Hidden Reefs and Love Feasts (Jude 1:12-13; 1 Corinthians 11)

These are hidden reefs in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

You live in first century Rome. If you are rich, you know how to feast.[1]

“Popular but costly fare included pheasant, thrush (or other songbirds), raw oysters, lobster, shellfish, venison, wild boar, and peacock…elaborate recipes were invented…with expensive ingredients and elaborate, even dramatic, presentation. For example, in [a fictional story] from 54–68 A.D., one man serves his guests… pig stuffed with sausages, a hare decorated with wings to resemble Pegasus, and various foods arranged in the shape of the twelve signs of the zodiac.”[2]

Tableware was made of “silver, gold, bronze, or semi-precious stones (such as rock crystal, agate, and onyx).”[3] The best cups were engraved with images of Dionysis, god of revelry. One article calls these feasts “A Calculated Display Of Debauchery And Power.”[4] This was a time to wallow in your wealth. This was primarily reserved for men, though really important women could join. If you were poor, this was a world to which you did not have access. It was for the elite. 

“Outside the patrician mansions and saffron-flavored swimming pools, the plebeians lived in overcrowded tenements and ate frugally. Food inequality was as endemic to ancient Rome as it is to our world today, with hunger and hedonism coexisting through the empire… With a population of one million people, the city was hard to feed… We know of 19 food riots in ancient Rome, and there were surely other ones that haven't left a documentary record. During one such riot in the Forum in A.D. 51, caused by a prolonged drought, the Emperor Claudius had to flee for his life.[5]

 The poor appear to have eaten largely a grain or cereal diet, with millet showing up a lot (the rich called this ‘animal food’).[6] 

“The ancient Roman playwright Plautus (c. 254 – 184 B.C.E.) noted a common lament in the ancient world when he wrote that “wretched is the man who has to look for his food himself and has a hard time finding it, but more wretched is one who has a hard time looking for it and does not find anything. And most wretched is that one who does not have anything to eat when he wishes to.’””[7]

 Slaves fared worst of all. They…

“were fed by their masters and sometimes with little more consideration than that afforded to livestock. Some ruthlessly efficient masters even admonished owners to cut food rations for sick slaves and provided instructions on how to feed them according to the amount of work they were expected to do depending on the season, similar to draft animals.”[8]

Enter the church and the subversive presence of the gospel not just in individual lives but in structures and norms. The early church – which was full of slaves, widows and orphans -  began to have their own feasts. They called them “love feasts,” and in Greek, that “love” is a form of the word agape (agapai).

“[it] probably denotes a communal celebration in the church… [it is] the observance of the Lord's Supper (which elsewhere Paul can describe with terms like "coming together to eat,"  1 Cor 11:17-22 ), or… a fellowship meal that may have preceded or followed observance of the Lord's Supper.”[9]

It seems that, perhaps on a weekly basis or even more frequently, the church gathered together to take communion and share a meal, a feast. The wealthy in the church would throw the feast, and everyone, even the poorest of the poor, would get to celebrate. The idea was that the more affluent members of the church would share their abundance of food with the less fortunate. Women, children, and slaves joined in. Entire families feasted together. This was not a “calculated display of debauchery and power,” but of love, service and honor. They didn’t just gather in a common place; they have a common experience. Think of how the church was described in Acts 2:44-46:

“And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.”

It’s a great vision for community – “common unity” in Christ, and this sharing of good through both communion and meals or feasts was intended to be a really practical expression of it. We can see that the church had been learning this idea of community throughout the New Testament: In the passages teaching that all women should be veiled and no man should cover their head, it’s a leveling of the playing field by addressing cultural symbols that divided and judged people. This was going to have to be addressed in meals too. 

“Roman communal feasting not only united and classified participants by social rank, it also offered “dramatic confirmation of what we now recognize as a key element for interpreting any eating event—namely, that once we establish the time, place, and participants of any meal, nearly everything else about social relationships in a given society can be brought into sharper focus. Such is the power of food.”[10]

A Roman satirists named Marshall described the hierarchy of food/social status this way: 

“You take oysters fattened in the Lucrine lake; I cut my mouth sucking a mussel from its shell; you get mushrooms, I get swing fungi; you take a turbot (a flatfish delicacy), but I a brill. A golden turtledove with fattened rump fills you up; a magpie dead in its cage is set before me.”[11]

This should never happen in a church love feast. The feast in the church was intended to be a practical demonstration of unity, celebration, and common care that crossed all boundaries. This was meant to be a life-giving “agape”feast both socially and nutritionally, not an unhealthy or sinful indulgence of the appetites of the flesh in which the rich flaunted their luxury and the poor were reminded of theirs.

“In Corinth the agape seems to have been slightly modified by two Grecian customs. One of these customs was the…symposium; a banquet [much like] our modern picnic…the most generous way was for those best able to bring the most liberal amount, and then spread the whole on a common table... The second custom was the Grecian sacrificial feasts, in which an ample supply was furnishe and so moderately eaten that a rich remainder was left for the poor. While Paul remained at Corinth the best qualities of both these pagan customs were exhibited in the love-feasts of the Christians, with some Christian improvements.”[12]

When Paul left Corinth, it seems to have fallen apart. The rich indulged with gluttony and even drunkenness while the poor ate what the poor always ate. This has implications for physical health on both sides for sure, as well as emotional, relation and spiritual health. Paul calls out the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 11. 

Context first. In Chapter 9, Paul goes off about how he limits his freedoms and exercises self-discipline:

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible... I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings…I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

In Chapter 10 he talks about unity, and surrendering rights to what is beneficial and constructive for the glory of God: 

our ancestors…were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea… ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink…drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them (Christ)….Is not the cup… and the bread… participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf… 

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others… So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

In Chapter 12, spiritual gifts must be surrendered and self-disciplined for the beneficial construction of the body, the church:

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.13 For we were all baptized by[ one Spirit so as to form one body… and we were all given the one Spirit to drink…. those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor…. God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it,  so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Chapter 13, is the Love Chapter, and chapter 14 is all about not just doing things in spiritual practices to edify yourself, but to edify others. 

So, Chapter 11 falls right in the middle of this pattern. Also, remember the food riot that was so bad Claudius had to flee the city? This was written about that same time. 

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.  

 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter! 

(A meal – the Lord’s supper - meant to unite was highlighting things that divided them: in this case, wealth and food)

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 

(The Lord’s supper is about sacrifice and love.) 

So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner[13] (I think in this context[14] it means without a heart to sacrificially share and show love[15]) will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord (basically, making a mockery of Christ’s legacy). Everyone ought to examine themselves (their motivation; their hearts; their resources[16]) before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ (without noticing the needs in the community of the church - they celebrate Christ’s body without seeing Christ’s ‘body’[17]) eat and drink judgment on themselves.[18] That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.[19] 

A lot of ink has been spilled trying to figure out what verse 18 means. If  I may offer an ‘at minimum’ reading: “People are sick and dying in your church because you aren’t honoring the sacrificial nature of Christ’s sacrifice, and you have refused to sacrifice yourself for the benefit and construction of the body of Christ.”[20]

 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world. So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together.  (1 Corinthians 11:17-33)

* * * * *

Let’s back up and get the big picture.  

Even good things can become bad if our use or exercise of them shows we don’t ‘discern the body of Christ’ by seeing the people around us and stewarding what God has given us in a way that builds up the ‘body of Christ’ that is assembled in ‘common union.’ 

False teachers are not only wolves, they are lone wolves (even if they run in packs). Their followers are loners as well, seeing themselves as islands, responsible to no one but themselves. It’s as if freedom in Christ was freedom from any obligation outside themselves, when actually Christ frees us to see our obligations in light of the Kingdom and joyfully fulfill them for our good and God’s glory. 

So I’ve been thinking a lot about this for myself. How does ‘discerning the body of Christ’ shape how I view life together in the church?  

• An obvious example is money. And as I’ve been saying, I just love how I have seen so many generous hearts revealed in this congregation in the past few months. That’s “love feast” territory. Sheila and I have been talking more than ever about what it means for us to be more generous in times of concern rather than less generous, because we have this default tendency to want to circle the wagons or claim exclusive ownership of what actually belongs to God. It turns out God has given us family resources to bring to the common table at the family feast. 

• My time. When I have the luxury of lots of time, am I praying about how to “feast with others” in the midst of my plenty? This isn’t to suggest I shouldn’t carve out time for me and God for my health on multiple levels so that I can serve Him well, but am I praying for wisdom about how to share from my abundance with the body of Christ?

•  My talents, gift or skills. If I am good at something, do I only use that to profit myself (which is a necessary things for stewarding a household), or am I also using it for others as I am able? How do those around my benefit from the talents, gifts and skills I bring to the feast? You might think, “All I can do is this.” Unless it’s a sin that you are offering, there are no dishonorable parts. Bring it.

• My words, face to face or in a virtual world. While I am sharing a “love feast”, am I filling the space with truth and grace? Is my verbal fountain yielding fresh and bitter water, or am I drawing from the well that never runs dry? Am I filling the air with gossip, fear and bitterness, or with truth, hope, peace? 

Like Scott pointed out last week, the New Testament writers constantly warn about the creeping danger within the church. The wolves aren’t gate crashers; they have been invited to the feast, and now the church is in danger.
I don’t want to be that person. I want to discern myself and the body of Christ. I want the truth and love of Christ in me to be working in me and embodied through me as I pull up my chair. Because that’s the obvious opposite effect of what Jude and Paul are warning about. In NOT discerning the body of Christ is so bad, just think how good it is when we DO discern the body of Christ? If one path leads to sickness and death, the other path must lead to health and life, right?

Once again, within the warning is the hope. Envision church community characterized by genuine love feasts in the fullest sense of the word: constantly ‘discerning the body of Christ’ by seeing the people around us and stewarding what God has given us in a way that builds up the ‘body of Christ’ that is assembled in ‘common union.’

It’s a glimpse of heaven, an expression of Christ, a vision of Kingdom that points toward the goodness and glory of the God into whose likeness we are constantly being made. 

QUESTIONS

1.    What do you bring to the “love feast”?

2.    How have you experienced the “love feast” gone right or wrong in your church history? What was the result?

3.    How can others in the group pray for you in this area?

 ______________________________________________________________________________

[1] https://eyesofrome.com/blog/eyes-on-storytelling/feasting-roman-style

[2] https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/banq/hd_banq.htm

[3] https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/banq/hd_banq.htm

[4] https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/05/20/712772285/the-lavish-roman-banquet-a-calculated-display-of-debauchery-and-power

[5] https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/05/20/712772285/the-lavish-roman-banquet-a-calculated-display-of-debauchery-and-power

[6] https://www.livescience.com/27569-ancient-romans-ate-millet.html

[7] https://zapruderworld.org/volume-5/food-provisioning-and-social-control-in-ancient-rome/

[8] https://zapruderworld.org/volume-5/food-provisioning-and-social-control-in-ancient-rome/

[9] https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/love-feast.html

[10] https://zapruderworld.org/volume-5/food-provisioning-and-social-control-in-ancient-rome/

[11] https://zapruderworld.org/volume-5/food-provisioning-and-social-control-in-ancient-rome/

[12] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/1-corinthians-11.html

 [13] “At all events, the unworthiness lies in a lack of living active faith in the atonement which has been achieved by the death of Christ; and this is the source of the various moral disqualifications by which the celebration of the Supper may be dishonored (Meyer Ed. 3). Among these we may mention a selfish, unloving conduct as one of the chief—such conduct as the rich at Corinth manifested towards the poor, and which exhibited a striking contrast with the love of Christ shown in the sacrifice of Himself for all, and set forth in the Holy Supper wherein the benefits of it are extended to every one.” – Lange’s Commentary

[14] “To eat or drink unworthily is in general to come to the Lord's table in a careless, irreverent spirit, without the intention or desire to commemorate the death of Christ as the sacrifice for our sins, and without the purpose of complying with the engagements which we thereby assume. The way in which the Corinthians ate unworthily was, that they treated the Lord's table as though it were their own; making no distinction between the Lord's supper and an ordinary meal; coming together to satisfy their hunger, and not to feed on the body and blood of Christ; and refusing to commune with their poorer brethren. This, though one, is not the only way in which men may eat and drink unworthily. All that is necessary to observe is, that the warning is directly against the careless and profane, and not against the timid and the doubting.” – Hodge’s Commentary

[15] “The context implies this refers to the disrupted unity of the church caused by the factious groups' arrogance and pride, but some have understood this to refer to the mandate for a proper spiritual attitude when observing the Lord's Supper (cf. Heb. 10:29).” – Bob Utely

[16] “In one sense all Christians are unworthy because they all have and continue to sin. In this context it refers specifically to the disunity and factious spirits of some in the church at Corinth (cf. II Cor. 13:5).” – Bob Utely

[17] "His body" seems not to refer to (1) the physical body of Jesus nor (2) the participants, but to the Church as a group (cf. 10:17; 12:12-13,27). Disunity is the problem. A spirit of superiority or class distinctions destroys the fellowship.” – Bob Utely

[18] “Paul is asserting in plain language that believers who violate the unity of the church may suffer temporal physical consequences, even death (cf. 3:17). This is directly connected to a lack of respect for the body of Christ, the church, the people of God (cf. Acts 5; I  Cor. 5:5; I Tim. 1:20).” – Bob Utely

[19] 'For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he discern not the body. For this reason many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.'

