Through Water

Psalm 66:8-20; 1 Peter 3:13-22

Noah, Jonah, Moses, and Joshua, are all Hebrew Bible stories that prefigure baptism, just as Peter wrote of Noah.  All of them had to go through water.  As I remember from Sunday School (as a youth and teacher) all of these stories are taught to our kids with a very joyful sentiment.  Noah especially with the pictures of perfect arks with giraffe heads sticking out.  I was obsessed with whales as a child so I truly enjoyed the story of Jonah and had a picture of a smiling whale to remind me of that Bible story.  The Exodus and entry into the promise land was not as colorfully told, but it too was taught with the respective happy “endings.” When they crossed the Red Sea and then into the Promised Land across the Jordan.

Well as adults we realize these Hebrew stories are much more dark and scary.  Noah had the hard work of building this ark.  Being questioned by neighbors and then seeing them all perish.  Even though God told him to build it, and that He would send that much rain, Noah and his family did not know what the future held for them and in the meantime were dealing with the reality of an arc filled with animals.  (Not fun and certainly scary).

Jonah thought he was going to die when thrown into the sea and probably thought the large fish would end his life quicker.  I am sure he thought he was dead.  It was not like the scene in Pinocchio.  Then he was spit out (the nice way to say it) and had to do the work he did not want to do.  He then struggled with God who had saved him.

Moses and all the Hebrew people heard the chariots coming.  They were correct in thinking they were going to die.  And even when they crossed the Red Sea they had 40 years of wandering, until the next generation was led across the Jordan into the Promised Land.  A land inhabited which they would struggle to establish Israel and Judah.   The salvation did not wipe away all their troubles.

These are stories that prefigure baptism and should.  On this Sunday we remember all those that served our Country and laid down their lives for others.  They are great heroes.  While I was a chaplain in a large metropolitan hospital I met many men who had served along side those that gave their lives in WWII.  Inevitably they would talk about the war, and about those that died in their youth fighting for freedom.  Many had not shared some of these stories with their family, and a common theme was the guilt of coming home.  They held with them the death of many of their friends and came home to live not only for themselves but for those the laid their lives down for us all.

The best image of war (better yet worst) is that of D-day.  The images I had seen always spook me, that men would jump out into the water and proceed through water and fire from the Germans inch by inch.  I can imagine that some of the soldiers would watch their comrade die and would take their memory of them on with them, some of them inches or feet and those few I met years latter the rest of their lives. 

According to Paul this is exactly what baptism should be as he writes in Romans 6:3-4:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

We are baptized into Jesus’ death.  We bring the scary aspects of the four Hebrew Bible Stories into our lives as we are saved.  We are not baptized to a life that is perfect.  We are baptized into a Jesus’ death so we might see the newness of life.  We will suffer, but we will know the eventual promise.  We will hold onto what Jesus did for us so we may live.  Just as those soldiers lived out their lives for their fallen comrades, but it was Jesus’ death and resurrection that saved them from guilt as well as sin.

Jesus is the Way

John 14: 1-10

I lived right near the Woodcock Nature Center growing up, and I would explore the trails with a few friends or alone.  I knew the trails within the boundaries of the park, like the back of my hand.  Well one summer day, when I was under the age of 10, I found myself with a group of kids, many were older than me.  We went beyond the boundaries of the park and found ourselves in a new area of the woods.  We ended up on the far side of a large fenced field with horses, which was very exciting and occupied us for a while.  We then headed back on the this new trail but missed the trail head back into the nature center.  We went back and forth on the trail looking for where we originally turned but could not find it.

I was getting scared especially as the sun lowered.  However, I was even more frustrated that the older kids were not listening to me that I believed the turn was further down the trail, for when we came back I could not get them to go far enough the second time.  I was tempted to go out on my own, but I was taught to not leave the group when lost in the woods (a good idea).  I knew where to go, but I was limited by the group to wandering around lost.

In this scripture, John tells us about Jesus’ pastoral statement about the place He has prepared for us in the Father’s house.  This wonderful pastoral statement is a scripture very appropriately shared at death beds and during funerals.  There is nothing like hearing the promise of Heaven.  Then Jesus goes on to tell them they know the way, but the disciples don’t get it once again.  So Jesus states another pastoral statement,

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him. (John 14:6-7)

Jesus is making it clear they are to continue following what He had shown them, they are to continue following Him even after He is in Heaven preparing our rooms.  Even before believers in Jesus where called Christians we were called followers of “The Way.”

