Category Archives: Eucharist

Let’s Eat!

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We live in a competitive world, don’t we?

We find ourselves competing with other people when we apply for a job. We live in a world where people push others off the corporate ladder to get a rung higher. We can, sometimes, feel the need to put other people down in order to feel better about ourselves. We often find ourselves in places where life is defined by prejudices that separate us into groups of us and them, insiders and outsiders, people who are like me and people who are not like me; and, of course, us, insiders, and people who are just like me are always somehow better, right?

Jesus once hosted a Meal that we continue to share in the Church.

Jesus provides a Table where company presidents kneel beside people who work for them; and where different skin colors, nationalities, and spoken languages can be celebrated as something good. Jesus tears down the barriers that we work so hard to build and to maintain when He calls us to share one Bread and on Cup. People who are homeless and people who live in mansions are called by Jesus to share a meal where everyone is offered the exact same meal in the exact same portion during Holy Communion. People don’t need to put other people down in order to feel better about themselves at the Lord’s Table because, at Meal that Jesus hosts, we are all are precious, valuable and embraced.

We do something very radical every time we share Holy Communion. You might even say that the Eucharistic Feast is a Meal of protest. And right after Jesus calls us to share a meal with each other, He sends us out into the world to live what we have just experienced. What happens at the Lord’s Table doesn’t always make sense in a divided and competitive world. We are not used to living in a world where everyone has value and worth. We are not used to living in a world where people see the face of God when they look into other people’s eyes. We are not used to giving up places of honor that we think we earned. We can draw people toward us when we live what I call a “Kingdom Life,” but we can also drive others away from us. And that’s OK. The stakes are sometimes high!

Living a Kingdom Life that reflects what happens at the Lord’s Table isn’t easy, and that’s why God calls us to come to the Table many times. You might say that, as Christians, we live our lives of faith from Meal to Meal to Meal. We are forgiven, renewed, strengthened and fed; and then, we’re sent out into the world to make it a better place. And, after we try our best to do that and when we begin to grow weary and need to be sustained, Jesus calls us back to simple gifts of Bread and Wine where He continues to be found and to the place where we are forgiven, renewed, strengthened and fed once again. And that’s how we grow and how our lives of faith are built by the Holy Spirit. We eat and we are sent. And after we go into the world and try our best to live faithfully in a place that does not always understand God’s plan, Jesus calls us to come back together again and He says to us, “Let’s eat!”

My hope and prayer for you is that you will continue to find times in life when Jesus forgives you, renews you, strengthens you and feeds you. And my hope and prayer is also that, after you’ve been sent out into the world by the Holy Spirit and have tried your best to make it a better place, you will hear Jesus say to you again, “Let’s eat!” We live our lives of faith from Meal to Meal to Meal. God bless you!

Insiders and Outsiders

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Our world is often shaped by our understanding of insiders and outsiders.

We tend to feel most comfortable with people who resemble us and who think about life in the same ways that we do. We divide ourselves into smaller and smaller groups by defining distinctions based upon race, ethnic background, economic level and even political party. Surveys have shown that Christians in America are most segregated on Sunday mornings during times set aside for worship. Denominations like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continue to struggle with the fact that members of the ELCA are more than 98% white even after people have tried for decades to change that.

In Matthew 15:20-28, we find an absolutely fascinating story from the life of Jesus. Jesus has traveled into a land that’s inhabited by both Jews and Gentiles. And, while Jesus is in that area, a Canaanite woman approaches Him and asks Him to heal her daughter, who is possessed by a demon. We might expect Jesus to heal the woman’s daughter in the same way that He healed so many others. But, in this short story, Jesus responds to the Gentile woman’s request by saying: “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and to feed it to the dogs.” And, frankly, Jesus’ response continues to shock me every time that I read it.

Jews didn’t allow dogs to live in their homes in Jesus’ days, but Gentiles often looked at dogs as pets who deserved kindness and care. But, the word “dog” was also used in a very different way. The Jews didn’t want “those kind of people” – the dogs – to mix with “our kind of people.” The Jews called outsiders “dogs” because they didn’t live their lives based upon Jewish teachings and purity practices.