For all who come eating and drinking of the Lord's Supper, who do not discern in it His body, and His dying for them, and through it His uniting of them all in His body as one, drink judgment on themselves. Indeed that is why there is sickness among them, and quite a few have died ('sleep' is the Christian synonym for death). This would suggest something unusual which had happened, above the norm, which Paul saw as the chastening of God, for it was not seemingly a judgment that affected their eternal future. It had openly happened, and all were aware of it. It was not theoretical. And it was to be seen as a chastening of the whole church.

“'If he discern not the body.' In chapter 10 stress was laid on the fact that the bread was the representation of the body, and that that included both the body of the Lord Jesus and the body composed of His people as united with Himself. The bread represented His physical body, but it also represented His people made one with Him. Both have to be discerned as one for they are inseparable (Ephesians 2:15-16). Thus as we come to the Lord's Supper we must discern the Lord's body, that is, we must recognise that it proclaims His death for us and that we come as participators in His death and resurrection, and we must equally discern that we are all therefore one body in Christ sharing with Him in His death and resurrection.” – Peter Pett’s Commentary On The Bible

[20] “That there were disorders of the most reprehensible kind among these people at this sacred supper, the preceding verses sufficiently point out; and after such excesses, many might be weak and sickly among them, and many might sleep, i.e. die; for continual experience shows us that many fall victims to their own intemperance. How ever, acting as they did in this solemn and awful sacrament, they might have "provoked God to plague them with divers diseases and sundry kinds of death." (Adam Clarke)

“The “sleepers” had died in the Lord, or this term would not have been used of them; it does not appear that this visitation had singled out the profaners of the sacrament; the community is suffering, for widely-spread offence.”  (Expositors New Testament)

The Ultimate Eulogy

Did you know that the Bible doesn’t have any eulogies in the way that we think of them? There are no big speeches recorded when someone died. Part of that may be that the early church thought of death days as birthdays. They didn’t celebrate biological birthdays, because that was what pagans did. The early church treated the day one moved into the world to come as the birthday worth celebrating. 

So probably no surprise the Bible doesn’t record eulogies, and it’s rare to find eulogies or even inscriptions on tombstones that are more than a sentence long in the archaeological records of early Christians. This doesn’t make our eulogies bad, by the way. It just means when I go back to look at what we do in light of what they did, it’s different.

But there are two places in the Bible that pop up when you search for eulogies. The first is Ephesians 1:3-14. This passage is famous for being  one really long sentence that classically trained Paul wrote in the heroic or epic meter associated with the style of classical epic poetry (e.g., Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey).[1] Even though it’s all one sentence, I’m going to read it in the way that a speaker would have paused to separate and emphasize different areas of focus.

Blessed (eulogo) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed (eu+logos) us

with every blessing (eulogo) of the Spirit

in the high-heavenlies in Christ,

No other verse in the whole Bible has three uses of eulog- words. It’s why this verse has been referred to as a eulogy.

insofar as he chose us in him

before the foundation of the world

that we should be holy and blameless

before him.

In love

he predestined us for adoption

to himself through Jesus Christ

according to the good pleasure of his will

for praise of the glory of his grace,

which he bestowed on us in his Beloved,

in whom we have our redemption through his blood,

the forgiveness of our transgressions,

according to the riches of his grace,

which he lavished upon us

in all wisdom and insight

when he made known to us the mystery of his will

according to his good pleasure,

which he purposed in him

for the administration of the fullness of (all) eras

to sum up all things in the Messiah,

the things in heaven and things on earth in him,

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined

according to the purpose of him who works all things

according to the counsel of his will, 

to be the praise of his glory,

we who were the first to hope in Christ

in whom you heard the word of truth,

the gospel of your salvation,

in whom you believed,

you were sealed with the Spirit of promise,

who is a down payment of our inheritance

for redemption of his prized possession

for the praise of his glory.

That is different than what we think of as a eulogy, right? We use eulogy to mean a speech given when someone dies where, in a sense, we “bless” them and their memory. But here, in this eulogy that is simply blessing or praising God, we see a glimpse into our ultimate eulogy, the thing that matters most when we die: “He or she was a prized possession that God redeemed, and his or her life was lived to the praise of the glory of God.”

 The other passage, Matthew 25, will resonate a bit more as the kind of eulogy we practice today. It’s what Jesus will say to the servant who was faithful:

Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your lord. 

Well done (“eu”), good (empowered righteousness from God) and faithful (dutiful) servant (duolos). Enter into the joy (“grace recognized) of your lord.

If I were to combine these two passages, I end up with the kind of eulogy that I think we as Christians must long for when our time has come:

He/she was a good person (filled, changed, and transformed by God’s grace into the image of Jesus), faithful (walking as disciple of Jesus in the path God laid out to the place God has chosen for us), who brought glory and praise to God and brought the world a glimpse of the joy (“I recognize God’s grace at work at him”) which he/she once experienced in part but is now experiencing fully.

I have a lot of things I can say about Delynn. 

·      “Never ask a skinny man where to eat”: Delynn and I had culinary adventures, let me tell you. When he said, “Do you want to eat here?” there was only reasonable answer: yes. But if that was all there was to Delynn, my eulogy would be only about tasted buds and digestion, which are good things with good times attached to them, but they are not Delynn’s deepest Kingdom legacy. 

·      His jokes, especially when they involved his Pennsylvania Dutch accents, delighted me. But if that was all there was to Delynn, my eulogy would be about laughter (and food), which are both good things over which I make good memories with a good friend, but while they were part of Delynn they were not what drove him, and they are not Delynn’s deepest Kingdom legacy.

·      He delighted in pushing me and every one else out of our comfort zones, like the time he handed me keys to a van and said, “By the way, you are driving across Costa Rica today. Let’s go. Try to keep up.” Or the time he took me to a rivalry soccer game and bought me the visitors’ jersey, and then was highly amused by all the dirty looks and muttered comments I got because he wanted me to experience, just for a little bit, what it was like to be the minority in a hostile environment. But if that was all he was, that would serve a good purpose to be sure, and my eulogy would just be about how crazy he was, and those are meaningful memories, but even that, which is part of his ministry, is not Delynn’s deepest kingdom legacy.  

·      He knew somebody everywhere we went. We would be stopped at a light in San Jose, and suddenly he was yelling at somebody who pulled up next to him – and he knew him. It happened twice in one day in San Jose. And that amazes me – that he had the energy to know that many people and that he remembered their names – and I deeply admired that in Delynn, and that skill certainly contributed to his living to the praise and glory of God, but even his God-given gifts of extroversion and a good memory are not his deepest Kingdom legacy.

The legacy that will ripple through eternity are all the things that brought glory and praise to God and brought the world joy: that is, all the things in which we could all see God’s grace at work in Delynn. 

·      He grew as a father, a husband, and a leader through humility, surrender, and dedication to living out the goodness God gave him and faithfully stewarding what was given to him. From Carmelinda: “You used to tell a story in your sermon about how when I was little I asked you why I have two daddies. And then you answered, “Because you have one that’s perfect and one that’s not.” Nobody likes to be sinful and flawed. Delynn didn’t like it any better than the rest of us. But he was committed to seeing it and surrendering it to God and others for the glory of God. That’s kingdom legacy.

·      He grew a ministry because he was passionate about making disciples. He wanted to do everything for the glory of God, and he used all the talents God have him. Relentlessly. And even that, the older he got, the more he surrendered those things for accountability and direction for the glory of God, and kingdom fruit followed. That’s kingdom legacy.

·      He talked with me about his frailties, weaknesses, and failures, because he could see there were places he was not embodying God’s goodness and he was struggling to fulfill his duties as a servant. We talked a lot about Gloria and Carmelinda, because Delynn wanted to love, steward and disciple them. I think it’s safe to say that his family, as well as those around him, saw him dedicated to surrendering himself more fully to God for our good and God’s glory. That’s kingdom legacy.

·      And so, in the time I knew Delynn, he followed in the footsteps of Jesus: he increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and others. This happened =by the grace of God, and - as he always said - to the glory of God. 

So many things linger. But his most importance legacy is a life in which the goodness of a grace-giving God transformed Delynn into a dedicated disciple whose testimony brought glory and praise to God. He recognized God’ grace and work in him and in others, and he is now experiencing it in its fullness in joy unspeakable, and full of glory.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that this week, and about eulogies, and about legacies. What is the ultimate eulogy for a follower of Jesus?

He/she was a good person (filled, changed, and transformed by God’s grace into the image of Jesus), faithful (walking as disciple of Jesus in the path God laid out to the place God has chosen for us), who brought glory and praise to God and brought the world glimpse of the joy (recognizing God’s grace at work) which he/she once experienced in part but is now experience fully.

 Good person = only through salvation and Holy Spirit sanctification. There is no one good but God, and yet God lets us participate in his goodness by transforming us into his image.

·      “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

·      “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

 We don’t do this. God does this. We cannot experience this without surrendering our lives to Jesus and following Him in worshipful obedience. If you want to be good, you must let God place His goodness in you.

Faithful = putting one foot in front of the other in the path and with the tools God has given me. This is not perfection; this is persistence.

·      “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 

·      “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

God doesn’t need perfect people, which is good news for all of us. He needs persistent people. He doesn’t need flawless people. He needs people who are not defined by their failures, but by His forgiveness.

Bring glory and praise to God = my life and my words testify to GOD, not me. God must increase while we decrease. Our testimony is never about us; it’s about Christ in us. 

·      “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 

·      “Whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11 

·      “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” 1 Peter 2:12 

·      “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 

 I cannot save the world let alone anybody else. But Christ in me can. As an ambassador, I just go to people and places so they can see that Christ in me is the hope of glory. God forbid I turn the spotlight on me. May my life always be a testimony that God is so loving and strong that he took even me and used my life for our good – and His glory.

Bring the world glimpses of joy = by manifesting God’s grace at work in ourselves and recognizing God’s grace at work in others

·      “That has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world – just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God's grace.” Colossians 1:6 

·      “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace.”  Acts 20:24 

 Lives lived in recognition of God’s grace, which always brings humility and adoration. Lives lived extending grace to others, which is the kind of act of love that covers a multitude of sins and makes it possible to live in the kind of Kingdom community that shines in the darkness.

