Fan Into Flame The Gift Of God (2 Timothy 1:1-8)

Here’s the setting of Paul’s second letter to Timothy. 

Paul was in prison awaiting execution. Apparently, the congregations from the Roman province of Asia were against him (2 Timothy 1:15). Demas had left for Thessalonica because he ‘loved the world’ more than the gospel; Crescens and Titus were ministering elsewhere (2 Timothy 4:10). To add insult to injury, Alexander the coppersmith had ‘done him great harm’ (2 Timothy 4:14). It’s been rough road on the way to execution.

So, he writes to Timothy. Paul and Timothy first met while Paul was on his second missionary journey. Paul adopted Timothy as a spiritual son (Timothy’s father was a non-believer); it’s clear Paul cares deeply about him, and there is every reason to believe Timothy felt the same.  

This is the letter of a man who does not have much time left. The hum in the background is a sense of urgency to build and guide Timothy in the brief time he has left.  

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Timothy, you are constantly in my prayers. Day and night I remember you before God and give thanks to Him whom I serve with a clean conscience, as did my ancestors. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.

 God had given to Timothy a charisma, a spiritual gift.[1] Paul tells him to fan it into flame, a metaphor drawn from the fanning of the embers of a fire. 

The gift comes as an ember from the Holy Spirit; we must respond by making the right decisions and taking the right actions to fan it into flame. 

The Spirit enables us for ministry – perhaps we think not only of the gift, but the pneuma (spirit), the wind, fanning the ember from God’s side, as it has done since Genesis 1. But God’s gifts require a response if we want to experience them in their fullness:

1) First we are filled (1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:10 make clear that when we become part of the temple, the Holy Spirit lives in us. We need to commit our lives to Christ and experience His salvation. See Romans 8:9-11; 2 Timothy 1:14; Galatians 4:6)

2) Second, don’t quench the influence of the Holy Spirit in you (1 Thessalonians 5:19)

3) Third, we fan it into flame.[2] The Holy Spirit can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30), expelled (Psalm 51:11), neglected (1Timothy 4:14). Instead, fan it so the embers become a fire.[3]

What are spiritual gifts? 

There are different manifestations of the Spirit to build up the body and bring glory to God (Isaiah 11:5; I Corinthians 12:1-11).   The Holy Spirit “gives gifts as He will” (I Corinthians 12:7-11), yet we are also instructed to diligently seek the gifts (I Corinthians 12:31, 14:1) We are recipients of gifts because of God’s good grace. Because they are freely given, they cannot be earned, but they must be ‘fanned’.

The gifts must be expressed in love, sincerity, and in an orderly and understandable way (I Corinthians 14:26-33) which honors others above ourselves (I Corinthians 13:1-13; Romans 12:1-10), lest our expression cause others to stumble (1 Corinthians 8).  Every attempt should be made to use the gifts in humility and service, so that we may share the desire of Jesus: that God must increase and we must decrease (John 3:30;15:26; 16:13-14).

These gifts are given to the church to build up, encourage, and comfort the church. They are also far more varied than we often realize. It’s easy to think that there are kind of super gifts that people on pedestals have, but if we look at the entirety of the scriptural presentation, there is a remarkable variety of gifts attributed to God’s good grace. 

o   Prophecy (boldly proclaiming God’s mind and purpose) 1 Corinthians 12, 14; Micah 3:8

o   Serving (a wide variety of ministries that “make the dust fly”) – 1 Peter 4; 1 Corinthians 12:5

o   Teaching (explaining God’s truth) - Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4

o   Working (bringing energy to a project) - 1 Corinthians 12:6

o   Exhortation (motivational skills; encouragement) – Romans 12

o   Giving (joyful, sacrificial generosity) - Romans 12

o   Mercy (compassion) – Romans 12

o   Intercession (prayer) - Romans 8:26, 27

o   Wisdom (knowledge rightly applied to situations) - James 1:5; Numbers 27

o   Words of Wisdom (giving insightful, practical knowledge) – 1 Corinthians 12

o   Words of Knowledge (giving insight into doctrine/spiritual truth) – 1 Corinthians 12

o   Faith (unwavering commitment and trust that God works beyond human capabilities; good at encouraging others to trust in God in the face of apparently insurmountable odds)– 1 Corinthians 12

o   Healing (miraculous interventions for sickness) - 1 Corinthians 12

o   Miracles – (supernatural acts) - 1 Corinthians 12

o   Discerning spirits (insight into the “spirit” of a situation) – 1 Corinthians 12

o   Tongues (gifted in human or heavenly languages) – 1 Corinthians 12, 14

o   Interpretation of Tongues – (translating those languages) 1 Corinthians 12, 14

o   Apostle (in one sense, unique to the founding of the church; the ‘apostolic gift’ is probably best understood now as ‘church planting’) – 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4

