouraged his own disciples, in whom he had been investing himself, to follow Jesus.  While this example is not generational according to age, it is generational according to transference of ministry leadership.  John the Baptist, in many ways, ordains Jesus publicly and releases others to follow him.

            The Gospel of John then portrays Jesus as a leader who raises other leaders up through personal humility.  “I am the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep,” Jesus told his disciples.^[10]  Before the Last Supper, John reveals the posture of leadership that effectively transfers ministry.  John wrote:

          “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power... so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples‘ feet.”^[11]

 

            Bruce Milne noted the self-sacrifice for others and the humility of Jesus as the true model for leadership.  There can be no possessive tendency for the leader of biblical patterning.  As Jesus led his disciples through humble service and releasing strategies, so he instructs them to do the same.  Jesus says, “Now that I have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”^[12]  Milne argued:

“The aim of many leaders today,” Milne argues, “is their own glory.  Not truly loving those they lead, they use them as a means to their own personal satisfaction.  It is the leadership of the hireling, not of the shepherd.  This principle is certainly not confined to the church.  Leadership, whether in political life, industry, business, or community, follows one of these two routes.  Either it is directed to the self-life of the leader, or it is directed selflessly for the good of those who are led.  The former is the way of the world, which leads to death; the latter is the way of Jesus, which leads to life."^[13]

---

^[1] Wilkes, C. Gene.  Jesus on Leadership: Discovering the Secrets of Servant Leadership from the Life of Christ.  (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1998), 181-182

^[2] Matthew 10:5

^[3] Luke 10:1

^[4] John 13:33

^[5] John 15:26-27

^[6] Matthew 28:18

^[7] Matthew 28:19

^[8] Wilkes, p.181

^[9] John 1:15

^[10] John 10:11-15

^[11] John 13:2-5

^[12] John 13:14

^[13] Milne, John.  The Message of John (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 149

Your Private Life: Part 2a

Okay, so yesterday I forced your private life on you and suggested that YOUR private life is NOT really yours.  Today I want to continue antagonizing you... for the sake of protagonizing you, of course.  So I've got a second question for you regarding your private life... and I'm going to explore it in two parts.  Catch that?  Second Question.  Two parts.  First part of the second question starts now.  I want to ask:

Is your private life really private?

We like to think that our private life is to remain private.  A politician or a major sports hero who gets caught having affairs might make a public statement like, “In this difficult time of my life and my family’s life, we would ask you to respect our privacy.”  Well every reporter blows that request off.  There is no way any privacy is going to be respected.  We like to think that our private life should be private, but do we really believe that?  It’s interesting that when someone else gets caught doing something wrong, we expect them to fess up and divulge everything they’ve done wrong.  I mean, Tiger Woods is a golfer.  A golfer.  He hits a little white ball around the grass.  And yet people are saying he needs to have a public press conference where he deals with his marital infidelity before he should be accepted back on the golf course.  Seriously, does what he does in the privacy of his own life impact whether or not he can hit a sand wedge?  Wait a second, I thought you thought that your private life was private?            

We seem to have a double standard here.  We assume that as long as what we do in private stays private, then we are entitled to keep it private.  But there are two problems with this idea:            

Problem number 1:  Your private life is not private because your private life is known by God.  Psalm 44:21 asks, “Wouldn’t God have discovered [what you’ve done], since he knows the secrets of the heart?” Proverbs 5:21 states, “For a person’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all the person’s paths.”  Your life never really was private, ever.  To God’s eyes, your private life is a window.  He sees everything.  He’s not a paparazzi.  He’s not following you around in secret with cameras looking to dig up the dirt or catch you in the act, “Ah ha!  I knew it!  I had a hunch you were up to something evil.”  It’s not like that.  God is out in the open about it.  He can’t help it.  He simply sees all things; he knows all things.  And there will come a day when what God sees and knows will become seen and known by everyone.  Jesus said in Luke 12: “The time is coming when everything will be revealed; all that is secret will be made public.  Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear, [and I would add] whatever you have texted to your mistress will be publicized by TMZ.  Look, nobody is happy that your private life will be publicized.  But part of the problem is that we assumed that a private life is private… when it never really was.  God sees and God knows.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve did something wrong and they tried to cover it up.  They didn’t want God to know, so they hid and they covered up their bodies.  Before sin, everything was out in the open.  As the great philosopher, Cosmo Kramer, once said, “I’m out there, Jerry, and I’m loving every minute of it.”  But ever since then, we have turned inward, we have become quite capable of thinking we can hide things.  But God knew what they had done.  And when he presented himself to them, Adam and Eve put on leaves started making excuses.  We were naked, Adam said, so we hid.  And so God asked them, “What’s wrong with being naked- that’s how I made you?  Did you mess something up?”  From the beginning, people have tried to hide and keep private those things that they don’t want others to know.  Adam and Eve, male and female, created in the image of God, had nothing to hide, until they did wrong and then they became addicted to privacy.  We’re just like them.  We like to pretend that we can cover up our privates, but we really can’t.  God sees.  God knows.  Your private life is public knowledge to God.