 Lord, may this be the eulogy of everyone in this room and listening online:

They were good people (filled, changed, and transformed by God’s grace into the image of Jesus. 

They were faithful (walking as disciple of Jesus in the path God laid out to the place God has chosen for us)

They brought glory and praise to God and brought the world glimpse of the joy (recognizing God’s grace at work)

Now, they are experiencing the fullness of your grace in a world of joy unspeakable, and full of the glory of God. 

THREE QUESTIONS

• Who is someone whose kingdom legacy has inspired you, and why?

• What is your kingdom legacy right now? What would you like it to be? Are they different, and if so, what is stopping you from pursuing the legacy you desire?

• How has the grace of God been glorified or highlighted in your life? How have you experienced it from God’s people? How have you passed it on?

__________________________________________________________________________

[1] https://spoiledmilks.com/2016/04/28/pauls-longest-sentence-ephesians/

The Privileges and Responsibilities of Being a Child of God

Country singer Rodney Atkins sings a song called, “Watching You”

Drivin’ through town just my boy and me with a Happy Meal in his booster seat, knowin’ that he couldn’t have the toy ‘til his nuggets were gone. A green traffic light turned straight to red; I hit my brakes and mumbled under my breath. His fries went a flyin’, and his orange drink covered his lap. Well, then my four year old said a four letter word - it started with “S” and I was concerned, so I said, “Son, now where’d you learn to talk like that?”

He said, "I’ve been watching you, dad ain’t that cool? I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you. And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are. We got cowboy boots and camo pants; yeah, we’re just alike, hey, ain’t we dad? I want to do everything you do. So I’ve been watching you."

We got back home and I went to the barn. I bowed my head and I prayed real hard , said, “Lord, please help me help my stupid self.” Just this side of bedtime later that night turnin’ on my son’s Scooby-Doo nightlight. He crawled out of bed and he got down on his knees. He closed his little eyes, folded his little hands, spoke to God like he was talkin’ to a friend. And I said, “Son, now where’d you learn to pray like that?”

He said, "I’ve been watching you, dad ain’t that cool? I’m your buckaroo, I want to be like you. And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are. We like fixin’ things and holding momma’s hand, yeah, we’re just alike, hey, ain’t we dad? I want to do everything you do; so I’ve been watching you"

Billy Currington sings a similar - but very different -song called “Walk a Little Straighter.”

 I remember looking up to look up to him And I remember most the time He wasn't there. I'd be waiting at the door when he got home at night; He'd pass me by to go to pass out in his chair and I'd say, “Walk a little straighter daddy you're swaying side to side. You're footsteps make me dizzy and no matter how I try I keep tripping and stumbling. If you'd look down here you'd see . Walk a little straighter daddy; you're leading me.”

 He stumbled in the gym on graduation day and I couldn't help but feel  so ashamed. and I wasn't surprised a bit when he didn't stay. He stumbled out before they called my name. “Walk a little straighter daddy; you're swaying side to side. It's not just me who's watching; you've caught everybody's eye. And you're tripping and stumbling and even though I've turned 18, walk a little straighter daddy; you're still leading me.

 I want to talk about family today, and what it’s like to be a child of earthly parents, and then what it’s like to be a child of God. 

 Ever since my dad’s death, I have felt very strongly my sense of place in the history of my family.

Martin Weber – He left Pennsylvania when God spoke to him while he sat on a tractor and said, “Move to Alabama and start a ministry.”  So he did.  He not only farmed successfully, but he started a prison ministry called “We Care” which is still thriving today.  One of men he helped showed up at Weber gatherings for decades – he was like an extended part of our family. In the 1960s and 1970s, in the midst of a racially charged southern climate, grandpa was the first white man to preach in an all-black church in Mobile, Alabama; one of the ex-prisoners who benefited from his ministry was the first black man to set foot in an all-white church in Mobile. So I was watching him, and it was cool.     

But my Grandpa wasn’t perfect.  He “swayed”. Not everyone liked him.  He could be hard to work with, and he could be stubborn, and he was very capable of saying things to people that were harsh.

My Dad, Leon, son of Martin, farmed with Grandpa and did construction work, then helped Grandpa in prison ministry, ran a home for juevenile delinquent girls for a while, then moved to Ohio and taught in a Bible college most of the rest of his life while still farming on the side. He was a counselor, a traveling preacher….  Last Christmas my mom was telling me stories of how she and Dad attended a racially integrated church for a while in Alabama, and they would be followed to church… So I was watching him, and it was cool. 

 But my Dad wasn’t perfect.  He did some swayin’ too.

Now here I am – Anthony, only son of Leon to pass the last name of Weber on, the oldest  grandson of Martin to pass the last name of Weber on … And there is AJ, and Braden, and Vincent….  If they have kids, they will pass on the Weber name… It makes me think of the characters in the classical stories where people are introduced by their family history. 

“Here is Arther Pendragon, son of Uther Pendragon…”

“I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn…”

“I am Anthony, son of Leon, son of Martin.”

 Life was somehow understood better in the context of lineage.  It was as if knowing where we come from is as important as knowing where we are and where we are going.

For some of us, this placement of our selves in a family line is a blessing. “I’ve been watching you Dad, ain’t that cool.”But even this blessing of a sense of place can be paralyzing or damaging – I can become so overwhelmed by the need to perform up to expectations that I live a life of slavery to reputation.  But it can also be very empowering – momentum has been built for me, and I can ride the wave.

For some of us, this is not a blessing at all.  Placing ourselves in our family tree makes us want to cut off the branch. This sense of place can be paralyzing or damaging too.   I can become so overwhelmed by the dysfunction of my past that I can despair of every rising above. If there is a wave of momentum, it’s just going to pound me to a pulp on the rocks. But it can also be very empowering – the drive to create a new, better legacy for those who come after you can be very motivating if it doesn’t consume us. 

But in addition to this sense of place in a story bigger than my own, I also became more aware of why this role of son and father come both responsibilities and privileges.

I carry the Weber name.  What I do as a Weber has implications.  I can honor or shame the legacy of the Webers who have come before me.  When I go back to Alabama, if I go into town and say, “I am Martin Weber’s grandson,” people know who I am.  Doors open.  There are opportunities that I get only because the reputation of my Grandpa precedes me. That’s the privilege. They know my Grandpa.   When I traveled a lot in Mennonite circles, the conversation always reached a point where I was Leon Weber’s son.   People looked at me differently when they found that out, because my dad had a good reputation. That’s the privilege.

What I did and what I do will not only reflect on who my Grandpa and Dad were, but will actually continue to make or break their reputations – that’s the responsibility.

At my dad’s funeral, I did not speak.  Someone else gave my eulogy.I decided my life would be my eulogy.  Because my Dad was who he was, that is meaningful to me, and I know that it was a privilege to have the kind of father whose legacy I want to honor.  But I have also realized the responsibility.  I bear the image and name and reputation of my father.

As I dad, I have the privilege of having sons.  But I can honor or shame the Webers who follow me (I was at an open gym with AJ, and I said to one of the TCCS players, “That was boss!”  And AJ said, “Dad, stop.”)  That’s the responsibility.

 In The Crucible, John Proctor, falsely accuses of witchcraft, is asked to sign a confession to avoid hanging. He doesn’t. Why?  

“Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”

Why was this so important?

“I have three children.  How may I teach them to walk like men in the world, when I sold my friends.”

 One thing I find fascinating about the biblical genealogies is that they pull no punches.   Heroes and villains show up, people to admire and people to question.  And the Bible doesn’t flinch – in fact, God doesn’t flinch – at where we’ve come from.  When we see a key character’s place in history, we see clean and dirty laundry.  In biblical genealogies, you get people whose momentum you want to build on….and you get people whose momentum you want to break.  You get “I’m your buckaroo” and “Walk a little straighter”

 Then we get to the ultimate character in the Bible, and the ultimate lineage: Jesus. Here’s the lineage from Matthew 1: 

 1A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: 

   2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, 

         Isaac the father of Jacob, 

         Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 

       3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

         Perez the father of Hezron, 

         Hezron the father of Ram, 

       4Ram the father of Amminadab, 

         Amminadab the father of Nahshon, 

         Nahshon the father of Salmon, 

       5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

         Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

         Obed the father of Jesse, 

       6and Jesse the father of King David. 

      David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,

     Solomon the father of Rehoboam, 

         Rehoboam the father of Abijah, 

         Abijah the father of Asa, 

       8Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, 

         Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, 

         Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 

       9Uzziah the father of Jotham, 

         Jotham the father of Ahaz, 

         Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 

       10Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, 

         Manasseh the father of Amon, 

         Amon the father of Josiah, 

       11and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[a] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 

    12After the exile to Babylon: 

         Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, 

         Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 

       13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, 

         Abiud the father of Eliakim, 

         Eliakim the father of Azor, 

       14Azor the father of Zadok, 

         Zadok the father of Akim, 

         Akim the father of Eliud, 

       15Eliud the father of Eleazar, 

         Eleazar the father of Matthan, 

         Matthan the father of Jacob, 

       16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, so that’s cool.

• Rahab was a Canaanite; Ruth was from Moab.

• Bathsheba was a Hittite by marriage, and she committed adultery with david, and one of their children was Solomon

• Tamar’s origin is unclear, but we do know she seduced her father-in-law by pretending she was a prostitute

• Jehoram killed all his brothers to secure his power, and the Bible says he “abandoned God.”  

• Ahaz offered his son to the god Moloch by burning him alive. 

There was a little “swayin’ side to side” in the house and lineage of David.

"You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve," said Aslan. "And that is both honor enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content.” C.S. Lewis(Prince Caspian)

 But Jesus was also the son of God. And there comes a tension point where Jesus has to decide whose family is more important, and he concludes:  “I must be about my father’s business.”  

I am Anthony, son of Leon, son of Martin…but that is not where my ultimate sense of identity is meant to be found.  That is not where I find the greatest privilege or the greatest responsibility.

I am Anthony, child of God.   

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

"'I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1)

I am “a fellow citizen with God’s people and members of God’s household” (Ephesians 2:19).

 I, Anthony, am a child of God, and I must be about my Father’s business.There are some tremendous privileges that come with bearing His name.

• Eternal life (John 3:15-16, 36; Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:11-13).

• Forgiveness of sin (Colossians 1:14; Ephesians 1:7; 4:32).

• Reconciliation to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Romans 5:8-11).

• Salvation (2 Timothy 2:10; 1 Timothy 1:15; Matthew 1:21).

• The grace of God (Ephesians 1:6; 2 Timothy 1:9; 2:1).

• The love of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14; Ephesians 3:19).

• Deliverance from darkness (Colossians 1:13; Acts 26:18).

• The Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 3:14; 4:6).

• Access to God in prayer (John 16:23-24; Ephesians 2:18).

• Fruitfulness (John 15:4-8; Philippians 1:11; Colossians 1:10).

• Spiritual power and strength (Romans 15:13; Ephesians 3:16).

• Rescue from God’s future wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9).

• Joy (John 15:11; 17:13; 1 Peter 1:8; Philippians 4:4).

• Hope (Colossians 1:27; 1 Timothy 1:1; Titus 2:13).

• Peace with God (Romans 5:1; Colossians 1:20, Philippians 4:7).

• God’s wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:24-25, 30; Ephesians 1:17).

• A life and labor that are not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

So becoming a follower of Christ, and finding my identity in Him, brings with it blessings that can be found in no one else.  It is a privilege to be a child of God.  

 But just like with my earthly father, I bear the image of my Heavenly Father, and I carry the name and reputation of my Heavenly Father. Our Heavenly Father has adopted us into his family.  Now, I have a new name.  I’m still a Weber, but it is secondary to my primary identification.  I am a child of God.

I must be about my Father’s business too. Why?  Because God has entrusted the church, and that includes us, with His reputation.  I bear the image and the name and the reputation of my Father.

