Good Morning Friends,
When we were kids, my dad took my two brothers and me camping on Padre Island just south of Corpus Christi, Texas in the 1960’s. We drove on the beach and camped in the dunes…cooking on an open fire. It was not until much later that I made the connection between today’s scripture and the names of these places and the Eucharist. Today people will take communion all over the world and the experience will be very diverse. For some it will be a meal for others something much more mystical. Regardless, it is something that Christians share. So, Have You Considered What It Means To Be The Body Of Christ?
Scripture: Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. He sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he dashed against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, “See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
Exodus 24:3-8 (NRSV)
But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God! For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.
Hebrews 9:11-15 (NRSV)
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 (NRSV)
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.
1 Corinthians 12:12 (NRSV)
Message: Today we see the prescribed process of coming into the presence of God and how the glory is revealed on the journey inward. And the first step is to realize that we all are sinners in need of forgiveness. The second is to repent and obey, for you really must have one with the other connected. And the third is to realize that as Christians, we become members of the Body of Christ, and that is an awesome and daunting reality that cannot be taken lightly. The Bible uses lots of metaphors to describe the church. Sometimes it is described as a flock and at other times a marriage, but perhaps the most compelling is that of a body. The Church is described as the Body of Christ to stress the connections that we all must share with one another, as well as our response to the direction of the head, Jesus Christ. We are to love. In Christ…in this body we all have functions to perform around this common fruit. We all need each other in the body of Christ because on our own none of us is complete. We may be separated for a time but ultimately no person can be isolated and be part of the church. We cannot be islands forever. Certainly, we live in a society where individualism is cherished, but that is a dangerous thing about our culture. We are not complete in and of ourselves. That is why we share in the sacrament of communion. But even here in the remembering of the Last Supper, we realize that someone who takes it is a traitor. Friends, the great sadness is that too many are oblivious to who the traitors are, and furthermore, that Jesus loves even Judas. Others become so frustrated they leave but Jesus the Shepherd will seek them out. Friends, if we are responsive to the will of Christ just like our physical bodies are responsive to the will of the mind, then that body is going to look like Christ.
And So, to become the Body of Christ together. We are to Pray harder. We are to Love deeper. And we are to Serve smarter.For when prayer is fervent, when love is preeminent and when serving is prominent, then God is glorified, the church is edified, and the world is notified that God is real. Be smart about discovering our gifts and serving. Return to our first love. Engaging God. We do not know in detail what we shall be in the last day, but we do know that we will be like Christ. There is really no need for us to know any more than this. We are to be in our very being content with the glorious truth that we will be with Christ, like Christ, forever. That is why Jesus came. We are to be like Christ in his Incarnation through the universal gift of the Holy Spirit. We are to be like Christ in His service as he did, washing the feet of others like a slave. We are to be like Christ in His love being all committed to the cause. We are to be like Christ in evangelistic mission and even suffering. And we are to be like Christ in His patient endurance in relating to others. We are to be authentic in the mission in being Jesus’ hands in the world. This entering into other people’s worlds as an incarnation is exactly what this is all about. We are to be present in mind, body and Spirit in our relationships. That is to say we are to be Christlike in His Incarnation, in His service, in His love, in His endurance, and in His mission. The consequences are that even though we might suffer we end up glorifying God in a way that benefits us. We become authentic and authenticity makes all the difference. God’s purpose is to make us like Christ. God’s way to make us like Christ is to fill us with his Spirit. So, the Spirit can give us gifts to use to the glory of God. Let us live like there is no tomorrow in the way we pray, love, and serve. For in doing so we become more like Christ…we become as the Body of Christ.
Pray we serve our Lord and Savior with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Pray we are fed by feeding others. Pray God empower us in our speaking and serving. Pray we realize we are all called to ministry. Pray we realize our gifts and use them for God. Pray we give God the glory. Praywe understand that obedience to God can be both dangerous and painful as well as a blessing.Pray we realize that Jesus Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit changed the future of the world and can change our lives too. Pray we seek to honor this past even as we strive to build a better future. Pray we learn from history but not be trapped in it. Pray we see the old in the new and the new in the old, but also the hope of something even better. Pray, if things get difficult in the world and its disruptions of our routines challenge us, that we keep the faith, endure to the end, and follow Christ who was and is worthy of all things. Pray we are not afraid. Pray we shine a light of service into the world realizing that God does not so much want our sacrifices as our love shared for the sanctification of us all.Praywe accept what is, let go of what was and have hope in what we believe God wants us to be. Pray the God of hope fills us with the joy and peace in believing. Pray our minds and hearts are focused on the hope of Christ and the gift of love we experience in belonging. Pray we realize that Jesus is our Hope. Pray we have an abundant hope that spills over into the lives of others with great love. Praywe meditate on the Body of Christ. Pray we use our hands each day to help those who hurt. Pray we embody the very things we are hoping to convey to others about Christ, realizing that this is the best way to glorify God. Pray we use our gifts given by the Holy Spirit. Pray we love more. Pray we pray more fervently. Pray we make a conscious choice to obey Jesus. Pray we are changed and re-committed more deeply for the future of the whole. Pray we serve collectively with others. Pray we help heal the severed body parts and assist them in finding a home. Pray we realize that God wants fellowship with each of us and will initiate this relationship both through the Spirit placed in us and through the Spirit in others. Pray we are connected in the rest, recreation, and restoration of the body. Pray that our bond of love helps us to look like Christ.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 