o   Leadership (church planters and church sustainers) – Romans 12

o   Pastor (“shepherds” who guide and lead) – Ephesians 4

o   Evangelist/Missionary (boldness in sharing the gospel) - Acts 1:8; 5:32; 26:22; 1 John 5:6; Ephesians 4

o   Helps (helping/serving the poor and downtrodden) - 1 Corinthians 12; 1 Timothy 3:8-13; Romans 16:1-4; 12

o   Administration (the ability to give oversight) - 1 Corinthians 12; 1 Samuel 11 and 16

o   Celibacy (refraining from sex with purity) - 1 Corinthians 7:7

o   Marriage (committing to a covenant with integrity) - 1 Corinthians 7:7

o   Hospitality (openness and friendliness) - 1 Peter 4:9-10

o   Craftsmanship (building, construction) - Exodus 31:3; 35:30-35

o   The Arts (music, poetry, prose, painting…) – Exodus 31:2-6; Exodus 35:25-26; Psalm 150:3-5 Luke 1:1-3

o   Voluntary Poverty (forgoing wealth without envy, jealousy or judgment of others) - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

o   Business Sense (reward from hard work and investment) -Ecclesiastes 3,5

o   Courage (as seen in Gideon) - Judges 6

o   Strength (as seen in Samson) - Judges 13

o   Architectural Engineering (planning; constructing; building) - 1 Chronicles 28

 Like many lists in the Bible, I suspect this is giving us example after example while not necessarily being exhaustive. Every worked with elementary age students? It’s a gift. If you are a counselor, that’s a gift. If you can raise a large family and keep your sanity, that’s a gift. If you can keep cheering for the Lions… making a house feel like a home…being able to see people on the margins and draw them in….knowing how to diffuse tense situations… I suspect that the Holy Spirit takes virtually everything about life and “give gifts” of extraordinary ability to make that part of life an outpost of the Kingdom of God.

 “Fan these embers into flame.” How do we do this?

Identify them. Start with https://spiritualgiftstest.com/spiritual-gifts-test/#gf_7, which also has a personality test. Or https://gifts.churchgrowth.org/spiritual-gifts-survey/. Or 

https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/women-leadership-spiritual-gifts-growth-service. This isn’t everything on the above list of gifts , but it’s a start. 

Build them. Study, learn, observe in others. 

Use them. Like, do stuff! Where do your desires, skills and opportunities intersect?

To the glory of God. How does this build the church or make God’s name great in the community?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

My recommendation: take one of the spiritual gifts quizzes. As noted earlier, these aren't exhaustive. Feel free to identify other areas of your life where you believe the Holy Spirit has gifted you to do something really well. Then, talk about what it looks like in your life to “fan into flame” the gifts that you have.

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[1] ‘God never commissions anyone to a task without imparting a special gift appropriate to it’ (Guthrie).

[2] “We know that St. Paul frequently uses for his illustrations of Christian life scenes well known among the Greek heathen nations of the Old World, such as the Greek athletic games. Is it not possible (the suggestion is Wordsworth’s) that the Apostle while here charging Timothy to take care that the sacred fire of the Holy Ghost did not languish in his heart, while urging him to watch the flame, to keep it burning brightly, to fan the flame if burning dimly—is it not possible that St. Paul had in mind the solemn words of the Roman law, “Let them watch the eternal flame of the public hearth”? (Cicero, de Legibus, xi. 8.) The failure of the flame was regarded as an omen of dire misfortune, and the watchers, if they neglected the duty, were punished with the severest penalties.” (Ellicott’s Commentary)

[3] “O quench it not, damp it not, in yourself or others, by giving way to any lust or passion, any affection or disposition, contrary to holiness, either by neglecting to do good, or by doing evil. See note on Ephesians 4:30. It is easy to observe that the qualities and effects of the Spirit’s influences are here compared to those of fire. See note on Matthew 3:11. And as fire may be quenched, not only by pouring water upon it, or heaping upon it earth and ashes, but by withholding fuel from it, or even by neglecting to stir it up; so the enlightening, quickening, renewing, purifying, and comforting operations of the Spirit may be quenched, not only by the commission of known and wilful sin, and by immersing our minds too deeply in worldly business, and burdening them with worldly cares, but by omitting to use the private or public means of grace, the fuel provided to nourish this sacred fire, and by neglecting to stir up the gifts and graces which are in us.” Benson Commentary

“In a similar manner the apostle gives this direction to Timothy, "I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up ἀναζωπυρεῖν anazōpurein, kindle up, cause to burn) the gift of God;" 2 Timothy 1:6. Anything that will tend to damp the ardor of piety in the soul; to chill our feelings; to render us cold and lifeless in the service of God, may be regarded as "quenching the Spirit." Neglect of cultivating the Christian graces, or of prayer, of the Bible, of the sanctuary, of a careful watchfulness over the heart, will do it. Worldliness, vanity, levity, ambition, pride, the love of dress, or indulgence in an improper train of thought, will do it. It is a great rule in religion that all the piety which there is in the soul is the fair result of culture. A man has no more religion than he intends to have; he has no graces of the Spirit which he does not seek; he has no deadness to the world which is not the object of his sincere desire, and which he does not aim to have. Any one, if he will, may make elevated attainments in the divine life; or he may make his religion merely a religion of form, and know little of its power and its consolations.” – Barne’s Notes On The Bible

To Him Who Is Able (Jude 1:24-25)

Years ago, Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, saw a sign by the road: “End of Construction—Thank you for your patience.” She said she wanted those words on her gravestone. She got her wish.  