But, before we look too harshly at the Jews in Jesus’ days, we need to consider some of the things that are happening in our own lives, right now.

People who do not attend worship services are sometimes looked down upon by the people who do attend worship services. Churches sometimes draw clear distinctions between the people who are members and those who are not members of the congregation. People who struggle with mental illnesses, homelessness, alcoholism and drug addiction often find the doors of churches locked when they get there. America continues to be most segregated and divided during the one hour when people are worshiping on Sunday mornings than at any other time in the entire week!

But, then, Jesus seems to turn on His heels.

Right after Jesus says that it’s not right to feed the children’s bread to the dogs, the woman responds, “But even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.” And, right after that, Jesus commends the woman for her great faith. Faith realizes that God is a God who welcomes and embraces both insiders and outsiders alike. Faith realizes that God is a God who looks past the artificial barriers and walls that we build between people who are like us and people who are not like us. Economic barriers are challenged as we gather to celebrate Holy Communion at an altar rail where company presidents kneel beside the folks who work for them. Faith creates radical hospitality that gazes beyond distinctions that are based upon race, ethnic background, economic level and political party.

Great faith recognizes the fact that Christ’s Church is meant to be a home for everyone, and great faith recognizes that even deep divisions and barriers can be overcome when love is allowed to rule in our hearts. And that’s the challenge that’s placed before us as we listen to this intriguing story from the life and ministry of Jesus.

Let radical hospitality challenge you and transform you. Let the love of Jesus empower you and enable you to see that the Church is meant to be a place that welcomes everyone. And, as that’s happening, let the love of Jesus tear down the divisions and barriers and walls that we continue to build, create and maintain even inside the Church itself.

This Week’s Message: “Insiders and Outsiders”

It’s All About the Table

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Bread and wine

Some things drive me absolutely crazy.

Think about this scenario…. You’re in a hurry, and you either want to print something that you have been working on for several hours or you just want to send a quick email. And then, your computer freezes. CTRL/ALT/DEL sometimes does the trick. Sometimes you need to hit the power button and hope for the best. I have even had to unplug my laptop and remove the battery pack. And why? Because, sometimes, a computer gets so messed-up that the only thing you can do is re-boot the entire system.

In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 30:15-20), God clearly sets a choice before us. We can love God and obey God and keep God’s laws, or we can allow ourselves to be led astray by other gods. We can live our lives following God and be blessed, or we can choose to live our lives in a different way and not be blessed. And, according to Deuteronomy, the choice is ours.

And then, Jesus comes along….

Jesus tells us that, even though we’ve all be told that we should not commit murder, we do the same thing when we get angry. Jesus tells us that when we drift off-course, even a little bit, it’s both horrible and inexcusable. And then, Jesus gets radical! We’re told that, if our eye causes us to sin, we need to pluck it out. We’re told that, if our hand causes us to sin, we need to cut it off. Because, after all, it’s better to live your life without one of your eyes or without one of your hands than it is to spend eternity in Hell, right? (You may want to read: Matthew 5:21-37.)

Sometimes, our lives get as messed-up as a frozen computer. We can’t always fix the damage we’ve done. We can’t always repair relationships that we’ve broken. We can’t always fix things and make them right again after we’ve made choices in life that have caused us to lose a part of our good health.

And then, just when we’re ready to throw in the towel, Jesus provides a solution.

In the night in which He was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks, broke it and gave it to His disciples saying, “Take and eat. This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” And again after supper, He took the cup and gave thanks, and He gave it for all to drink saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood which is shed for you – and for all people – for the forgiveness of sin. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

In essence, Jesus comes into our lives during a holy moment and shuts down everything that isn’t working right. We come to the Table weighed down with sin and brokenness, and Jesus sends us away forgiven and renewed. We come to the Table burdened by all of the mistakes that we’ve made, and Jesus shines light in the darkest corners of our lives and send us back into the world to live in a new way.

But, even after that holy moment, we still go back into the world and make mistakes, don’t we? We’re called to live our lives in a new way, but we don’t always do it. Even after Jesus forgives us and renews us, we can still go away with hearts that are hard and with attitudes that are unwilling to be changed.

