No Other

We are two weeks away from Good Friday - good for us, though horrifyingly painful for Jesus.  It's good to remember what Jesus went through for us, and he wanted us to remember.

Can you think of a celebration without food?  Christmas cookies?  Easter eggs?  Halloween candy?  4th of July bar-b-que?  Birthday cake?  Wedding reception with all the great food?  Good times are usually celebrated with good food.  Jesus commemorated a special time with food, as well.

The night before he died, Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples which was a large meal with many rituals including a hide-and-seek game for the children and four glasses of wine for the adults.  The centerpiece of the meal was a dinner, usually lamb in memory of the Israelites leaving Egypt.  Right after the dinner part of the event, there was a third cup of wine presented known as the "Cup of Redemption."  It was at this time that Jesus spoke these words of institution, when he said we should remember what he did with this food.

Matthew 26:26-28

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

 ²⁷ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 

Different Christians have understood these words in different ways.  Some have suggested that the bread and wine/juice are representative symbols of Jesus' body and blood.  They would say that the bread helps us remember that Jesus gave his body and life for us.  Others would say that since Jesus said, "This 'is' my body," that he really meant that it is his body.  For a further look at this perspective, I would recommend reading through John 6, especially the verses that Jesus talks about being the bread of life.  Lutherans take the "best of both worlds" approach by saying that physically the bread is still bread and the wine is still wine, but supernaturally (a way that is beyond [super] nature [natural]) Christ is giving us his very body and blood.  Likewise, we eat the bread and drink the wine in natural ways, but receive his body and blood in a supernatural way, as a spiritual blessing.  These days we call Baptism and Communion 'sacraments' or holy acts.  The first Christians actually used the term 'mysterion' or mysteries, admitting the fact that how God does this is beyond human logic, yet we accept it on faith because that's what God's Word says.

Maybe this is a little odd.  Maybe it is a hard selling point to those who are not Christians.  Jesus did not go out of his way to make 'discipleship' easy - he knew that this is a big commitment, yet there is no other place to turn, for we know:

Acts 4:12
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

What do you see?

What do you see when you look at ice cream?  Do you see heaven?  Temptation?  Memories?  Calories?  My son is most impressed with ice cream when it has brightly colored sprinkles.  For him, that is what makes good ice cream.  Even though they are not able to add taste, it's more fun to eat the ice cream if it has sprinkles.

What do you see when you look at people?  It's not what God sees.  The first king of Israel, Saul, had made so many mistakes as the leader of God's people that God was done with him.  Samuel, the prophet, was told that he would find the next king at Jesse's house.  The oldest son walked out of the house and Samuel was getting his anointing gear out - this guy was tall, handsome, strong, and bound to be a much better leader for the people of God.  But God didn't agree.  He was looking for something else, someone else.  

1 Samuel 16:7

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

David is known as being a man after God's own heart.  No other mortal has ever been given such a title.  Was it because he as perfect as possible?  Probably not.  David was responsible for murder, adultery, poor parenting, and the death of thousands of Israelites.  Still, David was known as being a man after God's own heart.  David is known for doing great things like defeating the Philistines, beating Goliath with a slingshot, and writing incredible psalms of praise to God.  I don't think it was any of those things that made him great.  If I had to pick one thing that makes David stand out for me, it was his humility.  He was honest when he sinned, and confessed it straight to God in Psalm 51.  Humility is a powerful characteristic of a leader.

One of the biggest questions I had as a child was why the cool stuff of the Bible doesn't happen anymore.  I would love to have seen the plagues on Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, a kid beating a 9 foot tall giant, Noah's boat, the men walk out of the fiery furnace, a guy walking on water, or feeding thousands of people out of one lunch box.  Why don't miracles happen any more?

^{Hebrews 1:1-2}

¹ In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 

I read these verses at least a dozen times before I realized what they meant, and it's related to another powerful question: what does God look like?  We would say Jesus, and we would be right.  What about before Jesus?  What did God look like to Isaiah or Nehemiah?  How would you describe God?  There were no idols, so you couldn't point to the image of a calf or beast or even a person.  God was known by what he did.  He was the God who called Abraham, the God who gave Moses the commandments, the God who was a pillar of fire by night and cloud by day, the God who rescued Daniel from the lions... In the past, that is how God spoke to people - using the events and prophets.  But if you really want to know what God looks like, look to Jesus.  Jesus is the ultimate way God speaks to His People.

So are miracles done?  I would say no.  There have been miracles involving missionaries and angels all over the world.  I don't know if hockey in 1980 counts, but even so, there have been wonderful glimpses of God working in a unique way in people's lives.  The key is that even though miracles may happen, the ultimate way God stills speaks to people is Jesus.

Conflict

Where two or three are gathered, there is conflict.  Communities of people are wonderful things and provide countless blessings, yet these communities (church, school, sports, dance, drama, scouts, friends, games, etc) happen within a fallen and sinful world, and conflict is inevitable in communities

Jesus knew about this and gave people a way to respond to conflict in a healthy way.  Around St. John we call this the 'Matthew 18' way of dealing with a problem.  We're not referring to the entire chapter, but we focus on these three key verses:

Matthew 18:15-17
    ¹⁵ “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

The first step is to go talk to the person one-on-one.  Most of the conflict all of us encounter could be avoided by following this.  This is not our natural tendency.  If 'Mike' was mean to me, I would want to first go tell all my friends, go tell my parents, talk about it at lunch with my friends, write about it on Facebook, and make sure everyone knows how mean Mike was to me.  It's hard to just go talk to Mike.  It's hard knowing that he might not listen to me.  It's also hard thinking that maybe he will listen and I won't have any reason to be upset anymore.  As a friend, one of the most powerful questions you might need to ask is, "Did you tell her that?" or "Did you tell him that?"  This could avoid a lot of trouble.

Step two is to take one of two friends along.  Here is the hard part: if I have a problem with Mike, I should be taking one or two of Mike's friends with me - not my friends.  If I bring my friends, Mike will feel like I am ganging-up on him and he won't listen.  If I tell Mike's friend and Mike's friend is now concerned about Mike as well, then there is really a reason to have a conversation with Mike.

The third step would be to take it to the church.  This doesn't translate all that well for us since our church groups are rather divided already with so many denominations.  At the time of Jesus there was one 'church,' one community of believers, and being inside or outside this group was a big deal.  For us this might refer more to a group that we feel a strong part of like the church, our school, our family, a group of friends, a team, dance, drama, scouts, or any group like that.  It would be hard to not be a part of our close group.

The final step says that we treat them like the pagans and tax-collectors, like someone who is outside the community.  That does not mean we laugh at them and mock them and say awful things about them... it means that we love them.  We want everyone who is outside of God's family to come in.  We need to love them.  We need to let our light shine (Matthew 5:16) so that they will ask about the hope that we have  (1 Peter 3:15).  They need love.

Conflict is best resolved with love.