24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, glory, majesty, dominion, and power, before all time, and now, and to all the ages. Amen.[1]

 James uses the same basic verb for stumbling, patio, to explain "we all stumble in many ways" in James 2:10. This not stumbling carries with it the imagery of  a horse that doesn’t stumble. It’s morally sure-footed people. Isaiah described God as ‘leading Israel “through the depths as a horse in the desert, that they stumble not” (Isaiah 63:13). 

Keep  (phulasso) is what a military guard does. It’s what the shepherds were doing when they were "keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2). The apostates Jude mentioned earlier are kept by God for judgment; saints are kept from stumbling.[2]  Just a couple verses before this, we were reminded to “keep ourselves in the love of God.” So how do both of these work together?  Richard Sims, a Puritan writer, once wrote: 

“As we say of the mother and the child, both hold. But the safety of the child is that the mother holds him.”

It’s not that the child’s grip is unimportant; it’s that one grasps with the strength of a child; the grasp of the other remains fixed. It’s like when you go hiking while holding your child’s hand. When they stumble or waver, we keep them from falling or wandering off the path. They are holding to us for sure, but on their own, their grip would fail. Ours does not. They kept their hand in ours, but we are doing the kind of keeping they can’t possibly do for themselves. 

We need both of these “keeps.” 

• If all we have is “kept by God,” we will prone toward license. If God is keeping me, I can do whatever I want. It’s God’s job, not mine, to keep me from heading toward the fire.

•  If all we have is “keep yourself,” we will be prone to legalism, because it would mean that we are entirely responsible for the stability of our life and the purity of our walk. It’s my job to keep me from heading toward the fire, and I can judge myself and others based on how close we are to getting singed. 

 As we say of God and Christian, both hold. But the safety of the child is that his Heavenly Father holds.[3]  

• Does a GPS analogy work here? (Assume it’s the only game in town that will never fail to take you to your destination.)

• Learning to ride a bicycle? (where only God is strong enough to help or fast enough to keep up with you.)

•  A hero protecting us from a blast? You are in the shadow of the only one who can deflect the blast.)

Eventually, we will be presented before God “without fault” (anegkletos) a legal term that implies not just acquittal, but the absence of even a charge. 

 Bottom line: Jesus has the power to keep and guard us such that our steps are sure in the midst of our feebleness; Jesus has the power to keep us in the light of God’s love in spite of the temptation to seek the shadows of sin; Jesus has the power to present us faultless before the throne. No wonder Jude says:

To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, glory, majesty, dominion, and power, before all time, and now, and to all the ages.

 * * * * *

 And now, some quotes for meditation.

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling... The people of God are liable to falling into temptation, into sin, into errors and mistakes… Adam, in his state of innocence, could not keep himself from falling; nor could the angels, many of whom fell, and the rest are preserved by the grace of God; wherefore, much less can imperfect sinful men keep themselves. They want both skill and power to do it; nor can any, short of Christ, keep them, and it is his work and office to preserve them.

Christ…is every way qualified for it: he is "able" to do it, for he is the mighty God, the Creator and upholder of all things; and as Mediator, he has all power in heaven and in earth…and he is as willing as he is able. It is his Father's will he should keep them, and in that he delights; and as he has undertook to keep them, he is accountable for them. Besides, he has an interest in them, and the greatest love and affection for them…

 And what he keeps them from is, from falling by temptations, not from being tempted by Satan, but from sinking under his temptations, and from being devoured by him; and from falling by sin, not from the being or commission of sin, but from the dominion of it, and from the falling into it, so as to perish by it; and from falling into damnable heresies; and from the true grace of God, and into final impenitence, unbelief, and total apostasy. (Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible, Jude 1:24)

 
Only let us remember ‘Him that is able to keep.’ Able… You may have an engine of ever so many horsepower in the engine-house, but unless the power is transmitted by shafts and belting, and brought to the machinery, not a spindle will revolve. He is able to keep us from stumbling, and if you trust Him, the ability will become actuality, and you will be kept from falling. If you do not trust Him, all the ability will lie in the engine house, and the looms and the spindles will stand idle. 