And that’s why Christians live from Meal – to Meal – to Meal – to Meal.

We come to the Table to be forgiven and renewed, and to be sent back into the world. And, when we go back into the world, we mess up again. And so, we come back to the Table of the Lord to be forgiven and renewed, and to be sent back into the world. And this kind of Christian life, lived from Meal to Meal to Meal, is our spiritual journey.

You see, Christian worship isn’t just about flashing lights, music that stirs up emotions and having a chance to listen to the best preacher in town. Christian worship is not about the buildings where Christians gather. It’s not about singing only familiar hymns or using the “right” instruments. It is, certainly, not just about touching base with people that you haven’t seen all week.

Christian worship is always about the Table. Christian worship is always about the Table where we find forgiveness, renewal and strength to meet the week ahead.

And the next time your computer freezes, I want you to remember that. We come to the Table weighed down with sin and brokenness, and Jesus forgives us and re-boots the entire system. We come to the Table as people who are far less than perfect; and Jesus forgives us, renews us, and then sends us back into the world to live our lives and to help our world to become a better place for us all – at least until Jesus calls us to come back to the Table again next week.

Click Here for This Week’s Message

Food for Your Soul

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Bread and wine

Many people are watching what they eat these days.

Doctors tells us that we need to eat more fruits and vegetables. I suspect that most of us know that it’s not good to eat a slab of bacon every morning, or to make potato and corn chips a regular staple in our diets. But what are you feeding your soul?

A lot of people seem to be confused about what their souls need and a lot of churches are scrambling to provide what people want in larger portions. Many churches are focusing upon the marvels of technology, and they’re filling their services with flashing lights and loud music. Most pastors know that folks in their congregation want a service that lasts about an hour each week. Many pastors try to accommodate special events by trimming other parts of the service. And sadly, in an effort to provide what they think people are searching to find, many churches eliminate – or seldom celebrate – Holy Communion.

It’s easy for us to forget that we live our lives of faith from Meal to Meal to Meal.

At the Table of the Lord, God creates a space in our lives where company presidents and the people who work for them kneel beside each other. At the Table of the Lord, God creates a little “snippet in time” when people who are homeless and people who live in a mighty mansion are offered the exact same meal in the exact same portion. And then, God sends us back into a world where hundreds of people compete with each other every time a new job is posted. God sends us back into a world where people are not at all reluctant to push other people out of the way as they climb to the next rung of the corporate ladder. God sends us back into a world where people build their identity by defining life as “us versus them” – “insiders versus outsiders” – “people who are just like me versus people who simply aren’t.”

Living a life of faith isn’t easy. Living a “Kingdom Life” that bears testimony to the fact that God has given ALL of us value and worth and that lifts-up the fact that EVERYONE deserves to be honored and cherished as a Temple of the Holy Spirit isn’t easy in a world that’s built upon competition and getting ahead of other people. And that’s why the life of the Church is built around a Meal. The Bible tells us that, from the very start, the earliest Church was built around gatherings where people shared Bread and Wine.

God forgives us and renews us and strengthens us at the Table; and then, God sends us back into the world as people of faith. And, with a new set of eyes and with a heart that has been filled by the power of the Holy Spirit, God sends us into the world as people of faith who have been given a little glimpse of how the Kingdom of God really works and who are called to point other people in that direction. And when we grow weary, God brings us back to the Table to be forgiven and renewed and strengthened again. Jesus calls us to live our lives of faith from Meal to Meal to Meal.

You see, the Church is built and is sustained by the Meal. Holy Communion continues to be food for our souls in a world that’s so filled with consumerism and searching for the greener grass that many people are losing touch with what their souls are searching for in a world where life’s never easy.

Jesus continues to build His Church around a Meal that’s meant to strengthen us and give us a glimpse of God’s presence in the world. Holy Communion is a little “snippet in time” when Jesus provides a glimpse of the Kingdom of God.

Let’s eat!

Click Here for This Week’s Message

Where’s God Working in Your Life?

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God with me

Where do you see God at work in your life these days?

We’ve all been taught to think about God in certain ways; and, when we do that, it shapes not only what we believe about God, but it also shapes what we believe God does.