We are “…being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18) such that we have the “fearful responsibility” (2 Corinthians 5:11) of being ”ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us...” (2 Corinthians 5:20) 

There is no “swaying” in that image. It is the image of a father without fault. As children of God, we bear the image, the name, the reputation, and the mission of our Heavenly Father. 

 How is that going for you?

 What did people around you learn about Jesus this week by being around one of the children of God? What did your kids learn? What did you co-workers learn? What did your online friends learn? What did other people in this church learn about Jesus as you, and ambassador, made some kind of appeal? 

• Jesus loves reconciliation or division?

• Jesus loves peace or war?

• Jesus loves self-control or self-indulgence?

• Jesus loves honesty or dishonesty?

• Jesus love the respect of image bearers or the humiliation of them?

• Jesus loves hiddenness or transparency?

• Jesus loves boldness or fear?

• Jesus love truth or gossip and lies?

• Jesus loves forgiveness or resentment?

• Jesus loves soft words that turn away anger or harsh words that provoke?

• Jesus loves generosity or selfishness?

• Jesus loves repentance or defensiveness?

• Jesus loves walking into tension or walking away from tension?

 May we have the wisdom, the grace, and the love to pass on the gifts that our Heavenly Father has given us, His children, so that a world in need of a Perfect Father sees Jesus through His word, the Holy Spirit, and his ambassadors, and enters into His family. 

THREE QUESTIONS

1. Does the family legacy you carry feel like a burden or a privilege? How might it influence how you think about God as a father, and the church as a family?

2. “I must be about my Father’s business.” What do you understand that to mean in your life, with God as your heavenly father?

3.  What did people around you learn about Jesus this week by being around one of the children of God?

The Apples In Our Eyes

We talked last week about how the people of God are “in the apple of God’s eye.” First, that’s fantastic news for the people of God. Second, it probably has implications for us as we seek to represent God to the world. We know God cares because He is so close (to use David’s analogy in Psalms) we can see our reflection in His eyes.

My final point last week was that followers of Jesus – the church, collectively – ought to be so close to everybody that there is no one who is not in the “apple” of the eye of a follower of Jesus. It’s not a perfect analogy – the Bible portrays God’s people as being in God’s eye – but it seems fair that God’s image bearers who are far from Him should be in the eyes of His image bearers who are near to Him and filled with His spirit and truth.

One of the most important ways we can do this is by being close to show who are experiencing the broken groaning of a creation wracked by sin. We weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15) – we represent a God who is “near to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18) and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3). Because Jesus has “borne our grief and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4), we help with the burdens people carry, knowing that our presence brings the presence of Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

Between the racial tension and the ongoing pandemic, there seem to be a lot of weeping, brokenhearted, burdened people right now, on all sides and from all perspectives. We often talk about individuals being raised up “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). I wonder what it looks like to think of the church being raised up for such a time as this.

I am going to illustrate this by looking at how we can be faithfully present in a country torn right now by racial strife. I have been reading a lot of comments about how the Bible only talks about one race – the human – race, and therefore if we get sucked into talking about racism we are buying into worldly categories of thinking.

That’s true in the sense that, while the world of the Bible thought of people, tribes, tongues and nations, people didn’t seem to segregate the world through the lenses of skin tone like we do. When Paul says on Mars Hill, “God made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth,” none of the philosophers batted an eye (Acts 17:26). A classic Bible verse about how divisive distinctions are overcome in Christ mentions Jews/Gentiles, slave/free, and men/women (Galatians 3:28) – three things from which Jewish men at the time thanked God for sparing them. In Paul’s response to that prayer, we see religious division, class division and gender division. In Corinth, the church was divided by social status - the veiled and unveiled women (1 Corinthians 11). In James, the church is divided by wealth.

But the good news of the gospel is that it breaks down culturally constructed barriers that segregate and divide people. God didn’t draw those lines of segregation – people did. And God had something to say about it. It has something to say about racism too. The Bible uses its current events to shows us how the process works so that we can apply it to our current events. Racism needs to be broken at the foot of the cross. So while I’m going to talk about a concept that is broadly applicable, I am going to illustrate this morning with what I just said in mind.

 I have three points: sit with people, share the gospel, invest in lives.

 Sit with people. 

 “What I need to hear from you is that you recognize how painful it is. I need to hear from you that you are with me in my desperation. To comfort me, you have to come close. Come sit beside me on my mourning bench.”   Lament for a Son, Nicholas Wolterstorff 

Let’s not be hesitant to mourn what needs to be mourned. I think that means we will mourn with everyone at some point, since we all get nailed by sin, either because we do it or someone else has done it. That’s worth mourning. Rather than looking at what camp that places us in culturally or politically, let’s look at the person in mourning and let’s just be faithfully present with them. That’s one thing Job’s friends got right. For a few days, they just sat with him. Didn’t try to fix him. Just sat with him. Just entered into his world and his pain. Nobody gives them any crap about that, because it was the right call.

It’s okay to sit in a mourning moment and do a very particular kind of weeping for a particular person or a particular situation. 

• It’s why Jesus could weep over Jerusalem when the whole world deserved weeping. (Luke 19)

• It’s why Jonah went to Ninevah when lots of cities needed a prophet. 

•  It’s why Jesus wept for Lazarus when lots of people died that same day. (John 11)

• It’s why Jesus focuses on the 1 lost sheep even though the other 99 still matter. (Matthew 18)

It’s why we can sit on the bench with someone who is black and mourning in this cultural moment and say, “I am so sorry. Your life matters.” There is no need to add qualifications right now. I have spoken about the importance of all lives in this pulpit for years – how many times have we talked about all people being image bearers, and all Christians being part of the temple? We already talk about this. Surely, if Jesus can focus on the 1 that is in desperate need of attention and intervention for a time without us assuming the other 99 didn’t matter, we can focus on the few for a time without assuming it means we don’t care about the many.

There is a time to focus our time and our tears, not because no one else deserves it, or because no one else matters, but because “the little man in my eye” is mourning about something very personal, and we will too. It’s in the time of mourning that people learn that we care. We don’t know what to say. We aren’t sure if we should give them space or move close. We might not fully understand why they are mourning the way they are. In this moment they need a fellow human being who is also a follower of Jesus to get them in the apple of their eye, and sit with them, and just be present. We sit with them because we care; since we are ambassadors for Jesus, they learn that Jesus cares.

If we are “in Christ” and in His will, and representing His heart, and we follow the sound of weeping and then look up, we will at be sitting not just with friends, family and church members, but – to go back to last week’s sermon - with Samaritans, centurions, tax collectors, and prostitutes. Creating “little people in our eyes” will takes us places that make us look like “friends of sinners.” Which, of course, we are. Jesus was. Those being transformed into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18) will be too.

If you look up and you see that’s where you are, I wouldn’t move. It’s where Jesus was. It’s a good look for followers of Jesus when we follow Him to where he went.

Preach the good news of the Gospel. Being faithfully present is not less than sitting with people, but it’s certainly more than that. If I have the cure for someone who is sick, and all I do is sit with them, that’s no good. 

Me: I don’t feel so good, doc.

Doc: I can see that. I’m really sorry for you. You have epifungal gingivatonicitis.

Me: That’s not good. I didn't even know epifungal gingivatonicitis existed.

Doc: No, you didn’t. 

Me: 

Doc:

Me: So…. now what….

 Jesus came for sick people in a sin-sick world. He is the Great Physician who gives the right diagnosis – sin is killing us – and the right cure – the blood of Jesus. Our faithful witness includes faithfully witnessing to the saving grace of the Gospel. [i]

If all we do is sit, that is comforting and important in and of itself, but it’s not what theologians call salvific: it offers a temporary good, but it’s not salvation.

Doctors give morphine to someone who is dying in tremendous pain. It won’t save them, but it’s better than letting them die in pain. If that’s all they can do, they will at least do that, and that’s a good thing. But what if they could have healed them, and all they offered was pain relief instead of telling them the good news? That’s an entirely different scenario. 

We can do practical things that protect earthly life and bring earthly hope, and that’s not a bad thing. But we have life in Christ to offer; we have hope that the power of sin and death will not have the last word. Giving a cup of water to the thirsty is good news to those with parched throats; presenting the living water is euangelion – gospel – to those with parched souls.   

So while we embrace the opportunity to offer temporary goods and advocate for earthly justice we must remember the Great Commission: we are to go into all the world and preach the gospel, the good news that, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we know that sin and death do not have the final word, and that broken people in a  groaning world can find salvation and hope in Jesus.

 You know who needs that kind of message delivered by Christians who are sitting so close to them they see their reflection in our eyes?   

·      the George Floyds of the world 

·      the policeman who killed him

·      Ahmaud Arberry

·      the guys who shot him

·      heart-broken Black Lives Matter protestors 

·      Marxist revolutionaries fueling protests

·      slandered law enforcement 

·      Antifa radicals

·      Proud Boys and Boogaloo extremists[2]

·      The rioter who burned a business to the ground

·      The shop owner whose business burned to the ground

·      Politicians who don’t want to waste a good crisis

It turns out, God so loved the world….that whosoever believes in him can be saved (John 3:16-17) in this midst of their scandalous sinfulness and brought to redemption, healing, and hope because the penalty and weight of the sins of the world were placed on his shoulders. 

 This means sinners can experience redemption. 

This means terrible sinners can experience redemption.  

It’s the scandalous nature of the Gospel. 

We rightly love that Elizabeth Elliot forgave the murderers of her husband. We rightly love that Amish communities forgive shooters of their children.  We rightly tear up when we see a youtube video of a courtroom scene where criminals who have done monstrous things are forgiven by the families devastated by their crimes. 

We love watching people embrace the implications of that scandalous, grace-filled cross, because we know that’s how the gospel is supposed to play out. 

Can we do it? Can we practice it? Can we look at everyone in our community and on our TV screen and genuinely pray for the salvation, forgiveness, and restoration that Jesus offers to them? Can we take that message to them? 

Invest in our neighbors. By this I mean I think it’s important that we embed ourselves in our community. Here was God’s direction to the Jews in Babylonian exile:

“Build houses—make homes for your families because you are not coming back to Judah anytime soon. Plant gardens, and eat the food you grow there. Marry and have children; find wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, so that they can have children. During these years of captivity, let your families grow and not die out. Pursue the peace and welfare of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to Me, the Eternal, for Babylon because if it has peace, you will live in peace.” (Jeremiah 29:5-11)

There is something to be said for posturing ourselves such that we are “for” people around us in ways that align with the biblical model of care. The church in Acts shared their possessions to such an extent that all the needs were met in their church community. The church throughout history has taken care of more than their own, much to the dismay of the stingy governments that got shown up.[3]  

 We are not just the mouth and eyes of Jesus; we are the hands and feet of Jesus. Feet go places; hands do things for the sake of all the image bearers in our eyes, and we do it in the name of and for the glory of Jesus. 
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[1] If someone had come to my father’s funeral and I said, “My dad’s life mattered,” and they said, “So does every other dad’s life,” that would have been true but it would not have been helpful. That funeral was about my dad. And I know there were people who sat with me and wept with me who had issues with my dad and rightly so - and they did not bring them up in my time of mourning. I learned them later, but not that day.