How does Jesus show the way?  Jesus healed many people and even commissioned the Disciples to do likewise. 

Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. (Luke 9:1-2)

Thus we are to heal people as Jesus did and that will be in many forms.  Jesus also speaking of when He will return to judge in Matthew 25 that we must also help others.  We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the prisoners, if we want to be in the Father’s house.  The way includes healing and helping.

Jesus also notes during John’s account of the Last Supper, He gives us a new commandment.  It is given after He tells them He is with them only a little longer.

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)

So the way of Jesus is to Heal, Help, and Love.  These are what Jesus wants us to do and then teach others.  Commanding us to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..” (Matthew 28:19).  Jesus shows us the way and opens it up with His laying down His Life and the Father resurrecting Him from Death. 

The Prophet Micah says it best,

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6: 8)

To do justice is to heal and help, and to love kindness with humility is to Love one another.

So when we finally found the path back into the nature center, I knew I would be home shortly.  When I got home I was happy, but I was ecstatic when I climbed over the fallen tree I knew so well.  For when I knew I was back on the right path I knew the promise I would get home.  We must follow Jesus, “the Way,” so we might know the promise of Heaven. 

Called

John 10:1-10

Jesus tells us he is the shepherd at that gate and then emphasizes He is the gate, when the disciples did not understand.  Jesus tells us that only through the gate can you enter the sheepfold.  That thieves and bandits jump the fence and use violence.  In our contemporary language we see thieves and bandits as synonyms, but in the Greek thief does refer to someone who is stealing for their own benefit, while the word bandit would be better translated as insurgent,  someone doing crimes for political reasons.  Because some were waiting for a military messiah to save the people from the Roman occupation, it was a wonderful how Jesus combines both a petty thief and “bandit.”  Jesus goes on in the chapter to say He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life, completely in contrast to those calling for a military response to oppression.  

That does set the scene for what Jesus says in these verses, He is the gateway to the sheepfold.  That is not simply to heaven as it is sometimes stated, but to the church (thus eventually to heaven).  This is an important nuance, for the church is called out of the society by Jesus and only Jesus.  The sheepfold represents the church and we are to enter it by following Jesus’ call to us, just as the disciples did when He said to them at the sea of Galilee, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” (Mark 1:17) 

Jesus calls us to be the church.  The word “church” comes from a Middle English word referring to the “Lord’s House.”  Today we do use the word to mean the building in which we worship, but we understand that the church is not simply the building and/or what occurs in the building.  Rather it is the mission of the Body of Christ that defines church.  In our Bible the word “church” is used once by Jesus.  Jesus says in Matthew 16:18, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”  Now it sounds like Jesus is using the term church as a building, at least in a metaphor, as He will build it on a rock.  Of course when we use the word “rock” to refer to a person, it is a metaphor about their character, but more importantly the word we translate as church does not have the same root as the English word, it is not a word for a building at all.  The word is more closely related to the definition of church we have come to understand, the mission of the Body of Christ.

The word is Ecclesia and it was a word used to describe a group of people gathered or assembled.  Specifically gathered and assembled for a specific, generally political reason.  Not unlike how we assemble people for jury duty.  The word refers not to a physical building at all, but a group gathered for a specific purpose.  Called.  The church is inherently the group called and those assembled by Jesus. 

I believe that the prophet Isaiah understood this when he wrote,

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’ (Isaiah 6:6-8)

Jesus the Good Shepherd, the gate, calls each of us, and has triumphed over death with the last needed sacrifice.  The altar has been appeased, so that our sins are blotted out and our guilt departed, so we can hear Jesus asking and calling.  We answer, “Hear am I; send me!”

The Light to See

Luke 24:13-35

Where is Emmaus?  It is seven miles from Jerusalem according to Luke, but it must not have been an incorporated town, for there is no hard evidence for its position.  Luke is however not concerned with the town but rather that these two have left the scene of the day.  The reality of the past three days had gotten to these two disciples.  They needed out and it seems that the woman’s witness was the last straw, for they can share the story up to that point and they left for Emmaus.  Did they have to be there for a reason?  Perhaps, but it seems more likely that even if there was a reason it was a weak excuse to get away from the reality.  Emmaus for all intention is a place of escape. 