beg for your life

In Luke 18:35, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where he will be crucified.  Before he gets there he goes through the town of Jericho.  Huge crowds are surrounding him as he enters Jericho.  But just outside the city sits a beggar- a wretch of a man who wasn't allowed to enter with the crowd.  He’s blind, very poor, and very dismissed, I assume, by those who walked by him day by day.  Yet on this particular day, all the beggar wants is the attention of Jesus.

Would Jesus notice him?  Would the blind beggar miss Jesus because of the huge crowd?  If they happened to meet, would Jesus heal him?  Would the blind beggar yell at Jesus because of his difficult life?  Would Jesus be ticked off at the beggar for succumbing to such a horrible existence?  Would the crowd be ticked-off at Jesus for paying attention to this man?  Would Jesus make a difference in this man’s life?  Would the man's heart be pure in begging Jesus or would his motive be rotten?  Would Jesus think it was okay to beg for God’s attention?

The often unnoticed reality is that each of us is actually in a position where we need to beg.  Many of us just haven’t been forced to admit it yet.  Billions of us are living without what we need to spiritually survive.  Our souls are empty, tired, weak, poor, hungry, and dying.  We need Jesus.  We need him to help us.  We need him to save us.  We are blind to what's around us and forced to scramble for a living.  We are overcome by the acrid stench of a decaying world.  We are unable to get ourselves out of the situation.  We all experience hands-in-our-head-sorrow.  We all need to cry out for a rescuer.  We need to beg for the attention of someone who can lift us out of death. 

It’s hard for us to admit our condition.  How difficult it is to accept humility.  It goes against our pride to accept a lending hand, to accept our weakness, to admit our blind, begging condition.

But we need to beg for Jesus.  Just look at what happens when we do.  Luke 18:35-44:

As soon as the beggar heard Jesus was near he cried out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  The beggar was rebuked and verbally abused by the crowd… so he shouted louder “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped walking and ordered the man to be brought to him.  Jesus simply asked the man, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The beggar said, “Lord, I want to see.”

[Interesting, instead of saying “OK” or “I’ll do this for you”,] Jesus commands the beggar to “Receive your sight.”  Immediately the beggar receives his sight and followed Jesus, praising God.  When all the people saw this [notably: the same crowd that had abused him], they also praised God.

Jesus Saves.

"Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a son of Abraham.  I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and to save those like him who are lost." (Luke 19:10 NLT)

Here's the story as we read yesterday: Jesus finds Zacchaeus.  Jesus spends some time with Zacchaeus at his home.  Zacchaeus is transformed as a person.  Jesus declares that salvation has come to Zacchaeus' home. 

So Jesus came and found... now he saves.  Here's the question for today: WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR JESUS TO "SAVE"?

Here's some of the Greek background to the word "save":

• swzw,v  {sode'-zo}
  1) to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction  1a) one (from injury or peril)  1a1) to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one  suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health  1b1) to preserve one who is in danger of destruction,  to save or rescue  1b) to save in the technical biblical sense  1b1) negatively  1b1a) to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment  1b1b) to save from the evils which obstruct the reception  of the Messianic deliverance

Jesus Seeks?

"Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a son of Abraham.  I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and to save those like him who are lost." (Luke 19:10 NLT)

Jesus said these words after hanging out with Zacchaeus.  Earlier in the day, Jesus had walked into town, spotted Zacchaeus, and invited himself over to the tax collector's house.  Despite the frustration of the crowds that Jesus would mix with such a scum-bag, the two of them partied the afternoon away.  Jesus had loved him so much that Zacchaeus couldn't help but be transformed.  Zacchaeus gave everything he had to God and others that very day because of the impact Jesus had on him.

I've got two part post for this one.  The question today focuses on "seek" and tomorrow focuses on "save". 
Today's question:  Keeping in mind the unlimited knowledge and presence of God... WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR JESUS TO "SEEK"?

Here's some of the Greek background to the word "seek":

• zhtew,v  {dzay-teh'-o}

1) to seek in order to find  1a) to seek a thing  1b) to seek [in order to find out] by thinking, meditating,  reasoning, to enquire into  1c) to seek after, seek for, aim at, strive after  2) to seek i.e. require, demand  2a) to crave, demand something from someone.

