Jesus' Table

David Fitch writes these helpful words regarding the role Jesus' table is intended to play in our broken world:

We are a mass of disconnected souls with too many tasks to do and too much stress to do them. Nonetheless, our world starves for presence. After work is over, after we arrive home on the train, we swarm to restaurants and bars just to share a beverage or a meal in hope of making contact. Whole train cars on the Chicago Metro commuter train are segregated for those who want to bring a beverage and share a conversation at the end of a long day. It's not much but it's something. People everywhere long to be known. Our culture bears the signs of people wanting to share life meaningfully with one another. The world longs for Eucharist.

In our exploration of Jesus' Table in Luke 5.27-39, we learned that one of the things that got Jesus in trouble with the religious authorities was his table habits. It wasn't only his preaching that led to Jesus' crucifixion, it was also his eating. More specifically, the cast of characters with whom he chose to eat. Tables, you see, tell stories. They tell the story of who's in and who's out - of who belongs with whom - and the basis of our mutual acceptance. Think for a moment about the cafeteria tables in high school. The jocks sit with the jocks, the cheerleaders with the cheerleaders, the FFA students with the FFA students, the preps with the preps, the gothic with the gothic, etc. Jesus' table tells quite a different story. "For Jesus the table was to be a place of fellowship and inclusion and acceptance" (Scot McKnight). According to Jesus, if you have recognized your ultimate need, forgiveness and restoration to God and others, and have turned to him to meet that need, then you belong to Jesus, to God, and to all who have likewise turned to Jesus. This means that Jesus doesn't require purity or certain earthly identity markers before he will share a meal with us. Rather, when we share a meal with Jesus, the meal has a mysterious way of creating purity within us, of shaping us into the image of what God created us to be.

Indeed, "we are a mass of disconnected souls," What evidence of disconnection do you see in your life? Are you feeling disconnected in your relationship with God. What human relationships fee disconnected? Jesus responds to disconnection by inviting us to a meal. Most often that meal is what we call communion - bread and wine shared by Christians after the Word of God has been proclaimed. If you sense a disconnect in your relationship with God, Jesus is inviting you to this sacred meal that he longs to share with you (Luke 22.14-16). If you feel a disconnect in relationships with others, Jesus is inviting you to share a meal with those persons so that his healing touch can restore connection to those relationships. At both tables Jesus is present to forgive, heal, and restore. What's more, it is at these tables we learn to sense where Jesus is present elsewhere in this world. Be encouraged to perceive the restoring presence of Jesus among this mass of disconnected souls.

The next time you walk down the street, take a good look at every face you pass and in your mind say, "Christ died for thee." That girl. That slob. That phony. That crook. That saint. That damned fool. “Christ died for thee.” Take and eat this in remembrance that “Christ died for thee” (Frederick Buechner)

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Gentleness Rules the World

Jesus was a gentle king.

In our text this past Sunday, Luke emphasized the authority of King Jesus who came into the world and through words wrestled this world back to God. As Jesus proclaims the reign of God in the synagogues of Nazareth and Capernaum, Luke reports again and again that the people were "amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority" (Luke 4.31-32). For our purposes it is important to note that in the same context Luke records that Jesus' authoritative words - words that can exorcise demons and restore life to an older woman on the verge of death - are also words that are full of grace (Luke 4.22). Brothers and sisters, Jesus' words changed the world. His life and ministry divide history into B.C. and A.D. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. And he was gentle. 

In the second half of Isaiah's ministry he promises a Spirit-anointed Servant who will bring justice to the nations in a quite unexpected way. Listen to the prophet's promise. 

He will not shout or cry out,
    or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
    he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
    In his teaching the islands will put their hope (Isaiah 42.2-4, NIV). 

Did you catch that? This King who will bring justice to nations like Assyria, Babylon, Persia, North Korea, and the United States, will do so through gentleness. In Matthew 12, this chosen and Spirit-anointed King is being chased down by religious leaders who want him dead (See Matthew 12.15-21). What does Jesus do in response to this threat? He withdraws. Why? In order to fulfill Isaiah's promise recorded above. 

Each of us inhabits a certain sphere of authority. Maybe in home, or school, or work, or a baseball diamond, each of us is blessed with the opportunity to influence others from a place of power. As followers of Jesus we are called to inhabit this place of power with gentleness. And that doesn't mean less influence. In fact, it means more, better, stronger, and more lasting influence. Dallas Willard helpfully writes: 

Is gentleness an absence of power or a power born through the spirit and found in wisdom? Matthew 12.20 says Jesus would not even break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick, and yet his gentleness launched a worldwide revolution. In many ways, Jesus' impact seems to be not in spite of his gentleness, but because of it.

May each of one us gently influence each one we encounter today.

Click here to download and listen to our message, "Words That Heal."

 

The Reversal of Adam's Sin and the Cross

One Theory of Atonement

During this Lenten Season we have been exploring different aspects of the atonement. We have been examining images from Scripture that help us understand Jesus' death for sin. Over the past 6 weeks we have learned from the cross that the heart of God is full of justice for the oppressed: the heart of God overflows with forgiveness: and that the cross of Christ defeats evil. These are all aspects, motifs, or theories of atonement. To understand Jesus' death we must seek to grasp these essentials. During our final message we wrestled with this question: Is there one theme that captures all the essential aspects of the Cross? Do the Scriptures present one grand summary of atonement? I would say the recapitulation theory of atonement summarizes as good as any other theory, all that Jesus did to make atonement for sin. The doctrine of recapitulation teaches that Jesus came to earth to reverse the sin of Adam and its consequences.