For us it may be a movie, a book, a vacation, it can even be church.  It is the place or mindset to escape the harsh reality of the world.  A harsh reality where we are not able to see the resurrected Jesus.  These two could not see Jesus right in front of them and please note that Jesus does not rebuke them about their journey to Emmaus, rather their understanding of the prophecy.  Jesus does not tell them to go back but it is the obvious reaction when they experience the revelation of Jesus at the table.

The table is the pivotal point of this scripture.  They know the New Testament Gospel in that they experienced it, and even heard of the resurrection from the women.   They couldn't handle it but when they met this “stranger” they shared the story.  Yet they did not come to believe when the Hebrew Prophesies were revealed to them by Jesus, Himself. 

The Lord’s Table set for us each Sunday has us remember Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.  We know the name of this Table as the Lord’s Table (as I referred to it above), which makes sense since it is Jesus our Lord who invites us to this table.  We will also here it called communion table, and it is true we are in communion with God at this table but also with each other. 

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 1 Cor. 10:16 KJV

I believe this idea of coming together around the table for to remember and find the revelation of Jesus is perfect.  Of course Jesus would leave the perfect rite to remember and know Him.

Think about what the everyday table is to you.  Who do you eat with?  We know the criticism of Jesus was often included stating who He ate with. 

Think about who taught you your table manners.  If you are like me many of your table manners were taught to you by your mother.  My mom taught me what side the silverware goes on, that elbows were not allowed on the table, don’t talk with your mouth full, and many other important rules.  Those rules I named fulfill etiquette, which are very important, but etiquette is simply  cultural rules.  Rules that change over time and geography.  For example the fork as a utensil did not start making it to the table in Europe about a thousand years after the Last Supper. 

Etiquette is important, but ethics is even greater.  I believe there are ethics to table fellowship that really has never changed.  My mom taught me gathering for a meal is not simply to eat, but to enjoy each other’s company and to share with everyone in the experience.  This was emphasized by many things, especially the conversations and the laughter, but also the etiquette that we had to be dismissed. 

Another ethic value was that everyone should have enough or a fair share of what was presented.  The exception would be if there were guests.  Leading me to share the third ethical value of table fellowship and that is hospitality.  That sharing a meal is the greatest sign of hospitality.  What I learned from my mother that it wasn’t only when we planned to have special dinner party, but even when one of my friends stopped by unannounced.  Always the table was open.

Those three values have been the ethics of table fellowship.  It is not just about the food, but about the fellowship, everyone should get what they need, and it also the greatest sign is hospitality. The Lord’s Table is no exception, and it upholds the three key ethics greatly.  The table is not simply about food but is a communal relational experience between people and the Divine.  Grace goes equally to all as they accept it at the table.  Everyone is invited and we need to keep inviting people to His Table.

This is why they see Jesus at the Table.  They demonstrated great hospitality and were in communion with each other and of course God.  Of course, Grace is given equally and they see Jesus.  But only for an instant, for Luke is making it clear that when we see Jesus we must act as those two did.  They were on an escapist path when they went to Emmaus but as soon as they saw Jesus again in the breaking of the bread, they were back, within the hour, to evangelize. 

All off us need a chance to get away from the world, but once we experience Jesus at the table (or wherever) we realize that Jesus is in control and we are to follow Him.

The Eighth Day

John 20: 1-8

We gather this Sunday to celebrate Resurrection Day; Easter.  I often talk of Resurrection Moments, and I believe these moments are easily distinguished, but very hard to define.   Thus I am going to share three such moments.  I would say that if a gathered group of Christians started naming such moments we would have millions to share and probably greater.

The first I want to share is that of Ottist Murduck’s death.  He was 99 and a great Christian as well as an active member at First Christian Church of Durant.  He had a Do Not Resuscitate order, but it was not on file correctly at the hospital, so when he went Code Blue on Thursday the doctors and nurses kept him alive.  I talked to Ottist’s son on that Friday, and at first his son was unhappy about that glitch.  Yet that Friday his son was able to be with Ottist as he passed away as well as friends and I was able to pray with him as well.  With the DNR misfiled Ottist had family near him, and I believe that is a resurrection moment. 