Now remember that this text follows on the heels of that former text which bade us ‘build ourselves,’ and ‘keep ourselves in the love of God…’ it is not effort only, but effort rising from, and accompanied with, confidence - in God’s keeping hand. There is all the difference between toiling without trust and toiling because we do trust. And whilst, on the one hand, we have to exhort to earnest faith in the upholding hand of God, we have to say on the other, ‘Let that faith lead you to obey the apostolic command, "Stand fast in the evil day . . . taking unto you the whole armor of God."‘

Now that word rendered ‘faultless’ has a very beautiful meaning. It is originally applied to the requirement that the sacrificial offerings shall be without blemish…suggesting at once that they are, as it were, presented before God at last, stainless as the sacrificial lamb; and that they are conformed to the image of the Lamb of God ‘without blemish and without spot…’ 

He is able to do it. What is wanted to make the ability an actuality? Brethren, if we are to stand perfect, at last, and be without fault before the Throne of God, we must begin by letting Him keep us from stumbling here. The Divine manifestation of Himself in the work of redemption is the highest of His self-revealing works. 

 Men are not presumptuous when they feel that they are greater than sun and stars; and that there is more in the narrow room of a human heart than in all the immeasurable spaces of the universe… high above all other works of which we have experience is that miracle of love and Divine power which can not only keep such feeble creatures as we are from stumbling, but can present us stainless and faultless before the Throne of God. (MacLaren’s Expositions on Jude 1:24)

 “In some sense the path to heaven is very safe, but in other respects there is no road so dangerous. It is beset with difficulties. One false step (and how easy it is to take that if grace be absent), and down we go. What a slippery path is that which some of us have to tread! How many times have we to exclaim with the Psalmist, "My feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped." If we were strong, sure-footed mountaineers, this would not matter so much; but in ourselves, how weak we are! 

In the best roads we soon falter, in the smoothest paths we quickly stumble. These feeble knees of ours can scarcely support our tottering weight. A straw may throw us, and a pebble can wound us; we are mere children tremblingly taking our first steps in the walk of faith, our heavenly Father holds us by the arms or we should soon be down. Oh, if we are kept from falling, how must we bless the patient power which watches over us day by day! 

 Think, how prone we are to sin, how apt to choose danger, how strong our tendency to cast ourselves down, and these reflections will make us sing more sweetly than we have ever done, "Glory be to him, who is able to keep us from falling." We have many foes who try to push us down. The road is rough and we are weak, but in addition to this, enemies lurk in ambush, who rush out when we least expect them, and labor to trip us up, or hurl us down the nearest precipice.

  Only an Almighty arm can preserve us from these unseen foes, who are seeking to destroy us. Such an arm is engaged for our defense. He is faithful that hath promised, and he is able to keep us from falling, so that with a deep sense of our utter weakness, we may cherish a firm belief in our perfect safety, and say, with joyful confidence.

This is how you are to be presented by Christ in glory. There is a great stir in a family when a daughter is to be presented at court, and a great deal is thought of it; but, one day, you and I, who have believed in Jesus, shall be presented to the Father. What radiant beauty shall we then wear when God Himself shall look upon us, and declare us to be without fault;—when there shall be no cause for sorrow remaining, and therefore we shall be presented with exceeding joy! It shall be so, my brother; it shall be so, my sister; therefore do not doubt it.  

How soon it shall be, we cannot tell; possibly, to-morrow. Perhaps, ere the sun rises again, you and I may be presented by Christ “before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” We cannot tell when it will be, but we shall be there in his good time. We shall be perfect; we shall be “ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED;” and, therefore, “unto him be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”

Revolve in your mind that wondrous word, "faultless!" We are far off from it now; but as our Lord never stops short of perfection in his work of love, we shall reach it one day. The Savior who will keep his people to the end, will also present them at last to himself, as "a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without blemish…" 

 Moreover, the work of the Holy Spirit within us will be altogether complete. He will make us so perfectly holy, that we shall have no lingering tendency to sin. Judgment, memory, will-every power and passion shall be emancipated from the (state of being a slave) of evil. We shall be holy even as God is holy, and in his presence we shall dwell for ever… 

Oh the rapture of that hour when the everlasting doors shall be lifted up, and we, being made meet for the inheritance, shall dwell with the saints in light. Sin gone, Satan shut out, temptation past forever, and ourselves "faultless" before God - this will be heaven indeed! Let us be joyful now as we rehearse the song of eternal praise so soon to roll forth in full chorus from all the blood-washed host…“ (Spurgeon Devotional - "Faultless before the presence of his glory." - Jude 1:24)

THREE QUESTIONS

Rather than three questions, I encourage you to do the following: Read through the extended quotes at the end, one at a time. Allow several minutes of silence afterward as you think and pray. Then, share what stands out to you from the quote. As time allows, do it again. You may be surprised at how God’s truth continues to unfold the longer you meditate on it.

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[1] I got loads of help from the website Precept Austin, which quotes a LOT of pastors and theologians intermingled with the comments of the owners of the website. It’s hard to tell sometimes who to cite, so I’m just going to cite the whole thing! Google “Jude 1:24 precept austin.”