Jesus and Adam

Romans 5.12-21 describes recapitulation by comparing and contrasting Adam's disobedience and Jesus' obedience. In other words, this text teaches that Jesus comes behind Adam to restore what the sin of Adam destroyed. In every place where Adam disobeyed, Jesus obeys. In the Garden of Eden, Adam says to God, "Not your will, but mine be done." In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says to God, "Not my will, but yours be done." It is this kind of contrast between the first and second Adams that Paul is emphasizing. Permit me to point out this contrast.  

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. (Romans 5:15–16, NIV)

In these verses Paul highlights how the first Adam and the second Adam are different with respect to their disobedience and obedience. Adam's one act of disobedience led to condemnation. God's gift, on the other hand, followed many acts of disobedience, but led to justification.

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! (Romans 5:17, NIV)

Paul is teaching here that Adam's trespass resulted in the reign of death. The grace of Christ, however, produced the reign of life.

Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. (Romans 5:18, NIV)

Finally, Paul summarizes Jesus' work of atonement by showing that just as Adam's one trespass led to condemnation for all, so Jesus' act of righteousness leads to life and justification for all.

Brothers and sisters, Adam's disobedience resulted in death. Jesus' obedience resulted in life. Adam's trespass resulted in condemnation and exile. Jesus' righteousness resulted in justification and homecoming. Jesus' work of atonement is best summarized as undoing all that Adam did. Furthermore, when the Spirit unites us to Jesus as the second Adam, all that he accomplished is ours by grace.

Jesus and Adam and Us

Up to this point atonement theories can remain impersonal. We can confess that Jesus "undid" all that Adam did and carry on with our day. In Romans 5.1-11 Paul is describing how we, who were God's enemies have become reconciled to God. What's more in Romans 5.12 Paul says that in dealing with Adam's sin, he was also addressing our sin problem. Therefore, Jesus obedience unto death was not only the undoing of Adam's sin, it was also the undoing of my sin and yours. We no longer have to be defined by our trespasses. We were born united to Adam and his/our sins defined us. By faith we have been united to Christ by the Spirit and have been given a new identity. Each of us has an element of our story that we are tempted to receive as an over-arching identity. What painful scene from your story threatens to define your life? In Jesus, this doesn't have to be the case! When we are united to Christ we become those "who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness" and "who will reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ." Thanks be to God.

Listen to our final message from our Lenten Journey, Understanding Jesus' Death, The Last Adam and the Cross.

Searching for the Unsafe Jesus: Luke 2.39-52

Near the end of C.S. Lewis’, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he narrates this conversation between Susan and Mr. Beaver. 

“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”

This exchange captures the essence of what Christ was saying to us yesterday through the Scriptures from Luke 2.39-52. Luke emphasizes Jesus’ wisdom in this, the one story we have from Jesus’ childhood. In the Jewish world, wisdom can be described as the art of skillful living. In the Jewish Scriptures (a.k.a the Old Testament), we encounter an entire genre that is devoted to teaching us how to live a good and wise life. Some of the Psalms can be described as wisdom literature. Proverbs is the most common form. Other wisdom books include Job, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. These books, in quite practical ways, teach us how to live well within the orders the Creator God has established in his world. The goal of wisdom literature is “to teach men and women these ‘orders,’ so they may know how to act in harmony with the world around them” (Elizabeth Achtemeier). 

Indeed, the Bible has much practical advice that we would call, “Wisdom.” However, when Jesus comes into the world, we learn even more about God’s wisdom. Paul, who never really got over meeting Jesus (see  Acts 9), writes to the Corinthian Church that Jesus has become to us, “wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1.30, ESV). Did you catch that? Jesus is the wisdom from God. He is the “order” to creation. He is the arc of the universe. He lived in complete harmony with the world, not as it is, but as God intended it. The problem is, we sinners have messed up the order and so twisted the arc that it is no longer recognizable as God's good design. The good news, however, is that God loves us twisted and twisting sinners, so he sent his Son to live in harmony with what God had designed and his life’s mission was to straighten things out. This is why Jesus’ life was a battle. It was no easy task to restore the world to his Father’s original vision. But that is what love does. Love suffers to give the beloved what the beloved needs. When we treasure Jesus, not only as Savior and Lord, but also as Wisdom, he will teach and lead us toward what life was supposed to be. Jesus’ life is the life we are called to imitate. His life establishes what the good God always intended for us. Jesus is the wisdom of God.

This is where Mr. Beaver’s words to Susan ring true. Because Jesus’ work of restoration is not yet complete, it can feel quite dangerous to literally follow Jesus. To really follow Jesus means we might have to increase in humility. Most of us can say from experience that learning to grow in humility is never pleasant. To really follow Jesus means we might have to be generous to those who might take advantage of our generosity.  And who enjoys losing stuff to ungrateful people? Furthermore, to really follow Jesus means we might have to walk with him directly into the face of danger. But the good news is that Jesus promises by his Spirit, to walk with us and that he will never take us to a place he has not gone before! Indeed, Jesus possesses the experience and the power to defeat hell itself, because after he walked to the cross and stared death in the face without blinking, he rose from the dead on Easter and began to reshape the arc of the universe so that all its inhabitants would always be humble, generous, and never afraid. Brothers and sisters, Jesus is the true wisdom of God. His life is good and beautiful and worthy of imitation. Please follow him. Jesus isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you. Thanks be to God.

Click here to download and listen to our message, Searching for Jesus  . 

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