Do you picture God as an old man with a long, white beard who’s watching everything? Do you picture God as a “puppet-master” who’s pulling strings in your life (and in the world) to accomplish His will? Are you confusing God and Santa Claus – picturing God as a white-bearded “Watchman” who keeps track of whether you’ve been naughty or nice – and who always has a sack filled with goodies (or coal) to give away? Are you able to see God’s presence in people who are suffering – always working in unexpected places?

In this week’s message, “Where’s God Working in Your Life?”, we are challenged to keep things “down to earth” and to explore where God is working in our lives in down-to-earth ways. Instead of pointing to an invisible God up in the sky who’s keeping an eye on us and watching everything that we do, pulling strings like a “puppet-master,” and leaving gifts (or coal) under our tree – what if we could begin to see God at work in places where we are feeling welcomed and embraced – just as we are – with all of our strengths and weaknesses, our quirks and flaws, our goodness and love? What would life be like if we began to see God in places where we are feeling listened-to and cared-about? Jesus once said that He would always be found in the midst of His people as they come together to share gifts of broken Bread and tasty Wine. What if we began to more clearly see that God’s at work in places where we’re feeling loved and supported — listened-to and cared-about — equipped and empowered to face whatever life brings us tomorrow morning?

And so, let me ask you again…. Where do you see God at work in your life these days?

Jesus once told us that He will always be found when His people come together and form a “community.” And what that means is that – sometimes Jesus works through us as we help other people’s – and sometimes Jesus works through other people who help us.

It’s all about connection – love – and mutual guidance and support. And, before we go off and try to find the invisible God, we always need to remember that we’ve been told that, if we can’t love (and be loved by) people that we can see, we’ll never be able to love (and be loved by) the invisible God that we can’t see (1 John 4:20).

Christ’s Healing of Creation

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unity

It was the worst day in human history.

God had been at work since the “Beginning” (whenever that was). God had been at work transforming what was “formless and void” into a beautiful Creation filled with a sun and moon, water, land, trees, birds, and fish. And, at the high point of it all, God created ADAM and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

But, ADAM was alone; and so, God assembled a huge parade and God marched all of the animals in front of ADAM – but a suitable partner wasn’t found for him. And so, our God created ADAMAH – a woman – and ADAM was so excited that he exclaimed: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!” And everything was very, very good.

But, the Sacred Story reminds us that there was a serpent in the Garden of Eden. And the serpent took ADAMAH aside and convinced her to eat fruit from the only tree that God had told her not to touch: The Tree of the Awareness of Duality and Separation. And, as soon as that happened, people began to notice that they’re somehow different than the people around them. You and me. Good and bad. Righteous and unrighteous. Black and White. Us and them. Republicans and Democrats. Americans, Russians, Mexicans, and Germans. Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Orthodox. I’m exhausted….

And shortly after ADAM and ADAMAH ate from the Tree of the Awareness of Duality the Creation changed. ADAM and ADAMAH noticed that they were different, and they sewed fig leaves together to hide parts of their bodies from each other. ADAM and ADAMAH began to sense a distinction between the “ordinary” and the “sacred”; and, for the first time, they felt shame as they stood in the presence of God. The deadly fruit from the Tree of the Awareness of Duality caused ADAM to blame ADAMAH when God asked him if he had eaten from the tree, and it caused ADAMAH to blame the serpent when she was asked the same question – because, when something goes wrong, it always has to be someone’s fault (and it’s almost always someone else’s fault, isn’t it?). The fruit from the Tree of the Awareness of Duality unraveled God’s creative intent, and the fruit continues to work in our lives and in the world today.

And that’s why Jesus came.

In this week’s message, “Christ’s Healing of Creation”, we’re reminded that Jesus came into the world to tear down the wall between God and God’s people – so that, we don’t have to live our lives sensing a separation between the “ordinary” and “sacred.” Jesus came into the world to tear down the walls that we build between ourselves and other people – reminding us that, “in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free” (Galatians 3:28). Jesus came into the world to bridge the separation that we sense between ourselves and God, so that we can live at peace with God. Jesus came into the world to share a love that unravels “duality” and “separation,” and to remind us that no matter what kinds of lines we try to draw between ourselves and others, God’s at work to erase those lines and to bind us together – because God has given us each other as a “gift,” so that none of us have to travel through life alone.