[2] 2 Peter 2:9 says the same thing.

[3] Thanks to C. J. Mahaney for this analogy and the application of it. 

Kindness, Pursuit, And Fearful Mercy (Jude 1:22-23)

“22 Keep being kind to those who waver in this faith and convince those who doubt. 23 Pursue those who are singed by the flames of God’s wrath, and bring them safely to Him, snatching them out of the fire. Show mercy to others with fear, despising every garment soiled by the corruption of human flesh.”[1]

 Jude highlights three different types of people within the church who have been influenced by the words and lifestyle of false teachers.[2]

·      Those who doubt. “I think or feel this wavering way.” Be kind, and offer convincing truth to stabilize their faith.

·      Those whose doubt leads to wrong action. “I think I will walk down a wavering road because of it.” Pursue them and grab them out of the judgment that follows their actions.

·      Those who try to take other down with them. “In fact, I want you to join me.” Show mercy, but with great caution, and with no mistaking the sinful pollution their lives carry with them.

I want to try some analogies about how these three situations are different, and why our responses are different. 

SCENARIO #1: Hot Headed Basketball Player

·      I can see frustration building, so I get his attention and gesture, “calm down.” It’s an inner battle. I’m gentle….

·      He’s about to go OFF and get a technical. I yank him off the floor immediately and get in his face. This inner battle is going to get him in trouble because he’s going to act on it in the wrong way. I snatch him from the referee fire. 

·      He’s muttering, swearing, making the whole bench agitated. Now he is polluting the team. It’s time to head to the locker room. You need some social distancing or quarantine, because you are infectious.

SCENARIO #2: My College Roommate

·      “Should I go to a packed, closed room for a concert where we all sing along at the top of our lungs in a COVID hotspot for 3 hours?” He’s having an inner battle. You gently talk about how it is a bad idea, because it’s a bad idea. 

·      “I have called an Uber to take me to the concert.”  This inner battle is going to get him in trouble because he’s going to act on it in the wrong way. You snatch him from the medical fire and cancel that Uber. 

·      *spends 3 hours at the packed concert full of people who were coughing and sneezing and singing at the top of their lungs.*  Now he is polluting the dorm. I pray for his health and decision making and maybe even help him pay for his doctor visit, but he can’t live in this dorm without a quarantine. 

SCENARIO #3: A Brother/Sister In Christ

·      “I’m struggling with how to balance freedom in Christ and responsibility in Christ.” Inner battle. Gentle. Let’s talk and pray and study Scripture together.

·      “I’m thinking I will go to Vegas for a week and just experience everything I can.” The inner battle is about to lead into sinful actions. It’s time to be more forceful and intervene. 

·      “I got a bunch of guys from church to go with me…” Let me stop you right there. Now you are polluting the body. I love you, but you are infectious right now.  Your presence is spiritually toxic because you are dragging those around you into your sin. [3]

So, let’s explore each of these a bit more. I’m not going to tell you how to apply the different approaches. You are going to need the Holy Spirit and probably the advice of other Christians to know how to enter into a particular situation where someone is struggling in their Christian faith. There is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. May God give us wisdom. 

THOSE WHO ARE WAVERING

Show mercy and patience. It would be easy to get frustrated, or just throw arguments at them. But Jude leads with something relational: mercy and kindness. Offer convincing reasons that point them toward the truth, but with mercy and kindness. You are on the same team. This is a bruised reed that we don't want to break (Isaiah 42:3).  We have received God’s unmerited mercy; we should pass this on to those who are wavering.  I like how William Barclay summarizes what he sees as our duty as a fellow Christian in this situation:  

 “Study to be able to defend the faith and to give a reason for the hope that is in us. We must know what we believe so that we can meet error with truth; and we must make ourselves able to defend the faith in such a way that our graciousness and sincerity may win others to it.”

THOSE WHO ARE SINGED BY THE FIRE.  

 Almost everyone agrees that this is imagery from Zechariah 3:1-4:

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes. ” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you. ”

 Remember the filthy clothes for the third category.  As for the fire imagery, when Amos (speaking for God) unfolds a laundry list of sinfulness, he notes:

“I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.”

 So this is the imagery. There are people in the church so corrupted by the false teachers they have gone beyond just wavering and are now actively living in a way that is deserving of the just judgment of God being poured out in them either now[4] or in eternity. God’s people are not to push them away; they are to pursue them and actually act as God’s instrument in pulling them away from the direction of the fire. William Barclay once again: 

“There are those who have to be snatched from the fire. They have actually started out on the wrong way and have to be stopped, as it were, forcibly, and even against their will. It is all very well to say that we must leave a man his freedom and that he has a right to do what he likes. All these things are in one sense true, but there are times when a man must be even forcibly saved from himself.”