[2] Boogaloo - https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/boogaloo-arrests-reveal-new-extremist-agenda-to-hijack-protests-2047161/

Proud Boys - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/19/proud-boys-fbi-classification-extremist-group-white-nationalism-report

[3] Evangelicalism in the US was known for its practical (though imperfect) investment in the health of communities from the beginning

[i] Scripture verses that summarize the Gospel are sprinkled throughout the Bible.  Here are some cited by JI Packer in the book, Grounded in the Gospel (I got this from https://jamesmirror.com/2011/12/12/bible-verses-that-summarize-the-gospel/):

§  He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isa. 53:5)

§  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45)

§  God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)

§  All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name (Acts 10:43)

§  Through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the Law of Moses (Acts 13:38-39)

§  He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification (Rom. 4:25)

§  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8)

§  Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures … he was buried. . . . The third day he rose again from the dead, according to the Scriptures . . . and he appeared (1 Cor. 15:3-6). Paul writes that this is the Gospel “I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this Gospel you are saved” (1 Cor. 15:1-2). In outlining it here, Paul asserts that “what I received I passed on to you is of first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3)

§  God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not counting men’s trespasses against them (2 Cor. 5:19)

§  God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him (2 Cor. 5:21)

§  Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David: this is my Gospel (2 Tim. 2:8)

§  He gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good (Titus 2:14)

§  But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

§  Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Heb. 9:28)

§  He 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  (Peter 2:24)

§  Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18)

§  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10)

The Apple Of God's Eye

David asked to be the “apple of God’s eye” (Psalm 17:8)[1]  – literally the "little man of the eye,” the tiny reflection of yourself that you can see in other people’s pupils because you are being watched so closely by that person. David was asking God to be close, to keep an eye on him, to keep him safe from the wicked people around him who are like lions stalking prey. David wanted God to be near him, to focus on David such that his eyes were full of him, and to be for him. Deuteronomy 32:10 uses the phrase this way:

“In a desert land he found him (Israel), in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye…”

It’s got me thinking about an implication of being God’s ambassadors, God’s representatives. We talk about being the hands and feet of Jesus, going places and doing things on behalf of God that reveals that the Holy Spirit has taken up His dwelling in us so that when people experience us they experience “Christ in us” (Colossians 1:27).  I wonder, then, if we are meant to represent God by going into the “barren and howling waste” that is our culture to guard and care for the “little people in our eyes” as well. If people are wondering, “Does God even see me and care?” that question is often answered when God’s people see them and care. 

I’ve been thinking about this recently because of some realities of life that have highlighted the Christian burden of caring.[2] When we are so close to people that they are the “little man in our eye,” we weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15) as the move through this barren and howling wasteland – and, well, everyone weeps at some point. We will help each other carry burdens (Galatians 6:2) - and everyone carries burdens. Doing this for everyone is an impossible task that only one person in the history of the world was able to do (let alone do perfectly) and that’s Jesus.  

But we, who as humans are God’s image bearers, and who as believers are ambassadors indwelt by God’s spirit; members of God’s body, the church – we must go into the wasteland and get “this close” – and weep for more than our own sorrows and carry more burdens than our own. 

But really engaging this can feel…unsettling. There was a reason Jesus’ audience wanted clarification on who their neighbors were (Luke 10:25-37). The Bible says the man asking this question of Jesus was “seeking to justify himself.” I mean, it was one thing to consider your Jewish friends and family to be the neighbors to whom you extended the kind of love Jesus talked about when he summarized the Law, but….

·      that Samaritan (Luke 10)? 

·      That Roman centurion (Acts 10)?

·      That tax collector (Luke 19)? 

·      That prostitute (Luke 7)? 

That’s what “friends of sinners” do (Matthew 11:16-19) – and that was a mocking label, not an affirming one. So this tension of the Christian call to genuinely care about others, to be so close that they take up that “apple” spot in our eyes, often places us in tense spots. 

·      Samaritans were aligned with blasphemy, and caring about them as neighbors made it look like Jewish people supported blasphemy. 

·      Roman centurions were aligned with the political oppression of God’s people; accepting them into the church could look like overlooking Roman sin.

·      Tax collectors were traitorous enablers of economic oppression. Having a meal with them could easily look like enablement.

·      Prostitutes were an obvious face of sexual immorality (and often fertility cult worship at that time). Spending time with them looked like you were minimizing or even overlooking their sin.

 And yet they were neighbors even though they lived in the wasteland, and at least one of them (Zaccheus) was there by his own choosing. Yet God has his eye on them; they were meant to be in the eyes of God’s people. Their lives demanded the love and investment of Christ’s followers. Wastelands have never stopped Christians, no matter how barren and howling they are.

 The God who created us, loves us, and offers salvation to us has a vested interest in His world. It groans because of the devastation that sin has wrought in everything. We collectively groan as a church as we recognize the brokenness that has infiltrated everything God has created. In that shared weeping we represent the Immanuel part of how God is described - God with us, felt strongly because God’s people are present.  

What kind of heart should I have for my neighbor?  One filled with the kind of love God offered to us. 

How do I want to see them? Like God sees them. 

Where will I have to go? Into barren and howling wildernesses. 

How close will I have to get? Apple-of-the-eye close. 

 I find myself weeping for and with so many people for so many different reasons right now. There are a lot of people in my eye. A lot of the time, it is close friends and fellow Christians. Life is hard. We try to do it together with empathy and sympathy. It’s also people and parties and organizations that might normally bring out resistance or criticism as I weep with and share the burden of an even broader circle of neighbors, even if their sin has placed that burden on their shoulders or brought about their weeping. Who better to be present with them in that moment than the people of God? Who better to be apple-of-the-eye close than Christians?

I made a list this week of things that reminds me that I have a long and complicated list of neighbors who have been the “little people in my eye” recently. Some of them I see face-to-face; some I must choose to see through media so I can move closer in spirit so that I am ready when I move close in person. Some dwell in the land of promise, some in the wilderness. I must choose not to look away. 

·      Those who have lost family members to the coronavirus 

·      those who have lost their business, or for whom poverty and all its implications seems inevitable because we shut the economy down 

·      the most vulnerable in our society (the elderly, the already sick, those with special needs in group homes) who are hit the hardest by the coronavirus.

·      those who have died because hospitals have suspended surgeries and treatments that, it turns out, were necessary.

·      those experiencing escalating mental health issues and domestic violence that have occurred during lockdowns

·      those paying very real costs – physical, emotional or economic - because doctors, politicians, economists and scientists have been wrong in their predictions and plans

·      the doctors, politicians, economists and scientists who have been slandered after just trying their best to help or do their job, and whose imperfection has too easily made them easy to paint as villainous.  

·      those who are unfairly judged for wearing a mask, as if it means they must be sinfully scared or easily controlled

·      those who are unfairly judged for not wearing a mask, as if there are no legitimate concerns or reasons for exempting yourself

·      those in churches that opened too quickly and spread the virus (sometimes leading to death) within their own congregation, much to their heartbreak

·      those in churches that opened too slowly at the expense of ministering face-to-face with their people (sometimes leading to spiritual shipwreck), much to their heartbreak 

I see other “little people” in my eyes. Some of them I see face-to-face; some I must choose to see through media. I must choose not to look away, but to move close in spirit so that I am ready when I can move close in person.

·      those who have been innocent victims of violence, discrimination, and even death simply because of the color of their skin.

·      those whose experiences have led them to believe that their lives don’t matter in the eyes of others

·      those who are so broken that they will hijack the stories of genuine victims so they can play the victim card

·      those whose experience has led them to believe that their voice will not be heard and they will not be seen until they march, protest and demand to be seen

·      those who hijack the heart-felt cries of protestors with fallen agendas, manipulative exploitation, and callous violence.

·      the victims of looting and burning by those who twist justice-centered peaceful means to unjust and violent ends

·      those painted with an unjust “broad brush” that too easily allows the few to represent the many

·      those whose experience with law enforcement makes them afraid rather than comforted when they see them

·      noble law enforcement officers who are unfairly lumped in with the ignoble ones.

·      the well-intentioned souls who rightly cry “Peace, peace”  - but who align themselves with organizations that will undermine the very peace they desire

·      those who don’t realize there will be no truly lasting empire peace or true social justice without a righteous kingdom foundation first in the hearts and then in the systems filled by those with transformed hearts. 

But it’s not just current events, right? Lots of people are in my eyes, because they are in the eyes of Jesus. 

·      those falling away from Christ and his church in the United States

·      those unreached or under-reached people here and abroad

·      those exploited and used in the making of pornography - and those damaged and twisted in the using of it. 

·      Those dying of starvation, natural disasters, persecution, and wars

·      the lives that are trafficked 

·      the students who practice shooter drills 

·      the unborn babies that never see the light of day

·      the mothers whose desperate circumstances (and sometimes deceptive counseling) have led them to believe that abortion is not only their best solution but a good solution

·      those for whom sexual identity and longings reflect the brokenness of the world rather than the design of it

·      those mired in sexual confusion and brokenness who experience shaming and even hatred instead of love, hope and gospel healing 

Who is my neighbor? Everybody. We are just looking at the world and asking what breaks God heart. We pray. We intercede. We petition God to heal us and our broken land. We move closer to those who are hurting, because it’s hard to carry a burden from a distance. 

This is not limited by party, people, organization, religion, social status…. I went through my list and color coded the people in my eye: red and blue for situations that, fairly or unfairly, are associated with the Right or Left; purple for stuff everyone agrees on. It’s a mix, because everybody is my neighbor. 

Who needs to be “the little people” a Christian’s eye? Everybody. 

See, we know the power of the gospel. We understand salvation, and healing, and renewal, and grace, and hope, and peace and joy, and the beauty of righteousness. We are outposts of the Kingdom: wherever we go, we take the presence of Jesus and set up camp. And that camp is full of truth, love, and the message of a Creator who is in the business of redeeming broken things. And we can’t do that from a distance.
Choose your analogy: we run to the battle; we go to the fields in need of harvest; we sow the seed of the gospel in every soil we encounter; we love our broken and fallen neighbors just like our neighbors have loved us.

Now….we can’t be equally invested in all of these things. God has placed us in certain places or with certain people or given us certain gifts and oriented our broken hearts in certain directions such that some things will move front and center in our attempts to bring gospel healing to the world. We will gravitate more towards specific causes (with the hope that as the church body works together we're covering our ground as a whole fairly well). We should be careful not to dismiss those in whom God has place a different weight of gospel mourning. Not everybody can or will be in ‘your’ eye they way they are in someone else’s, but everybody should be in the eye of somebody in the church who sees the world with the eyes of Jesus.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is your response to knowing that God is so close that you are “the little person” in His eye? Is that comforting? Intimidating? Invigorating?

2. Have there been times when you have experienced ‘being in the eye’ of God by ‘being in the eye’ of God’s people?

3. Who is ‘in your eye’ now? To whom might you need to move closer?

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[1] David was asking God to be close, to keep an eye on him, to view him from up close, to keep him safe from the wicked people around him who are like lions stalking prey. David wanted God to be near him and for him. More verses: Psalm 17:8: "Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings". Proverbs 7:2: "Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye". Lamentations 2:18: "Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease". Zechariah 2:8: "For thus says the LORD of hosts; After the glory has he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that touches you touches the apple of his eye".

[2] Everything in this life that involves human beings saying and doing things that impact another human being matters.  We will be held to account for every idle word (Matthew 12:36).  We will be held to account for all of our actions (2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Peter 1:17; Revelation 20:12; Proverbs 24:12).  We will give an answer for how we have stewarded everything we have touched in the world God gave us (Luke 12:42-48). 

Sunday Morning Plan And Schedule (beginning June 14)

Hey, all!  We are pumped about being back together in the building again. It’s been a few months (!) and if you are like me, you are feeling the deprivation – which I hope is drawing out the desire to reconvene as a church body to worship in spirit and in truth.

COVID-19 has, of course, changed things. Like other churches, we are making adjustments that acknowledge this reality. What follows is an overview of some accommodations we are making so that our time together is not only meaningful, but also safe. 

If you want to see a video version of what follows, go here.

Schedule 

10:00 – 10:20 Musical Worship 

10:20 – 10:30 (Moving) 

10:30 – 11:00 Sermon

11:00 – 11:30 (Visiting - outdoors) 

Safety Protocols 

Few of us enjoy the new restrictions on physical contact and proximity that have now become commonplace. These restrictions can be especially difficult within our church family. Still, we want to do our best to comply with recommended safety practices that we have come to know as life with Covid-19. In part, this is to honor measures put in place with the intent to protect us, but it is also a way to love our neighbor who may not be comfortable expressing their concerns about personal space. 