~poster by Jon Agee~

Re: communion 7/9

Re:pentance

When Communion loses its place as an effective symbol in the Corinthian church, Paul loses his patience!  Divisions, self-absorbance and gluttony[1] had infiltrated the community of believers in Corinth, forcing Paul to write a scathing admonition to them.  “But when I mention this next issue [of the Lord’s Supper], I cannot praise you,” he writes.  “For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together.”[2]  Paul then soberly decrees:

“It is not the Lord’s Supper you are concerned about when you come together… If anyone eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily, that person is guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord.  That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking from the cup.  For if you eat the bread or drink the cup unworthily, not honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.” (NLT)[3]

Communion, when misapplied or mishandled by the church, fails to offer Christ’s invitation to properly re:member.  Too often we pharisaically exclude from the Lord’s Table those people who have not yet “accepted Christ” while we eat the bread and drink the cup with division and arrogance in our own “saved” hearts.  Jesus invites sinners to the Table!  He levels the field through his own humility, serving each one of us with his garments as a towel.[4]  It is no coincidence that Jesus washed the feet of his followers before the Communion meal.  This simple act of humble service symbolized the extreme love Jesus has for others and it urges us to be of like mind.  The act re:calls the re:action of Zacchaeus, filthy with sin, who accepted the invitation to enter into humble communion with Jesus.  So moved by Jesus’ invitation, in fact, Zacchaeus re:pented and re:conciled himself to everyone else and, in so doing, gained salvation.[5]  Another dreaded tax collector named Levi did the same.[6]  Simon the Pharisee, haughty with religious pride, in contrast, ate and drank God’s judgment upon himself.[7]  To Simon’s dismay, Jesus invites every sinner to dine and find communion with him.[8]  Vander Zee shares that “since eating was an act of fellowship and acceptance, to eat with sinners was to accept them as friends and companions.”[9] Clapp concurs saying, “the Lord dined at an open table… This was to his contemporaries one of his most shocking and objectionable behaviors.  They understood what it meant: it signaled acceptance, friendship and empowerment of the tax-collector, the Gentile, the whore.”[10]

But when the Lord’s Supper is diminished in its practice, disunity, rather than community, prevails.  Just as a song can be sung from the lips without engaging the heart, so the acted rite of communion does not guarantee one’s genuineness in relationship with God or one another.  A fractured Church made up of individuals who focus on their own selves fails to recognize that “we have all been baptized into Christ’s body by one Spirit.”[11] 

So Paul urges the Corinthian beleivers to reconcile themselves to God prior to joining with one another.[12]  He also urges them to reconcile their actions with one another when they gather to “do this in remembrance” of the Lord Jesus.[13]  Vander Zee notes that through the practice of Communion we deepen our relationship with one another in the Body of Christ.  “In Paul’s understanding,” he says, “the Holy Spirit creates deep relationships in the body of Christ by our participation in the Lord’s Supper.”[14] While there are many parts to the body, there is only one body. [15]

As a primary ministry leader for the young adults among Brentview Baptist Church in Calgary, I am responsible to encourage and facilitate unity.  In her pastoral collaboration with Eugene Peterson, Marva Dawn describes that “one major function of the pastor that seems unnecessary to the world is to equip the congregation for its reconciling work in society and to make sure that congregants remain reconciled with each other.”[16]  For this reason, I am ever more convinced that the implementation of a re:newed practice of Communion should contribute impressively to the continually deepening formation of a community reconciled with God and others. 

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[1] 1 Corinthians 11:18, 21

[2] 1 Corinthians 11:17

[3] 1 Corinthians 11:20, 27-29

[4] “Before the Passover celebration… Jesus got up from the table, took off his rove, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin.  Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.” John 13:1, 4-5 (NLT) 

[5] Luke 19:1-10

[6] Mark 2:15

[7] Luke 7:36-50; 1 Corinthians 11:32

[8] Mark 2:13-17

[9] Vander Zee, 141.

[10]             Clapp, Rodney, A Peculiar People: The Church as Culture in a Post-Christian Society (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 108.

[11] 1 Corinthians 11:25 (NLT)

[12] 1 Corinthians 11:31

[13] Paul instructs the Corinthians to wait for each other rather than arriving early and gorging on the meal and becoming drunk on the beverage.  1 Corinthians 11:33

[14] Vander Zee, 43.

[15] 1 Corinthians 12:20

[16]             Peterson, Eugene and Marva Dawn, The Unnecessary Pastor: Rediscovering the Call (Grand Rapids, MI: 2000), 219.