THOSE WHOSE SIN IS SO INFECTIOUS THAT EVEN BEING AROUND THEM POSES A DANGER 

Jude is probably referencing the false teachers and those in the church who have given their allegiance to them.  If you remember from previous sermons, this had resulted in significant immorality. Their false ideas had led to a blatantly sinful lifestyle.[5]

Jude does not mince words about how dangerous they are. The “soiled” garments is Jude’s version of the Hebrew word for “filthy” found in Zechariah 3:3. This word refers to human excrement. And Jude’s word for clothes refers to undergarments. In other words, the sinful practices (“corrupted flesh”) of these people are disgusting, like crap-filled underwear. Jude’s words, not mine. 

So if false teachers are that disgusting, how are they so dangerous? Because we don’t see them as disgusting. Wolves don’t slip into the fold by looking like wolves. Hidden reefs don’t loom above the waves. They are dangerous because they look so amazing even as they begin to kill us. 

Maybe the best modern parable on this is vampires. Stay with me here. The original Dracula book was far more Christian than you realize,[6] and Hollywood took his very unappealing version and made vampires sexy. What makes them so terrible now is that we know they are undead, damned. We know they are monsters. But there is something about them that draws the victim. To Bella in Twilight, they glitter in the sun. There’s a reason the first Twilight book cover features an apple. It’s the oldest temptation: something evil is made to look good. 

Taylor Swift has an interesting song called “Illicit Affairs” on her latest album. In it, she notes how what looks good at the beginning ends badly.   

And that's the thing about illicit affairs and clandestine meetings and stolen stares,They show their truth one single time, but they lie and they lie and they lie
A million little times. 

And you know damn well: for you, I would ruin myself
A million little times.

 This is what sin does. It lies and lies and lies. And it ruins us. In the worst case scenario, this is what false teachers and their followers in the church do: they lie and lie and lie, and ask us to ruin ourselves a million little times. 

So when we are around those whose very presence spreads the infection of sinful ideas and actions we might not know it. We might think it looks and sounds amazing – the monstrous can look bright and dazzling in the right light. We may be deceived. We might not recognize all the lies, and we might be experiencing ruin even while we think we are having fun. 

Most of the pastors and commentators I read believe the “mercy” Jude says we should show is primarily in the form of sincere prayer are not beyond redemption. Our history never has to be our destiny. 

But I suspect this mercy goes beyond that. Mercy is not a vague theory; it’s practically experienced. So we pray for those who are lost in even the deepest depths of sin, but we also find a way to be present with a mercy that is tempered by “fear.”

Think of “fear” as significant caution as we have contact with someone like this. It would be easy to become infected. We pray for them as an act of mercy that reminds us that God is merciful to even the worst of us. We can all do that. But we might need to do some social distancing if our spiritual immune system is low. We might need some church discipline that creates some space between someone who is toxic and those who are susceptible. And we will definitely need to be oh, so careful, as we move closer to help.  

Yet even here God's wondrous grace can exchange the excrement-covered garments (Zec 3:3) for festive garments of righteousness. For no one, not even the most defiled sinner, is beyond salvation through faith in Christ's redeeming work. (Douglas Moo)

 In this is where we land: in the grace of God. 

I love this verse in Jude. Every scenario has hope, from the doubter to the vampire. And it tells us how to point toward that hope.

Be kind. Don’t be a jerk. Don’t call people names or bully them. 

Offer truth. You can do that while being kind. Kindness isn’t wimpy. Kindness is about the attitude; Truth is about pointing toward reality. 

Pursue. We don’t wait for the drowning to swim to us. We swim to them. 

Show mercy (even if it has to be tempered with caution). We can all pray. I suspect that changes our attitude.  We can pursue even if we pull up 6 feet short and with a mask on. We can rescue the drowning even if it’s just by throwing them something to float on so they don’t die while waiting for the lifeguard. 

Kindness. Truth. Pursuit. Mercy. Once again, a compelling vision of life in the Kingdom.  In this kind of community, there is freedom to be honest at the very beginning of wavering so that future hardship can be avoided.

In this kind of community, there is reason to never lose hope even when we are spiritually toxic, because neither God nor his people have given up. 

____________________________________________________________________________

[1] This verse in Jude likely inspired a few lines in an early Christian document called the Didache: “You shall hate no one, but some you must reprove, for some you must pray, and some you must love more than your very life.”

[2] Warren Wiersbe calls these three groups of people The Doubting (Jude 1:22), The Burning (Jude 1:23a), The Dangerous (Jude 1:23b).

[3] There’s an episode in The Walking Dead where a deeply traumatized young girl starts to wonder if the Walkers (zombies) are just normal people. The adults with her try gently to explain to her that’s not true. Soon they find her trying to hang out with them to prove them wrong, and they literally snatch her from the zombie ‘fire’. She’s angry, but at least she’s safe. Then they find out she is planning to kill someone in their group to prove to them that becoming a Walker is no big deal. Now, it’s not just about her. The lives of others are on the line. Note the escalation: it’s a similar pattern to what Jude is describing.

