Did Darwin Kill God?

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The Lord's Supper: Part II - Is John 6 the Lord's Supper?

You may have noticed that while we went through FOUR accounts of the words of institution we only covered THREE of the four Gospels! What is blue blazes is going on here!! Don't worry all ye who love John. Although the fourth Gospel does not include the "words of institution" it does include a passage very much worth talking about.

Check out John 6:22-59. The passage is pretty long so I'm not going to post the whole thing here. But in it Jesus is met by a crowd that is looking for him so that they might receive bread from him. They want to see him work a sign like was done in the time of Moses in the desert. This miracle is referenced throughout the Hebrew Bible (Ps 78:24; Ex 16:4, 15; Neh 9:15; Ps 105:40) as a sign of God's provision for his people. Jesus responds in a very bizarre way. He says "I am the bread from heaven." Instead of associating himself with moses, he associates himself with the manna which is consumed. Many throughout the history of the church have associated this with the "Lord's Supper." I know I have run into
verses 53-55 over and over again as "proof texts" for transubstantiation, they read as follows:

"So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. "

These verses at first glance seem to close to the Lord's supper to be unrelated. However that connection is not explicit in the text. Although I think it is very important to think about this passage in the context of the Christian practice of celebrating the "Lord's Supper" which was in practice in many churches at the time this Gospel was written, we have to be careful that we don't import or export meaning that isn't there. In this passage Jesus is actually making a DISTINCTION between himself and bread. The people came looking for food. Jesus offers himself instead. In the other four accounts Jesus relates himself to physical bread which is distributed. In this encounter people come looking for physical bread and Jesus offers his flesh. In response the Jews ask this question (verse 52), "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?"

I believe that question is one that we must never rest easy on. Is there a way that we encounter Christ in communion. I believe there is. Is that the end of the story? No, absolutely not! Jesus is confronting those who follow him for temporal satisfaction, and calling them to life eternal. This passage confronts the institution more then it establishes it. If we do not allow room for it to confront and transform our own lives we have missed the main point. This passage is not about transubstantiation, consubstantiation, sacramental union, or the Consensus Tigurinus. What I see more here is that the indwelling of Christ in us becomes so tactile and all encompassing that we are always finding ourselves somewhat offended at it's uncouth occupation.

The Lord's Supper: Part I - Compare the Words of institution

The Christian religion is made up of many sects, denominations, and churches. One of the themes that you will find in almost all of the is a celebration of the "Lord's Supper." The "Lord's Supper" was instituted by Jesus during his last meal with his disciples before his execution. In the gospels we have 4 accounts of the words of institution (Matt 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:15-20; and also 1 Cor 11:23-26.) Each of them is a little bit different. How Christians understand the "Lord's Supper" rests upon these verses, and how a group interprets their words and their differences. So lets take a look at what each one says. First lets look at Matthew and Mark they are the most similar of all four accounts. Notice the BOLD words in the English, these are differences. I have provided the Greek as well for reference.

1. Matthew 26:26-29
   
1. Ἐσθιόντων δὲ αὐτῶν λαβὼν ὁ
   Ἰησοῦς ἄρτον καὶ εὐλογήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ δοὺς τοῖς μαθηταῖς εἶπεν, Λάβετε φάγετε, τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου καὶ λαβὼν ποτήριον καὶ εὐχαριστήσας ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς λέγων, Πίετε ἐξ αὐτοῦ πάντες, τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης τὸ περὶ πολλῶν ἐκχυννόμενον εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν. λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ πίω ἀπ' ἄρτι ἐκ τούτου τοῦ γενήματος τῆς ἀμπέλου ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης ὅταν αὐτὸ πίνω μεθ' ὑμῶν καινὸν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ πατρός μου.
   