The second example seems so less deep and even silly, but I know for me this example was very important in my life.  I was not sure where I was going in life and I felt very far from God.  I happen to be living in Manhattan, and if you know anything about taking the Subway, it is rare to pass the turnstile and have your train be right there.  The subway is the best way to travel in the city, but generally you do need to wait for your train for a few minutes.  If your train was there right when you entered the tunnel it would probably be the first thing off your tongue when you arrived (not unlike a parking spot right in front if you drive into the city; you will need to take my word).  Well this one week I seemed to be charmed for the trains were always on hand.  By Wednesday, I felt like I could walk to the edge of the platform and on Thursday I felt like if I did not know where I was going in life I knew God was with me.  That was the moment.  It is not that God makes sure I travel quickly and easily, simply try to fly through New Orleans with me, but that week made me know God’s presence.

The third, is a story of my mom.  She survived and battled ovarian cancer.  She was still wearing her wig months after her last chemo therapy, and she was driving the two hours to visit my family.  During the drive a semi kicked up a large piece of metal that went through her windshield, missing her by inches.  Luckily she had her eyeglasses on as the glass from the windshield was all over her.  Somehow she made it to the median, and two men who witnessed the accident pulled over to offer help.  She reports that they were more freaked out then she was, she even asked if they thought she could continue her trip.  She was trying to brush the glass of her clothes, and finally told the men not to laugh, as she removed her wig and used it to brush of the glass.  It was the last time she wore that wig, she looked death in the face twice that year; resurrection.

Again we can tell stories for days that I would say are resurrection moments and we know what they are even if we cannot define it.  Sometimes the moments are seen as the moment after the fact, such as all those above I shared.  Each of those moments were seen as being part of the Kingdom of God, Resurrection, afterwards.

Let me share with you this story of the Hebrews on their journey from slavery in Egypt to the promised land.  They were wining about being thirsty.

I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.  Exodus 17:6

Well that is a miraculous story, but let us look at how Paul interprets this same story.

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.  1 Cor. 10:1-4

Well Paul sees that the rock was Christ, that the Hebrews were given water by Christ.  A resurrection moment.  The Gospels of Mathew and Luke share the birth of Jesus and so does the Gospel of John in verse 14 where John writes the Word became flesh, but even before that John makes it clear that Christ was with God in the beginning. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:1-5

Thus according to John, Paul is correct to interpret the great events such as the water from a rock is the work of Christ, as Christ has been with and is God from the start.  These resurrection moments have been happening throughout history and are not only for humanity but for all of creation.

John writes that there were many signs of Jesus and could not be contained in his book, not unlike our own moments we know.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31

This also makes us look at the signs that John does include and we discover that there are seven signs.  Water into wine, healing of the noble man’s son, healing the lame man, feeding of thousands, calming the storm, blind man receives sight, & the resurrection of Lazarus.  Seven is an important number and you cannot help think of creation, so Jesus’ resurrection will be the eighth sign, the eighth day. 

There were Jews in Jesus’ day that were waiting for the “eighth day,” and for them it was the Last Day, the resurrection.  However, Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates that the Kingdom of Heaven does come and touch this earthly world.  We do have resurrection moments where God, Christ, the Holy Spirit,  allow us to know God today. 

Jesus is our Rock, Jesus is the living water, and we get to live the eighth day even when we go through our normal week. 

May Newsletter

May 2011

If you have not heard AJ, Mindi, and I will be closing on a house on North 10^th Avenue during this month of May. We are excited to own a home in our community. It has been over a year since I had a yard to play in as well as mow, and I look forward to both (of course the former most of all). We already feel at home here, and this is the obvious next step.

The two things I like about packing (if there I have to admit two things) are cleaning out things I do not need, and going through the meaningful memories. The cleaning out the old stuff and the things one does not need any more feels great. However, I find even more joy by finding treasures during a move that remind me of different periods of my life and seeing how they connect to the current move.

Of course moving from one home to another forces this process, but it is a good idea to do this process for our home now, and even more importantly with our own selves. What we discover is that we have varying gifts because of our experience and God-given talents. Thus we think of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12: 12-17:

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body.

Paul goes on and tells us that “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.” Through prayer and careful self-reflection we can find where our skills, talents, and gifts fit for the Body of Christ, not simply at First Christian Church, but in our entire lives as the ministry of Jesus Christ. It is not limited to our congregation, but is how we live our lives everywhere: church, work, the library, the fields, malls, on the road, and of course at home.

So as you participate in your own spring-cleaning and clearing, remember the gifts you have been given and the experiences that have shaped your gifts for the work of Christ in the world. As we continue the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection, let us use our gifts in new ways for the building of Christ’s Kingdom.

Blessings,

Pastor JC