[4] Amos’ Sodom and Gomorrah reference was a ‘real time’ example.

[5] When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 5) about an unrepentant, incestuous church member, he said, “So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.” I think this is excommunication, and is an act of mercy (see the reason) with ‘fear’.

[6] https://www.premierchristianity.com/Blog/Why-Dracula-is-the-most-Christian-show-on-TV

Keeping Yourselves In The Love Of God (Jude 1:14-19)

Jude’s been warning about false teachers and describing how to recognize them. Here is his summary – and the turn toward a hope-filled ending to a letter that has been pretty sobering so far. 

14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others with empty words[1] for their own advantage.[2]

 We are getting to a summary: notice Jude’s reference again to both words and acts that characterize false teachers.

17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

 So, we have been in the “last times” for 2,000 years, and all this time we have had to resist being divided in the church by those in the church whose words and action do not reflect the indwelling and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  

20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in the object of your most holy faith[3] and praying in the Holy Spirit,21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

 Here’s the turn: after a letter filled with dire warning about the disease in their midst, Jude offers the cure. 

·      We use different, holy words -  truth that build on the foundation of Jesus.

·      We follow different, holy paths -  righteousness that unite us.

·      We have a different, holy hope – the mercy of Christ stretching into eternity

How to keep yourself in God’s love. 

In this passage, Jude is not telling the believers that they have to keep themselves saved. He begins and ends this letter with a reminder that God is our keeper: 

“Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus the Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus the Christ.” (Jude 1:1)[4] 

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy…” (Jude 1:24)

A translator named Wuest translates verse 21 a follows: "With watchful care keep yourselves within the sphere of God's love." In other words, Jude seems to be saying, "keep yourself in the place where you experience in this life the blessing that God's love brings." I’ve talked before about we invest sweat equity so that we experience the fullness of life in the Kingdom. I think this is the idea here. William MacDonald writes, 

"The love of God can be compared to sunshine. The sun is always shining. But when something comes between us and the sun, we are no longer in the sunshine." [5]

It’s as if we have our own cloud generating machine. Calvin is famous for saying that the human heart is a “perpetual idol factory.” Maybe we leave perpetual chem trails too. The sun won’t stop shining, but we can put something between us and it’s warmth and light. If you have ever flown when it’s cloudy, it’s the difference between life under the cloud cover vs. breaking into the sunlight that was always there. 

So, how do we experience the fullness of blessings in the sphere of the warmth of the love of God? How do we stay in the sunlight of the Son? We walk in obedience to His revealed will. The writers of Scripture tell us this over and over again. 

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:3 

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) 

"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me… and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." (John 14:21) 

"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.” (John 15:10)

 When we remain obedient, we not only demonstrate our love for God, we abide in the love of God. We live in the love of God, and God discloses or reveals himself to us. I don’t think this means the kind of revelation Paul had on the road to Damascus, because Paul was not living in obedience to God. I think it means we begin to understand the heart of God when we order our lives in alignment with the heart of God. 

• My wife and I didn’t understand the joy of tithing until we started to tithe. It was counterintuitive to think that giving  away money that was already tight was going to feel like abundant life, and yet it does. Now we understand more why God loves generosity, and why he wants His children to be generous. 

• “Do not forsake gathering together.” The more I have watched and experienced that in this church both in person and virtually, the more I understand why it’s so important to God for His children to do life together even when it’s really hard. When honesty, transparency, truth, boldness, love, grace, repentance, forgiveness, humility, and service all “click”, it brings tears to my eyes. I remember how Ted would tear up when talk about how much he loved the church. I thought at the time, “I mean, I love the church and all, but you are really emotional.” Now I get it. God is disclosing his heart to me through obedience.  

•  Jesus said the following in Matthew 5: 44-48 -  “Love your enemies. Pray for those who torment you and persecute you— in so doing, you become children of your Father in heaven. He, after all, loves each of us—good and evil, kind and cruel. He causes the sun to rise and shine on evil and good alike. He causes the rain to water the fields of the righteous and the fields of the sinner.  It is easy to love those who love you—even a tax collector can love those who love him. And it is easy to greet your friends—even outsiders do that! But you are called to something higher…” What happens if I do that???? God discloses Himself to me. I begin to understand his heart for the fallen, broken people for whom He gave his life. 

Obedience clears the cloud cover so we live in the full warmth and light of the “sunshine” of His love.

1. Build your foundation in/on the object of your faith. I’m not going to go into detail on this point this morning. We spent 8 weeks last fall going through our statement of faith, which began by focusing on the object of our faith: the triune God –Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I encourage you to revisit that.

 I will note this: Jude is pointing us toward the object of our faith, not our feelings of faith. We often hear conversation about how strong our faith is, or how to build our faith, and it’s often us-centered. By that, I mean it focuses on how we can alter ourselves to have more faith. Jude is pointing us toward the object of our faith. If I am understanding his point correctly, strong faith follows from appreciating the strength of the One in whom we have put our faith.