The Sacred Story reminds us that “duality” – our sense of separation between ourselves and God – and between ourselves and other people – was not God’s original intent in the Creation and it’s not God’s intent for our lives today. And that’s why God continues to draw us to a Table where we share a common Meal – and into a community, called the “Church,” where God binds us together as a visible sign of what God’s doing today.

 

Love Each Other!

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Heart pic

I believe that God’s placed us on the earth to learn how to love.

We live in a world where life’s not easy for anyone. The Sacred Story reminds us that God has given us the gift of each other, so that nobody has to travel through life alone. And it’s love that makes that possible.

We’ve all been taught to think about Jesus and even about the ministry of the Church in certain ways, and it’s hard for us to change the ways that we think. We’ve all grown-up believing certain things about other people, and it takes time for us to dig deep and to be honest with ourselves – and it can take even longer for God to change the ways that we think about life and the world, and bring healing.

We take the sin in other people’s lives quite seriously and minimize the importance of the sin in our own lives; and, sometimes, that keeps us from being “Christ’s Church for All People.” We struggle with packed schedules and endless lists of commitments; and, sometimes, that keeps us from listening to each other and from caring in the ways that we could. Renewal takes time because renewal is something that challenges our cultures. And, when we gather in Christ’s presence, Jesus nudges us and challenges us and even confronts us in, of all things, a Meal.

In this week’s message, “Love Each Other!”, Jesus speaks to us and tells us to love each other in the same way that Jesus has loved us. The love of Jesus continues to challenge us to live-well with each other when we agree with each other and when we don’t. The love of Jesus calls us to gather together for a Meal – where Jesus comes to be with us and to bind us together as His people in the world today. The love of Jesus continues to remind us that people – both inside and outside of the walls of Church buildings – need to hear about God’s love and embrace. The love of Jesus challenges us to cry-out for justice and peace, and to tell people that the world doesn’t have to be what we see right now because God has the power to change it.

As Jesus calls us to “Love Each Other!” and as we share Holy Communion, Christ’s love binds us to each other in ways that remind us that God’s placed us in this world to take care of each other, to work with each other, and to stand beside each other through thick and thin. And, as we capture that truth today and as we build all that we’re doing around it, “Christ’s Church for All People” becomes a “Beacon of Light” for the world – and people both inside and outside of the Church’s brick walls experience the love and transforming power of Jesus. And God’s Spirit ignites hearts with passion and determination. The Holy Spirit lives and moves, and brings growth and renewal to the Church. And the seeds that God has given to us to sow begin to sprout and to grow and to become signs of what God continues to do with people, just like us, in the world today.

“Love Each Other!”

Share your lives with each other. Celebrate your hopes and dreams with each other, and stand together when life gets tough. “This is my commandment,” Jesus says, “that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) That’s our mission as both individuals and as “Christ’s Church for All People.”

I continue to believe that God has put us on the earth to learn how to love – spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to all people – and freely serving others in a world that needs to see the power of God at work in the lives of God’s people.

 

Hearing God’s Word and Sharing the Lord’s Supper

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Word Sacrament

Life’s taught me that discipleship is not for the faint-of-heart.

I was taught that faith is primarily a source of comfort, stability and peace in life when I was a little boy. I was taught that people should come to worship because the church is a place where people have their “gas tanks” filled, and where people come to be energized and to be inspired by the pastor. But, after living almost thirty years as a pastor, I can say that I’ve learned that living my life as a follower of Jesus is about much, much more.

It’s not easy to spend time with people who are dying, or to speak words of hope and new life while standing beside a hole in the ground. It’s not easy to listen to a pain-filled story; and, then, take a woman who’s being abused at home to a place where someone from the Blackburn Center will pick her up and take her to a safe place. It’s not easy to continually search for new ways to help parents raise faith-filled children when many of those same parents won’t even bring their kids to worship. It’s not easy to publicly speak-out against racism and bigotry, to openly speak about caring for the poor and homeless, and to just as openly address hot political issues when people just stop coming to worship and stop supporting important ministries when they disagree with what’s being said in the pulpit.