2. "Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.' And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you;
   for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
   
2. Mark 14:22-25
   
1. Καὶ ἐσθιόντων αὐτῶν λαβὼν ἄρτον εὐλογήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς καὶ εἶπεν, Λάβετε, τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου. καὶ λαβὼν ποτήριον εὐχαριστήσας ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἔπιον ἐξ αὐτοῦ πάντες. καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης τὸ ἐκχυννόμενον ὑπὲρ πολλῶν: ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκέτι οὐ μὴ πίω ἐκ τοῦ γενήματος τῆς ἀμπέλου ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης ὅταν αὐτὸ πίνω καινὸν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ.
   
2. "And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
3. Luke 22:15-20 - As we move on to Luke I will only be highlighting NEW content we have not seen in Matthew or Mark.
   
1. καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς, Ἐπιθυμίᾳ
   ἐπεθύμησα τοῦτο τὸ πάσχα φαγεῖν μεθ' ὑμῶν πρὸ τοῦ με παθεῖν: λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐ μὴ φάγω αὐτὸ ἕως ὅτου πληρωθῇ ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ. καὶ δεξάμενος ποτήριον εὐχαριστήσας εἶπεν, Λάβετε τοῦτο καὶ διαμερίσατε εἰς ἑαυτούς: λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν [ὅτι] οὐ μὴ πίω ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἀπὸ τοῦ γενήματος τῆς ἀμπέλου ἕως οὗ ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ἔλθῃ. καὶ λαβὼν ἄρτον εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς λέγων, Τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν διδόμενον: τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν. καὶ τὸ ποτήριον ὡσαύτως μετὰ τὸ δειπνῆσαι, λέγων, Τοῦτο τὸ ποτήριον ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη ἐν τῷ αἵματί μου, τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐκχυννόμενον.
   
2. And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."
   
4. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 - Here we will continue to highlight things we have not seen yet!
   
1. Ἐγὼ γὰρ παρέλαβον ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου, ὃ καὶ παρέδωκα ὑμῖν, ὅτι ὁ κύριος Ἰησοῦς ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ ἧ παρεδίδετο ἔλαβεν ἄρτον καὶ εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ εἶπεν, Τοῦτό μού ἐστιν τὸ σῶμα τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν: τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν. ὡσαύτως καὶ τὸ ποτήριον μετὰ τὸ δειπνῆσαι, λέγων, Τοῦτο τὸ ποτήριον ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ αἵματι: τοῦτο ποιεῖτε, ὁσάκις ἐὰν πίνητε, εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν. ὁσάκις γὰρ ἐὰν ἐσθίητε τὸν ἄρτον τοῦτον καὶ τὸ ποτήριον πίνητε, τὸν θάνατον τοῦ κυρίου καταγγέλλετε, ἄχρις οὗ ἔλθῃ.
2. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you,
   that the Lord Jesus on the night when 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 also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
5. Recap:
1. Notice in Luke this Passage the Cup is passed first! THEN there is another cup incident after supper.
2. Some of the Changes in Luke are pretty much the same, but with slight differences wording.
3. There is a greater focus of the disciples in Luke.
4. In Luke the kingdom "comes" in Matthew
5. In Luke tells us Jesus Desires to eat "passover" with his disciples. In Mark and Matthew there is a mention of passover frequently in the preceding passages. 1 Corinthians does not mention passover
6. 1 Corinthians gives context which makes sense since it's not part of a Gospel.
7. Paul says he's "received [this] from the Lord"... How?
8. "Remembrance" is mentioned for both bread and wine in 1 Corinthians 11, and only for the bread in Luke. It's never used in Matthew or Mark.
9. 1 Corinthians seems to be more similar to Luke

Now We've Got our feet wet. My question is are these differences significant?

I know some of you are thinking "WHAT ABOUT JOHN??" Don't worry We'll get there read the rest of the series!

preserve, protect and defend

For what do we Weep?

"Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people."— Jer 9:1

Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet.” A theme of tears seems to follow him wherever he goes. Jeremiah cries out for his people, for their coming destruction, as a call for moral reform, and over the destruction that eventually does lay waste to Jerusalem. Christians throughout the history of the Church have asked the question, “over what do we rightly weep?” In each generation there is a place to weep over the troubles and evils in our world, and there is a place to cry out for peoples and cultures to turn away from the things that break and wound their relationship with their creator.

Today we cry out for many things. Some of us weep over our broken relationship with our environment, others over abortion. Some weep for they fear the “Family” as they know it is breaking down and yet others cry for an end to wars. There is no end to brokenness over which we should weep. However the most common response I see in the world in a failure to weep at all.

We are a culture that is complacent to the brokenness around us until it breaks in upon us with violence. We weep when tragedy and terror strike, when the shattering of lives finally is able to soften our hearts to the shattered nature of this world. It is at this time that many preachers have often stood up like Jeremiah and called people to reform.

I read a sermon by Charles Spurgeon this week that did just that. It was entitled “India's Ills and England's Sorrows,” and it used the occasion of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 to call people to weep for their own broken community. I am always impressed with Spurgeon’s masterful use of language and emotion to pierce people’s hearts. I suppose that is why he is called the “prince of preachers.” He relates the desire for war stirred up in the hearts of the British after a brutal slaughter of English men and women to what should be their desire to wipe out the sin that so entangles their community. His prayer and call is this, “Ah, may God be pleased to raise up many who shall warn this city, and bid Christian people by day and night ‘for the slain of the daughter of our people!’ Christians, never leave off weeping for men's sins and infamies!”

But what do we cry for? And how do we cry? I am reminded of the proclamations of many religious leaders after 9/11 and hurricane Katrina that the causes of our ills were to be placed upon the shoulders the homosexuals and abortionists. To me this sort of proclamation is not that of a prophet, but of a propagandist, a call not out of love, but from a loathing that is sickening to me. It sickens me because I see the same dark tendency within my own heart.

If we are to see any tragedy as a call to repentance, it must be FIRST a sorrow over the brokenness of our own ability to love like Jesus. THIS is what I want to weep for, it starts with me, and if my own heart is so hard I cannot weep over my own brokenness how could I ever expect to be equipped to call out another. The hope of the Gospel is that we have a healer that has called us to love. Any condemnation that we give out is a condemnation of the church that we have not loved like Christ, for any brokenness we see shows us we have not allowed the healer to reign.

The Power of Poverty - Jeremiah 33:14-16

14The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” (Jeremiah 33:14-16 NRSV)

Jerusalem had been under Siege for a year and a half. SIEGE the word itself would send shivers down your spine. The armies of your enimies surround you, cut off food suplies, and wait. It was nothing less then the slow suffocation of a city. There was no way to eat, and there was no hope to survive. It turned people into monsters that did things that even the most corrupt men dare not whisper. Siege was the kind of bondage that would eat you from the inside out. As you body wasted away so often your humanity would fade. Even the most sacred bonds of love and family became twisted and depraved as the survival instinct overcame every ideal and virtue.

Jerusalem had been under Siege for a year and a half, and there wasn't much hope that they would pull out of it alive.

Jeremiah had warned the people this would happen. He really had, he had done it with word and signs and cries. He had persisted even when other Prophets had been executed for saying the kinds of words he was saying, and now he was locked away by order of the King, darkness was at the door and there was little hope he would make it out alive.

The situation was BEYOND dire when Jeremiah heard the words of the prophesy above that WE so often associate with such hope and Joy. We, in the church, read this passage to "Kick off" advent and the new church year in just a couple weeks. In the season of advent we set aside time to prepare our hearts for Christmas when we remember when Jesus Christ took on flesh and came into this world. At this time we remember the words of those who waited for a savior, and rejoice in the knowledge that God was faithful to all his promises.