To keep it simple, we are asking you to follow guidelines recommended for everyone right not. They are as follows: 

·      When on church property, seek to honor social distancing guidelines. Remember that even if you are comfortable with lots of people close to you, others might not be. 

·      Please limit your socializing to outdoors. We are providing space just for this (more on this in a moment). 

·      Masks are optional, though we strongly encourage them indoors when you are not seated. 

·      We will have hand sanitizer for frequent use.

·      Lastly, we ask that if you bring young children that you keep them with you at all times. No public nurseries will be offered at this time - however, there is an outdoor Children’s Church for elementary school aged kids. 

Arrival 

·      Our covered drop-off area is now a walkable outdoor gathering space for before and after the service. 

·      Our marked handicap parking spots are now a drop-off area; the handicap parking is simply moved back a row.

If you arrive before service time, you are welcome to wait in your car, visit and sing outside (more on this in a moment), or enter the auditorium to take your seat (through the usual front doors or the doors to the right at the southeast corner of the building) and spend time in restful, contemplative worship before the message begins.

We will not be serving coffee at the present time; water fountains will be taped off, but we will have water bottles there.

Musical Worship 

Musical worship has always been an important part of the Christian service. Unfortunately, we are now presented with an airborne contagion that complicates things. It seems that outdoors is a relatively safe place to sing, but moving indoors can present a problem. The factors that seem to have the most impact indoors are length of exposure and type of activity, particularly for indoor events.  Breathing normally keeps potential germs nearer to our bodies or the floor where they do not impact others. As we breathe more heavily (think exercise), or when we cough or sneeze, the germs are propelled farther and farther from our space. 

So, what does all this have to do with church? Unfortunately it seems that one of the most high-risk activities in terms of spreading germs is singing. That presents a problem. And the longer you sing in the same space, the greater the potential risk. 

 We have always honored the fire marshal’s guidance. We do background checks on nursery workers. We have a security team in our building. So for the same prudent reasons we practice those things, we think it wise to do what we can to alter our practices where appropriate. 

 To that end, we offer two on-site options for musical worship, both at 10am.

1. In the auditorium, we will continue to offer the same musical worship that we have been streaming in recent months on a live-stream for those who choose to stay at home, but we are opening it up to you as well. There is one awkward stipulation – we ask that you do not sing (so there won’t be lyrics on the screen). It’s a space for a time of rest, for quiet contemplation and worship. Perhaps that is meaningful and refreshing for you, and if so, we encourage you to come on in!  

2. Outdoors, under a tent in the west lawn, we will offer live worship music. Since it’s outdoors, sing to your heart’s content! (Still, please observe social distancing practices so your liberty does not make your neighbor uncomfortable.)

Moving

From 10:20 – 10:30 is a time to move into the building (for those who are not already inside). We are doing our best to maintain the same schedule our live streaming family has become accustomed to, so we will end music with time for everyone to get situated. During this time, we ask that, once you are in the building, you move quickly and purposefully to one of the spaces we have provided for you to hear God’s word. Normal congregating areas such as the lobby have been modified to serve as a hallway rather than a destination, so please do not plan to visit/socialize indoors. Get that out of your system outside before you move indoors J  Of course, you will have time to do that afterwards as well – outdoors.

Sermon 

From approximately 10:30 – 11:00, we will be preaching God’s word as we have always done. During this time, we have three venues to choose from.  

1.     We have placed chairs in groups from 2 to 5 in the auditorium, spaced out to maintain recommended distancing. There will also be a few tables w/ chairs provided for families who have children who might be coerced to settle in with a coloring book J We ask that you do not move these chair groups around. There should be plenty of options to find a seat. Note that in this space, we are honoring current restrictions of 25% capacity. If the room becomes full, you may choose one of our other options. This means we can seat approximately 75 people in the auditorium.

2.     For families with slightly more active children who might not fit well in the auditorium, we have set up an assortment of tables in the lobby in view of a television where the service will be shown. We ask that people remain seated here as well, but we understand that younger children present unique challenges. We will have some supplies for children available.

3.     Lastly, we will have the message audio playing outdoors. So, if you would rather bring a lawn chair and enjoy the weather, stand up, and move about, or you are simply more comfortable not being indoors right now, we will make sure the message is audible in front of the church. (This may also give some good opportunity for children and adults with restless legs.) 

Visiting 

Socializing. Mingling. Fellowship. Whatever you call it, it has become a big part of church. It’s an especially big deal at CLG, because we are a very interactive community. Covid-19 changes things, but we still need this. After the message, we encourage you to visit with your church family … outdoors! Again, we have provided a space for this – the tent, and underneath the overhang at the front entrance, which will be a “walkable space” rather than a drive through. Catch up with friends, chat with each other, pray for each other. This is part of church life. Two things to keep in mind though. 

1. Please continue to observe safety protocols and consider the concerns of your neighbors

2. Take your people and things out with you, because the building will be locked by 11:30! 

Other Notes 

One of the things we have greatly missed is the Lord’s Supper. We look forward to partaking in this together, though as with many other things, this will be different. At least for the immediate future we will be using single-serve communion packets. To minimize contact, they will be placed one per seat on Sunday’s where they will be used. Please hold them until you receive instructions on how we will take communion together. After that, please discard your own cup and wrapper. 

We realize that this is a lot. None of us enjoy this. Like the captives in Babylon we long for the old ways where we could worship God without strange customs or uncomfortable burdens. However, to gather is a blessing! So we are eager to see you again. That said, we realize there will be a number for whom this isn’t a good fit. Perhaps you have health concerns, or you don’t look forward to wrangling all your children. We understand that! So, while we miss you and want you here, continuing to watch at home may be a better fit. If so, hopefully you’ve found a Home Church that you meet with. That doesn’t have to stop! Do whatever is comfortable for you, those in your household, and those in your Home Church. Honor one another in this.

One final note: we don’t do formal small groups during the summer. If you have started a HomeChurch group that would now like to attend Sunday services, we encourage you to find another time to still meet. It doesn’t have to be an either/or dilemma.

Church In The Time Of The Virus: The Series

Since the beginning of the coronavirus restrictions that closed church services, I’ve been doing a vlog - my attempt to get my thought out and to archive this time with the hopes that we can either look back and see wisdom or look back and see what wasn’t wisdom, and thus gain some. It seems like a win/win.

My focus is what it means to be a faithful presence as a follower of Christ during this time.

I am trying to avoid politics, though it is inevitable that the church sphere bumps into the state sphere at times. That is incidental. I am trying to avoid taking a stance on medical, economic, or constitutional issues, as none of those are my field of expertise. I mean, I have opinions, but frankly most of them are held pretty lightly. The experts themselves are learning as they go, and I don’t hold that against them. It just makes it hard to write a lot of things in stone.

So, how do we represent Christ and the values of His Kingdom? How can we honor God, king, and those around us? How should we understand faith, fear, freedom, rights, responsibilities, love….the list goes on.

What I offer is nowhere close to perfect, but, like the Little Drummer Boy, it’s what I have.

____________________________________________________________________________________

(Episode 1: Introduction)

(Episode 2:Fearless, Not Fearful)

(Episode 3: Bold, But Not Foolhardy)

(Episode 4: Sacrificial Of Self, Not Others)

(Episode 5: Faith-fullness Involves Trust)

(Episode 6: Faithfulness Requires Humble Obedience)

(Episode 7: The Church's History During Plagues)

(Episode 8: Thinking With Both Hands)

(Episode 9: Spurgeon And The Plague Of London)

(Episode 10: Thinking With Both Hands)

(Episode 11: A Few Thoughts Have Been Brewing)

(Episode 12: Is COVID-19 A Judgment From God?)

(Episode 13: Romans 12-14 - Coronavirus Version)

(Episode 14: Dear American Christian)

(Episode 15: Civil (Dis)Obedience)

(Episode 16:

Re-Engaging: Five Phases For Church Gatherings

 Gathering together is biblical, special and irreplaceable. For this reason, we must continue to work on a strategy for our people to assemble together, however possible at the time, for the advancement of God’s kingdom. We believe that at this time it is important that we honor those in authority over us while we go through this process (Romans 13; Titus 3). If there is a time we believe that churches are being unfairly discriminated against – and by ‘we’ I mean the leadership team at this church and the team of area pastors with which I (Anthony) am a part, we will revisit this plan. 

What follows is CLG’s Re-gathering Plan, which has been formed over time and through prayer, research and discussion within our church and in conjunction with the broader church community here in Traverse City. Not every church is re-gathering along the same timeline or in the same way; our plan is not meant to convey anything other than “this is our plan.” We have wrestled our way through a lot of conflicting thoughts, feelings, and applications of biblical truth. At this point, while knowing that 20/20 hindsight will reveal we could have done it better, it seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us. (Acts 15:28) 

Praying for God’s wisdom and direction,

Anthony and Sheila Weber 

Ted and Anne Smith 

Paul and Jackie Kaschel

Pete and Rosie Thiel

Karl and Kimberley Meszaros

William and Esther Krueger

Dan and Emily Slater

Scott and Aubrey Smith

Tom and Becky Childs

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“Phasing In” Steps Toward Re-gathering {1}

o   Phase 1. Phase 1 is where we are right now. Continue to enjoy Sunday morning services at home through Facebook Live.  We are offering meetings with Karl for kids online 10 minutes after the message.  Small groups are meeting online.  We have been gathering resources at church to care for those with needs.  

o   Phase 2  begins May 31 (groups of up to 10 can meet)

1.   Services continue on Facebook Live.

2.   We will begin meeting with groups we call “HomeChurch” groups, in which groups of 10 people or less will gather in homes. (These are groups forming temporarily as a response to the coronavirus restrictions and are not intended to replace our Small Groups program.) This gathering time will center around the sermon and discussion questions that Anthony will provide, but can be freely adjusted to meet the needs of the group. Contact William Krueger (WKrueger@britteninc.com). 

3.   We are working toward creating more opportunities for elementary age children/youth to interact online. 

o   Phase 3  (when groups of up to 20 can meet/an equivalent easing of restrictions occurs).

1.   Services still are on Facebook Live. HomeChurches will continue to meet. 

2.   Small assemblies will be allowed in the church during the Sunday morning service, though we have not yet finished planning how to make this work in a way that can involve as many people as possible. 

3.   Children will need to stay with their parents.

4.   We will adhere to recommended Personal Protection Equipment protocols and social distancing guidelines. 

5.   Youth Group will follow school protocols once the school year begins. 

o   Phase 4 (when groups of up to 50 can meet/an equivalent easing of restrictions occurs). 

1.   It will look much like Phase Three, but with a larger service or services.

o   Phase 5 (enough restrictions are lifted that everything is “go”)

1.    Back to one large service as our ministry setting proves safe, the restrictions are eased, and our Sunday attendance grows. 

2.   Children’s ministries, youth group and nurseries resume in accordance with school recommendations and practice.

3.   HomeChurch groups are still encouraged to meet if there are concerns about large group attendance.  

Note: If there is an upswing in Covid cases and the governor reinstates prior regulations, we move back to an appropriate phase until the factors change for us to advance forward again. 

Note: There will be no physical Nursery/Kids Ministry during services until public schools begin to meet or would be cleared to meet.

* * * * * * * * * *

Some Factors We Are Considering 

o   Federal and state regulations, restrictions, guidelines, suggestions:  What restrictions apply to group gatherings at the federal, state and county levels to which we must adhere? 

o   Community Church Response: Where does our plan place us on the spectrum of responses from other area churches? 

o   Impact: 

• What is the latest medical wisdom on how we can mitigate the spread of the virus? For example, https://www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them?fbclid=IwAR21Oipvu0wC4Yx0c0Ui7h3lh0X97s3ompfBgmgahf8d_2UzSWIwYgD0sT8.  Drew Poppleton, pastor at Faith Reformed, did an interview with an infectious disease doctor who attends his church. It is very helpful. http://frctc.org/about-us/covid-interview

•  What does being a “faithful presence” look like at any given time? What does it look like to follow Paul’s example in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23? 

o   What does our church family look like?