Right after Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River and right after He spent time alone in the Wilderness, Jesus began to preach and heal people and gather disciples. We read that Jesus once fed more than 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two little fish. And Peter was watching everything! The Bible tells us that Peter even got to the point where He believed that Jesus is the Messiah.

But, right after Peter told everyone around him that he believed that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus began to speak about suffering, and being rejected, and being killed, and being lift-up to new life. And when Peter had heard enough, he shouted, “No, no, no, no, no! That’s not how things are going to be!” And Jesus called him “Satan” – and told him to get out of the way! And then, Jesus spoke haunting words: “Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake will save it.”

And that brings us to the second of the Faith Practices that we’re going to lift-up during our Lenten Journey (to learn more about the first Faith Practice, click here).

The Bible tells us that God’s Word is the “sword of the Spirit” that cuts us to the heart – bringing words of comfort and peace, but also bringing powerful words that convict us and challenge us to do what God wants us to do. The “sword of the Spirit” is something that God uses to bring peace and to stir-up faith within us, but the “sword of the Spirit” is also a powerful word that continues to challenge us to “take-up our Cross”; and to allow “old ways” to die, so that “new ways” can be born.

In “Hearing God’s Word and Sharing the Supper”, we are reminded that our faith can be a source of strength and stability, but it can also be something that drives us to do things that are uncomfortable. When we stop biting our tongues and begin to speak-out about the things that we believe, we can experience rejection and unexpected consequences. When we stop biting our tongues and stop hiding what we believe, we can gain an even deeper sense of what God’s calling us to do – but, when we take that chance, we need to realize that we might become unpopular and even be rejected. That’s why the second of our Faith Practices is so important!

God’s Word comforts and challenges us, and the Lord’s Supper brings us the gift of God’s presence and forgiveness. The “sword of the Spirit” continues to guide and direct us, and the Lord’s Supper continues to strengthen and empower us.

Churches and ministries that want to grow and flourish need to be grounded in God’s Word and to be strengthened by the Lord’s Supper. Churches and ministries that want to grow and flourish must continue to seek God’s guidance in the teachings of the Bible and in prayer, and they must also continue to seek the strengthening presence of God at the Table where Christ has promised to be. Churches and ministries can’t be built on things that Dietrich Bonhoeffer once called “wish dreams” (human-created ideas and dreams). In this week’s message, we are called to remember that churches and ministries are built and endure when God’s people spend time reading God’s Word and in prayer, and when God’s people continue to gather around the altar to be fed and nourished.

“Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for the sake of Christ will save it.” May God continue to guide us as we make sense of what these words mean to us in changing times, and may God continue to comfort and challenge us to “live well” with each other as we gather around God’s Word and the Lord’s Supper.

 

New Study Resource!

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Bread and Wine

Welcome to the Table of the Lord

God calls parents to help their children to grow into men and women of faith.

Some parents make a special commitment to have their children in some sort of program where Christian perspectives and teachings will be shared. Many parents make a special effort to enroll their children in catechism. But, due to changing family dynamics, many parents are taking-on more of the responsibility for teaching their kids about God and about their relationship with Christ. But, in order to do that effectively, parents need tools. And that’s what “Welcome to the Table of the Lord” is all about.

“Welcome to the Table of the Lord” is a three-session study that can help parents to teach their children about Holy Communion. This study guide is not meant to replace the First Communion instruction that’s offered by your church! This resource is, instead, designed to help you to explore some of the basic concepts that your child needs to know.

In the three sessions you will share with your child, you will talk about the Last Supper, the story of Joseph, and the story of the Passover. You’ll talk about the different ways that churches celebrate Holy Communion, and the important promises that God offers to us when we receive the Sacrament. Perhaps, most importantly, you’ll be helping your child to understand that Holy Communion is for you and that you are welcome at the Table of the Lord because God loves you and wants to be a part of your life in a special way.

I’m hoping that this new tool for parents will be an important part of the “equipping and empowering” ministry of the ExploraStory Cafe and that parents will use it to help young people to understand and more deeply participate in an important part of the life of the Church.