These words have come to mean far more then the thin hope they held for the original hearers. For us in the church they are how we begin the story that will take us through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These words offer a powerful language that the earliest Christians grabbed hold of as they encountered the Kingdom of God and said, "You see this (pointing to the the words of Jeremiah), THIS (pointing to the kingdom of God) is what he was talking about!"

There is such a sweetness to a promise that you can take hold of. There is such Joy in a God you can see at work. There is indescribable beauty in these words because for us they are such a powerful testimony to God's faithfulness.

But remember Jerusalem had been under Siege for a year and a half, and when Jeremiah heard the words "The days are surely coming when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel" there wasn't a good chance Jeremiah would ever make it out of prison alive to share the word of what God had spoken. This promise was not one he would taste in his lifetime, but he was still faithful, and there is something about that that stirs me.

In C.S. Lewis book "The Screwtape Letter" presents a series of letters from one Demon to Another on how to tempt and draw his charge to the gates of Hell. Over and over the Senior Devil, Screwtape, corrects the Junior devil, Wormwood, who seems intent on tempting in simple and obvious ways, the real truth requires a deeper understanding then is immediately obvious. In one exchange Screwtape explains the curious habit of God withdrawing from his beloved ones with these words, "Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."

When someone who has been stripped of everything still fights for what they know is right there is a new kind of force unleashed. There is a mysterious power in poverty. All of us recognize it. That is why we are moved by stories of faithful suffering.

• Nelson Mandela brought the attention of the world to Apartheid, because he suffered for 27 years in prison, much more then his actions that convicted him did.
• Mother Theresa's life of service is incredible in and of itself, but is even more powerful in light of her memoirs in which she describes a period of 11 years where she felt completely isolated from God.
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer is seen as an authority on discipleship because he believed what he said enough to die for it at the hands of the Nazis.
• The early Church so inspired the world around them through their suffering that the church father Tertullian wrote: "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church" (Apologeticus, Chapter 50)
  

We are moved by stories of faithful suffering...We recognize the power...But some people don't just recognize the power, they know it. Jeremiah, like so many before and after him, knew that Power. And so did Jesus.Jesus Christ emptied himself, and took on flesh. He was mocked, he was ridiculed, he cried out to have the Cup of suffering taken away from him, but he was faithful to the end. THAT is why at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is LORD.

Christ calls, "follow me, take up your cross, and suffer, join with me in the work of saving this world." But he doesn't explain how it will work, he just calls us to do it, and in it we experiance something mystical. As we die we find there is a saving power of resurrection.So often we want it in reverse. We want resurrection without death. We want salvation without the cross. We want glory without humility. We turn God into a means for our love, joy, and peace... and rarely do we see that he is calling US to be HIS love, joy, and peace. Even when it costs us our lives.In John 12 Jesus says these words, "Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also."Have you allowed God to plant you? Think about it. Have you allowed God to plant you? To bury you?Are you content to be a seed in comfort when God intends for you to sow in tears?

The Joy we know in the promise given through Jeremiah did not come through complacent people who were content to stay where they were but though those who looked round upon a universe from which every trace of God seemed to have vanished and still obeyed. And the one who cried "my God my God why have you forsaken me?" reconciled ALL THINGS to himself (Colossians 1:20).That my Friends is the mystery of our faithSo I ask you again, have you allowed God to plant you...The call is never over... Jesus tells us in Luke 9 ""If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. "

Not weekly, Monthly, or Yearly
It's not about the mission trip you did last year. Or the year of service before that. It's not about the soup kitchen last month, or the coat you gave away. It's about who rules your life, DAILY

Let's read that passage again

"The DAYS are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15In those DAYS and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16In those DAYS Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” (Jeremiah 33:14-16 NRSV)

Are those days our days?

We rejoice in the Work of Christ Jesus, but to we live under his rule?

The pain of life is all too real some days, but the power of the Gospel is revealed in continuing to pick up the cross when we fall and to follow in the steps of our Lord on the way to Golgotha.

May God grant us all the grace to hold fast during the storms, and bring us into New Life Daily.