•  How do we best minister to the at-risk and vulnerable in our church? Is there a way to reopen without their feeling like we have overlooked them?

• It will be a while before young children can be dropped off into staffed nurseries. What current concerns exist for having space for parents to care for very young children?

• In spite of competing narrative on what smart, effective or even necessary protocol looks like, how do we ensure that everyone agrees to particular standards without bitterness or judgment? (1 Corinthians 12:25–26)

•  Starting services could help people with the need to connect with people in person, but masks and social distancing could make people feel even more isolated. How do we balance the very real need for connection with the need for sensitivity to the real dangers high-risk individuals face?

 o   How will our approach affect our community testimony? This is a matter of public witness.

• 1 Timothy 3:7 “ Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”

• 2 Corinthians 2:15–16 “ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?”

• Colossians 4:5–6 “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

• 1 Thessalonians 4:10–12 “We urge you, brothers … to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”

• Philippians 2:14–15 “ Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”

• 1 Peter 2:12, 15 “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. … For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people” (see also 1 Peter 3:13–17)

 o   What safeguards to litigation do we need to consider?

•  What legal liabilities should we be mindful of without looking like our church services are sponsored by a firm of lawyers?

• How would a premature or sloppy opening impact our testimony in the community?            

•  A number of pastors in TC recommended this video from a pastor in a large church: “Why We Aren’t In A Rush To Open Our Doors.” Our setting is not the same as theirs, but some principles in here are worth considering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIZ2t_vdn_I

• Also worth noting: a number of churches are closing after re-opening because they opened too fast, and the virus spread within their church.

1.  https://www.christianpost.com/news/georgia-church-closes-two-weeks-after-reopening-as-families-come-down-with-coronavirus.html?fbclid=IwAR2a0S2s6Sr6F6nSiUuk-ekZaWlKA3PCOVoo9lqVLwslu2KMkPX_FD7hgTo

2. .https://www.newsweek.com/two-southern-churches-reclose-indefinitely-after-pastor-dies-leaders-churchgoers-catch-coronavirus-1505291?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR28Cgsn3csKh9CQTZ1-isCDx3W7WUxMaQ2yEfy2_o5_3t14JlkBlpWM51E#Echobox=1589945775

 Values for phasing in:

o   Safe. Special cleaning protocol; social distancing; masks. Lots of hand sanitizer available. No more “passing the plate” for offerings or communion. Greeters hold doors open/ doors propped open. 

o   Simple.  It appears as though we will have to phase in with numerous high-maintenance, smaller gatherings at first. This opportunity can be seen as God’s gift for churches to start with less and incrementally add on.

o   Strategic. Everything is intentional movement toward a common direction. 

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[1] Hat Tip to Brian Conover at East Bay Calvary Church for this “phases” template which he allowed us to adapt for our church, and to Doug Long at Harvest Bible for organizing some of the biblical resources I have cited.

Church In The Time Of The Virus #11: Some Thoughts Have Been Brewing....

I've had something brewing for a while that I think I'm going to have a hard time articulating, but I at least want to try. 

I've been watching how our nation and Michigan in particular have been responding to the lockdown measures during the coronavirus. As I read the news and scroll through opinions on my social media feeds, there's often a lot of heat and very little light. I get it. There's a lot of conflicting information, and there's a lot at stake, and emotions are high. 

On the one hand, there are human lives and health directly impacted by the coronavirus. On the other hand, there are human lives and health that will be directly impacted by a looming economic crisis. Poverty is a hotbed for ill health; economic collapse is usually accompanied by a rise in suicide, addictions, etc. We are now receiving warnings about how food production is being disrupted. 

The virus is taking a toll on health and life right now - we are approaching 50,000 deaths in the United States (It’s risen another 7,000 since I originally wrote this) , and for the past 10 days (now 18 days) it has passed cancer and heart disease and become the #1 cause of death in the US -  but there is also great potential for a crippled economy impacting human life and health in the future, perhaps before too long. 

So I get it. A rock right in front of us and a hard place just over the horizon. 

I’m not interested in getting into the politics. Instead, I've been processing how Christians and the church have been responding. Initially, in spite of some misgivings about canceling services  - an act which basically hadn't happened since 1918 in the United States -  it seemed like most churches in general were supportive of social distancing because of the speculation of the toll it would take on human life if we didn't. Many churches immediately ramped up their efforts to serve their local community with food, clothing, and household goods. But as the stay-at-home orders have stretched on, discontent and frustration has mounted both in the church and in our nation. This is what I want to explore.

Part of the discussion has to be about how we as Christians understand our rights as citizens of the United States. I believe the Constitution and the Bill of Rights have laid out a good foundation for our nation. However, these rights will always be filtered through the lenses of my Christian responsibility. In other words, there are times when even the best of ideals can be distorted or misused. Let me give a couple examples.

• I have the right to worship in the United States, but as a Christian I have a responsibility not to worship a god other than Jesus, or in a manner that breaks any of the moral structures of the Bible. 

• I think free speech is a good idea in principle. Yet as Christians, we have the responsibility to structure our speech in ways that conform to biblical ideals. This means we cannot, as Christians, exercise an unfettered right to free speech. In addition, we can clearly see how this right has led to the furthering of moral evil in the world: vicious racism, pornography, slander, etc. so even though it’s a right, we recognize that not every exercise of it good in and of itself. 

• The right to peacefully assemble is important. As a Christian, I have the responsibility not to assemble at a strip club, or a Neo-Nazi rally, or in a chat room that is full of vicious slander and gossip.

• As a Christian, I simply do not have the right to pursue happiness in any way I want to. I have a responsibility as a Christian to limit the manner in which I pursue happiness. 

 There are all kinds of rights not delineated in our foundational documents that are constantly debated. Do I have a right to work? Do I have a right to health care? Do I have a right to education? If you look at how nations compile human rights around the world, the list of rights is long. In every case, my question as a Christian is not so much do I have a right as a US citizen (I do) or even simply because I am human (I definitely do), but what is my responsibility as a Christian within the framework of the rights that I have?  

I have to ask even deeper questions.

Is it possible that some things we think of as rights ought not be rights? Is it possible we've not listed rights that we should have listed? Just because we have foundational documents with good rights listed does not mean it's a perfect list or a perfect document. It’s not inspired, revelatory Scripture. As a Christian, I must filter everything through the lenses of actual scripture, and that includes the discussion of my rights as a citizen in the United States

Perhaps that will help you understand why I think it is impossible for me as a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven to always be at ease in the empires of Earth, and that includes the United States. There will absolutely be ongoing ways in which my allegiance to Christ clashes with my citizenship on Earth. There is no room for complacency. I can't just accept that something is good and right because it's the law of the land. Christians have never believed that. I can't simply parrot everything a political or religious leader says, because they will absolutely be wrong at times. Christians have always believed that. 

Here's the million-dollar question: How do we live with integrity as citizens of the holy Kingdom of Heaven while living as a citizens of any unholy empire on earth?

I've been thinking about this a lot because of what's happening here in Michigan. There's plenty of unhappiness with the governor's stay-at-home orders, and I get it. But I don't think the response for Christians is as simple as, “I have my rights.”  

Based on what I've already said, for Christians it's never as simple as claiming something as a right since the government has given it to you. It's always filtered through the lenses of Christian responsibility. So this is my question. Whatever happens with the discussion of our rights - and it’s sure to make its way through the courts of the empire - what are the Kingdom responsibilities we as Christians have right now, no matter what situation we are in?

I think our Christian responsibility boils down to this. We need to be a faithful presence. By faithful, I mean consistently and honestly represent the presence of Christ on Earth. The Bible refers to Christians as ambassadors or icons of God. In other words, our presence ought to be representative of the presence of God. So what does that look like?

First let's go with the most basic summary that Jesus gave: Love God and love others as we wish to be loved. In the way that that is phrased in the Hebrew language, it's set up as parallel commands. The two are inseparable. If you love God, you will love others. If you say you love God but hate others, you are a liar. This is often referred to as the Law of Love.

Later in his ministry, Jesus clarified this and told his disciples that they should love others as Christ has loved them. I suspect this is because we can get very confused about loving others as we wish to be loved, because our hearts are dark and broken, and we can begin to think love is expressed in very fallen ways. But we know how Jesus loved us: He gave his life for us. The Bible uses the word agape, which is the idea of this self-sacrificial, self-giving love that is focused on the good of the other. 

So this is the starting point of being a faithful presence. Are we present in such a way that it is clear that we have agape love for the people around us? Is it clear that we are willing to sacrifice, that we are willing to be radically generous, that we are willing to be broken and spilled out like Jesus was for us (to use communion language)?

We can debate about whether the most loving thing to do right now is to continue lockdowns as they are or open things up. I think it's a fair question considering the ripple effect of any decision that is made, and I clarified that earlier. 

 But the fundamental issue underlying both of them is the question of love. Are we taking the stance out of fear, out of frustration, out of greed, out of anger? Or have we thoughtfully and prayerfully considered what the best way is for us to show love to our neighbors right now? 

We may even arrive at different conclusions based on where we live and what our circumstances are. I am certain there is room for variation here. But if our conclusion is not founded on and informed by and saturated with Christ-like love, we are never going to be a faithful presence.

Second, we must be lovers of and purveyors of Truth. Jesus said that love for him and love for truth we're deeply intertwined. Jesus described himself as The Truth. We want to be taken seriously when we tell people we know the truth about God. Therefore, we must be committed to the pursuit of and the sharing and promoting of Truth. Not gossip. Not rumor. 

It's one thing to ‘speculate about speculation’. That's fair enough. We do it all the time”

“Hey, I heard this…”  

“Yeah? I heard this…”

[research happens]

“Looks like it’s actually this….”)

“Huh. Well, now I’m thinking it might be this…”

“Let’s see…”

I mean, it’s how we learn things a lot of the time: hypothesis, test, conclusion. So that’s one thing.

It's another thing to wildly share anything that could further a narrative we want to be true before we allow for a vetting process to let us know just how firm a foundation we are standing on.

If we make crazy claims about rumors now, we can't expect, when we talk about Jesus, for people to assume anything other than that we're making crazy claims yet again. We insist that we know Jesus is who he said he was because of proven historical claims. If we get wishy-washy on unproven claims when it comes to front page issues, and show ourselves to be easily duped, it's hard for me to envision people taking us seriously when we begin to talk about how much we value truth. 

Third, our words and our attitude matter. Grace and Truth. Grace and Truth. Honestly, I've been discouraged at how combative I've seen Christians getting over secondary issues. 

• Does a particular drug work to cure the coronavirus? Well I hope so, but is it really worth yelling at people who disagree and assuming some kind of hyper partisan deviance at work in the speculation over the effectiveness of the drug? (UPDATE: I was referring to hydroxychloroquine. Since then, studies from the VA are showing it makes patients worse. And that has nothing to do with politics. Let’ s move on to the next potential treatment).

• Should Menards be allowed to sell custom paint or sell flowers? (This was written before Whitmer eased restrictions). I admit, I don't understand why they can’t, but I understand even less how Christians are yelling at each other because they disagree about opening or restricting sales. 

• Are coronavirus cases being counted correctly? I don't know. Neither do you. I'm baffled at how Christians are getting mad at each other over how to count the virus. 

• Whose fault is it that states don't have all the equipment that they need? I don't know. Probably everybody's. Maybe nobody’s. One thing I do know. It is stupid for Christians to yell at each other, and get mad, and put their friendships on the line debating this. 

• Is the WHO a blessing or a problem? I don’t know. Both? But if two Christians disagree, it ought to be a conversational molehill, not a mountain.