I was working on a house this week with someone else’s ladder. I’ll be honest - I wasn’t sure about this ladder. It was really light-weight, and well traveled. Plus, when I leaned it against the house, I was on a hill, so one side of the top didn’t even touch the house when I started up. My faith was not strong. The good news – it was fine. However, trying to “drum up” faith in that ladder would have been a little foolish. It just wasn’t the kind of ladder that deserved too much faith. However, I’ve used ladders I could barely move because they were built so solidly. I put them on level ground. My faith was strong. My anxiety was low. It’s a whole different experience.  

This is why, when we struggle of feel spiritually faint, we always look to Jesus. The more we see Him for who He is, the more our faith grows. 

2. Pray with the help of the Holy Spirit. The false teachers “follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit,” which suggests to me a contrast in the next paragraph: Don’t be like that. Pray with and for holy instincts guided by the Holy Spirit. (By the way, this language in Jude is different from other places where the Bible mentions praying in a prayer language. Think of Jude’s discussion here as being about prayer as a fruit of the Spirit rather than a gift of the Spirit. Two different discussions).  

“Only inasmuch as you know that God is your Father can you pray with intimacy rather than with religious ritual. Part of what it means to pray in the Spirit, therefore, is to pray with the help of the Holy Spirit who is constantly reminding you of your position as heir of God. You’re God’s child and, as such, you’re a co-heir with Christ. You can pray with the power of a child of God to a perfect Father.” – Alan Wright 

“To pray in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, and worship in the Spirit (‘in Spirit and in truth,’ John 4:24) is to come before the Lord according to His appointed means—that is through the One whom the Spirit magnifies, the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:26-27), depending on His revealed Word and pleading as a lesser creature to our glorious Creator.” (Michael Milton, “What Is Praying In The Spirit?” christianity.com) 

“By a principle of grace derived from him, and by his enlightening, quickening, sanctifying, and comforting influences, showing you what blessings you may and ought to pray for, inspiring you with sincere and fervent desires after those blessings, and enabling you to offer these desires to God in faith, with gratitude for the blessings which you have already received.” – Benson Commentary 

“‘Praying in the Holy Ghost’-that is to say, prayer which is not mere utterance of my own petulant desires which a great deal of our ‘ prayer’ is, but which is breathed into us by that Divine Spirit that will brood over our chaos, and bring order out of confusion, and light and beauty out of darkness, and weltering sea.” – MacLaren’s Expositions

It’s prayer…

·      confident in my identity as a child approaching a perfect Father

·      focused on Jesus

·      inspired to pray for what God desires rather than what I want

·      remembering that the one whose Spirit moved over the chaos of Genesis 1 will move over the chaos of this world and bring light, beauty and life.

3. Wait/look for the fulfillment of the mercy of Jesus Christ. This is a future of eternal life, not eternal death.  

·      "And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son."– 1 John 5:11

·      " He who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life."– John 5:24

·      “We rest in this hope we’ve been given—the hope that we will live forever with our God—the hope that He proclaimed ages and ages ago (even before time began).” Titus 1:1-2 

Keep yourself in God’s love – clear the cloud cover so that you can live in the unwavering light and warmth of God’s love, mercy and salvation.  

Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. 

Pray in tune with the heart of God, and walk in the path of righteousness revealed in 

Scripture with the help of the inspiration and guidance of God’s Holy Spirit.

Never forget the New Heaven and Earth that awaits those who are covered in His mercy.

THREE QUESTIONS

1. So, God keeps us in His love even as we keep ourselves in God’s love. Hmmm. It seems like we could become overly passive or overly driven if we embrace one side without the other. Talk about living in this tension.

2. The idea that obedience keeps us in the love of God can sound like legalism. How do we offer obedience as an act of loving worship without being caught up in thinking we are earning God’s love or salvation? .

3. In a practical sense, how might “praying in the Spirit” as described here change how you approach prayer? If you are already taking this approach, how have you noticed it reorienting your life or your walk with God?
   _________________________________________________________________________

[1] This parallels a passage in 2 Peter: “For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness…” (2:18).” 

[2] Like the false teachers in the Corinthian church who called themselves “super-apostles” and were just ridiculously full of themselves (2 Corinthians 11:5; 12:11; 3:1; 10:13-18; 11:12,18; 4:5; 5:12; 11:20). 

[3] “Both the adjective and the verb show that πίστις is here meant not in a subjective (the demeanour of faith…) but in an objective sense (… “appropriated by them indeed as their personal possession, yet according to its contents…” - Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

[4] " Holy Father, keep them in Your name...” (John 17:11)

[5] Thanks to David Curtis, at bereanbiblechurch.org, for a helpful article.

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. 
________________________________________________________________

[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.