 These are not gospel issues. This kind of public witness is not painting a compelling picture for Christ or the community of Christians. We are the people who are supposed to be defined by unity, and love, and grace. Instead, we are pulling each other's hair out over issues that ought to simply be discussed together, not used as bludgeoning tools to prove that I'm right and you're wrong. I’m getting worried that, when this is over, those outside the church are going to be even less inclined to hang out with God’s people because they’ve read the Facebook posts of God’s people. 

Fourth, I believe we are faithfully present when we are radically generous. I'm far less interested right now in who deserves help then in who needs help. We Christians ought to want people in need to make their need known to us, so that we can help as we are able. 

Right now, it seems like local government and community resources are able to provide much that is needed. This will almost certainly run out. Are we ready? Are we mentally letting go of all the things we may need to physically let go of soon?  Have we looked Mammon in the face and told it to get behind us? We all, before God, need to survey our areas of responsibility and begin to pray and plan on how to steward that which has been given to us. 

This means, for example, the part of my duty is to look out for my family and my church family. It does not mean, however, that I circle the wagons around my house or my church in such a way that I cannot see and be able to help those in need.  What gets placed on the altar in times like this? 

• Discretionary money for sure. 

• The unnecessary but lovely vacation is of far less importance than my now unemployed neighbor’s heating bill.  

• The unnecessary but much desired addition is of far less importance than my uninsured friend’s hospital bill. 

• Trading in that old, paid off vehicle that still has some life in it for something nicer but costly is of far less importance than helping a family scrambling for food.  

I’m not saying we can’t do both. Maybe we can. Depending on where you live and what you have, this could easily be a both/and scenario – but it might not be. You have to figure that out, before God, for yourself. But if this kind of time does not compel us to hold what God has given us loosely in our hands, I don’t know what will. 

Fifth, we need to show that we know how to properly honor authority.  So you don't like the restrictions? That's fine. I don't either. What does it look like to honor the authorities who put the restrictions in place? Let’s clarify. 

• Honor does not demand mindless agreement. You can disagree with someone you honor. You probably should at some point, since no one is perfect. If you always disagree or always agree, it’s probably time to put your Kool-Aid down. 

• Honor is not the same as having good feelings about someone or something. You don’t have to like people you honor, though I suspect if they are worthy of honor you eventually will. 

• Honor has a lot to do with attitude and presentation. We can disagree and criticize and even dislike while having a proper attitude. We don’t mock or demean or defame.

Honor is positioning ourselves in such a way that we show that we respect the office of those who God has placed over us. It’s one thing to say, “I disagree with the President or Governor for this reason.” Fair enough. It’s another to call Trump a Cheetoh, or call Whitmer “Whitler.” Come on. We’re better than that. Or at least I thought we were. 

Sixth, I think our faithful presence involves hope and peace. We Christians claim that God gives us a peace that passes understanding. Is that clear to those around us right now? We claim that our hope is not in this world, but it is in Christ. Is that clear to those around us right now? What will bring you the most peace: remembering that Jesus saves, and his grace is sufficient for every circumstance we face, or hearing that we will start phase 1 of reopening the economy? 

Finally, we spread the gospel through our lives and our words. Now is a prime time to talk about Jesus and a kingdom that is not of this world. Now is a great time to talk about why “all of creation groans,” and who will bring the redemption for which it longs, and how we can begin to participate in that redemptive movement already. Now is a great time to talk about a coming New Heaven and New Earth in which we will experience life redeemed and illuminated by the unfiltered glory of God.  

Now is the time to pray “thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” - and then ask God to show us how our faithful presence can usher in even the smallest glimpse of the future glorious kingdom. 

Jesus and Peter: Why Our History Is Not Our Destiny

John 20 ends with two verses that wrap things up pretty nicely for the book of John.

“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31)

 But then there’s John 21. Peter, the Rock of the early church, is clearly singled out again in a story that is not entirely flattering. It is presented as a story after the big story, and it is very raw and bare.  It’s not like the end of the LOTR when softly glowing happy people hug and smile and cry as they gently say perfect goodbyes.

Why is John wrapped up this way?  What do we learn about Jesus, and why does it matter to us?                                   

After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of (Cana in Galilee, and (the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.

Only 3 disciples of the 7 who are present are named.  

• Peter had betrayed Jesus; Thomas is the infamous doubting Thomas; Nathanial once said, “Can anything good come our of Nazareth?” 

• All three also offered a clear confession of faith (Peter in John 6:69; Thomas in John 20:28; Nathanael in John 1:49) 

• All three had their confession of faith followed by Jesus expressing his own doubts about the depth of their commitment (John 6:70; John 20:29; John 1:50).

I think this chapter will have something to do with this theme: people of faith who wrestle with doubt, fear and disillusionment.

Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will also come with you." They went out and got into the boat; and  that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?" They answered Him, "No."

And He said to them, "(Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch." So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.[1]  Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord."  So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish. 

So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught." Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples ventured to question Him, "Who are You?" knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead. 

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You " He said to him, "Tend My lambs." He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep.’”

 Darkness and daybreak set the stage for the story.  

The symbolism of daytime and nighttime stands out at various points in scriptures, and it does here as well. In Scripture, Night often represents the downside or chaos of life. Peter denied Jesus in the dark just before daybreak.  Peter went to the tomb “while it was still dark.”  Here, Peter is fishing in the dark, failing to follow Christ yet again, and he took his friends with him. 

John in the first chapter of his gospel wrote that “In him was life, and that life was the light of mankind; but the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it ”  (John 1:5).  Here, “morning was now coming to be.” Something new and beautiful is dawning.

This is the same sea on which Peter had tried to walk on the water and failed.  This time he didn’t even try to walk on the water; he just throws himself in. Maybe he’s not about to test his faith after what happened when he denied Jesus. Peter’s enthusiasm is still there, but his hopeful optimism is not.  Note the account says Peter pulled the net in. Dude is pumped!

Three times before the crucifixion, hiding in the darkness, huddled around a charcoal fire, Peter had not loved Jesus more than anything else.  Three times, now, in the light of the morning, huddled around a charcoal fire, by a sea that represents his lack of faith, as the day is dawning, he is offered redemption. 

The first and second time Peter responds with, “Lord, you know…”  he is referring to knowledge at an every day level, the knowledge based on perception. 

“Lord, you know all things because you have seen my love.  I was the first one called to follow you and the first one named apostle. You saw me jump out of boats into seas that frightened me. You saw me cut off that dude’s ear when you were arrested.  I ran to the tomb when I heard you were alive.  You even nicknamed me the rock, remember? LOOK HOW IMPRESSIVE MY LOVE IS!!!”

But the third time, Peter shifts to a word that means experiential knowledge: “Lord, you perceive ALL things; you have experienced my life; we know each other; you have experienced my love.” I have read a bunch of commentary on this:  Is Peter offended?  Defensive? Exasperated?  Embarrassed? Confused? My sense is that Peter’s last response is a statement of resignation.  Jesus is not letting Peter avoid reality. 

“I’m not asking if you are excited about me; of course you are. I’m not asking how impressive you are in your emotional outpourings and impulsive decisions and your ability to say what you think.  You are clearly excited about me. You just pulled that whole net in.  I’m asking you something different.  I’m asking if you love me.  I’m asking if you will take up your cross and follow me in spite of danger, or the opinions of others, or uncertainty and doubt.  I DO KNOW YOU!!! Last time you didn’t. That’s why I’m asking again if you love me enough to die for me.”

And Peter response is, “Ah. Yes. You do know me, don’t you?” But Peter doesn’t give up.  He continues to insist, “You know I love you.”   

Ever have a conversation with someone when your relationship is at it’s worst?  You have said things or done things that have given the other person every reason to push you away, and when you finally see yourself for the kind of friend or spouse or parent or child that you are, the last thing you have to fall back on is, “I love you, though. I really do.  I have nothing else to say. I’m not very good at it sometimes, and I know when I let you down or hurt you I really let you down and hurt you. But I love you.”  And then you desperately hope that will be sufficient to overcome weeks or months or years of insufficiency.  

If I am understanding this correctly, Peter says, in essence,  “You have experienced that I am cowardly, and impulsive, and self-centered, and doubting…but I love you.” Then Jesus says:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go." Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me!"

In John 13: 36-38, Jesus had said to him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward.”

What Jesus told Peter he could not do before (follow Him), he tells him he can do now, and that he will do it so effectively that he will be able to lead his church, and then he will die, and John records that this is a “semenon” – a sign.  

 John does not use the world “miracle” in his gospel to describe the actions of Jesus.  He uses the word “sign” every time.  The purpose of the signs were to promote trust and belief in Christ.  Peter’s death will glorify God and be a “sign” to promote trust in Christ.

It turns out that Chapter 21 is a victory song to conclude the gospels.  Here we are shown, through Peter, that our shortcomings and failures can be forgiven, and that Jesus wants us broken and imperfect people to follow Him and build His kingdom anyway.   

Peter stands in for all of us in this story. 

• Peter, who was afraid of servant girls around campfires, will preach to the masses in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell like fire. 

• Peter, who cut off a man’s ear, will heal a man crippled from birth. 

• Peter, the coward, will be called by the apostle Paul a "pillar" of the Church. 

• For nine months, in absolute darkness, the Peter who denied Christ out of fear of the fallout will endure monstrous torture manacled to a post.  He will convert his jailers and forty-seven others.

• Peter, who once rebuked Jesus for saying the Messiah needed to suffer, will be crucified upside down, and  (if tradition is correct) will even speak words of comfort to his wife as she goes to her death.

 Peter’s death will be a sign to show to all of us that our history does not have to be our destiny.  Morning is now coming to be, because the Light Of The World has come.

“The world and the church are littered with smashed lives and vessels ground beneath vengeful, judging feet… cross the line of shame (we think) and there is no way back… Not so because of Easter.  The veil of death is parted; through it a hand reaches out to Peter, shamed and probably resigned to former routines.  Wherever and however it happened, Peter was turned from death to life.  The God who had not abandoned Christ in death would not abandon Peter in his.  Against all odds…God proposed to love Peter again…yes, he will follow as once he declared he would.”

“We are called from that night where Peter, giving up and back in his old life, fishing in the dark, could catch nothing.  Now, as the light dawns on us, resurrection means we are able to receive the love God proposes us.” (William Loader)

What do I learn about Jesus?

He calls those of us hiding in darkness into the light.  

We all have a history of which we are ashamed.  It has been this way since Peter.  We didn’t deny Christ in the courtyard of the palace, but we have denied him with our TV’s, and our computers, and our budgets, and our priorities, and dating, and marriages, and family dynamics, and addictions, and words….Jesus meets us in the darkness and calls us into the light of His truth, grace and healing.

He will make us face the deeds we did in that darkness.

It is sometimes easy to put on a front that masks who we know we have been, but Jesus sees through masks.  Anybody can come to church and talk it up, and impress people.  And we might even believe our own PR campaign.  “Hey, I’m pretty good.  Jesus is lucky to have me!”   But Jesus knows us.  He is not interested in our strength. It’s when we are weak that He is strong.  David says God desires a “broken and repentant spirit.”  If we want to fully follow Christ, and truly make an impact in His Kingdom, we must be willing to be broken.  We must be willing to have the deeds done in darkness brought into the light of Christ.  There is no other way.   

He might make this happen in front of other people, by the way. Peter wasn’t alone. Six of his best friends were there. I don’t think this is an accident. God designed His kingdom so that we do life in Christ with others. THIS IS HOW TESTIMONIES WORK. 

He will empower us to follow Him and build His Kingdom.  

That last chapter of John is an encouragement to the church.  History is not destiny when Jesus enters the story.  Your story is not over, because Jesus is working in your life to shine His light into all the dark places, and take your weaknesses and fill them with His strength.