A Meal to Remember

This blog post came to our attention through an interesting series of rabbit trails. It’s the last thing posted to a blog which is no longer active, Believing and Serving In Christ.

Mostly Mealtimes…

Recently I asked a question on Facebook. My question was simple enough: How often do you think about a meal when you think about the last time you saw somebody? A lot of people responded that they did think of a meal when they last thought of someone…

I’m led then to believe that God does some things on purpose, directly because He knows people, and He knows we like to eat too. He knows we remember special occasions by the food we eat, so He gave the Children of Israel a collection of feasts to keep, each with their meaning, each occurring in their own time. The Jews celebrate Passover, and it’s that feast that I want to look at if only briefly.

What if you were alive, as an Israelite, captive in Egypt when Moses came to lead the people out of Pharaoh’s hand? What would you make of the commands to keep the Passover described in Exodus Chapter 12? First of all, it’s a meal that is designed to separate the People of God from the Foreigner. God tells the people:

⁴³ And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, ⁴⁴ but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. ⁴⁵ No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. … ⁴⁷ All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. ⁴⁸ If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. ⁴⁹ There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.” Exodus 12:43-45; 47-49.

God intends for this meal to be a meal where there is a clear distinction between God’s People, and those who are not God’s people. Ponder this for a moment as we listen to another one of God’s commands for this special meal: “¹⁰ And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.” This meal has a special time, limited in duration. There are no leftovers from God’s Passover! The People of God are given clear instruction about the time that the Passover takes place. He tells them the month the feast is in, he tells them the day the feast starts, and then He tells them duration of the feast. Six days of unleavened bread, and then, one evening only, lamb with the bread, and bitter herbs. There’s no accidents here. All of this is for a reason. Ponder as if you were one of the Children of Israel, waiting to be delivered from Egypt. Now listen to this and consider what it could mean: 

⁸ They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts…¹¹ In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord‘s Passover. Exodus 12:8, 9, 11 ⁴⁶ It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. Exodus 12:46

God commanded the People of God to eat the meal in a certain manner. None of this is by accident. There’s nothing here done by chance or haphazardly. God has a certain way for doing this, and it’s for a certain reason. He’s wanting these people to remember the meal. He’s going to use it for something special. He’s looking down the road 1500 years to a time when this meal will be celebrated in this manner for the last time before His Son dies.

We know that on the night Jesus was betrayed he was keeping the Passover meal. We also know that he gave a meal to remember him by on that night. I always try to consider what it must have been like for the disciples on that night. Like the Israelites that first night, they were probably a little confused by Jesus’ new instructions. He takes the bread, and offers it to them, calling it his body. Then he lifts a glass, and calls it the blood of the new covenant. Just like the first Passover, though, this meal also has certain rules. Just like it was with the Israelites and the Passover: The Lord’s Supper is only valid for certain people. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:29 “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” Our meal is for those who recognize that this bread and cup are given to us as the body and blood of Jesus. Also, like Passover: Our meal has a time. From early in its history, the Church has gathered on the first day of the week to celebrate the Lord in this manner. We gather for the same reason the early disciples gather: to devote ourselves to the Apostle’s teachings, for fellowship, to break this bread together and for prayer. Thirdly, God has commanded us to eat this meal together in a certain manner. We’re commanded to examine ourselves, to not use this as a time for overindulgence, and to recognize the body of the Lord. 

There’s a lot of things about the Passover that can be studied in the Light of the identity of Jesus, and the salvation he offered to us. One thing that’s worthy of another lesson is the direct symbolism between Jesus and the Passover lamb. There’s a reason why the Passover lamb had to be unblemished. There’s a reason why we call Jesus the Lamb of God, and why his bones weren’t broken on the cross, even though the other two who were crucified with him had their legs broken. Most importantly, however, there’s a reason why [the church gathers to partake of the Lord’s Supper.] It’s to eat a meal, and think about the Last Time Jesus was here, and to also think about the time when we’ll see him in person!

Membership in the Colony of Heaven

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Phil. 3:20

^“Delight yourselves in God, yes, find your joy in him at all times.” Phil. 4:4 (Phillips)

Although I’ve been linking to the blog Gathering in Light for many years at Thinking Out Loud, I’ve never run a piece by Quaker pastor C. Wess Daniels here at C201. This one caught my eye as it deals with several good things in the last two chapters of Philippians.  As always, click the title to read at source and then take a look around the blog.  Note: Read the first part of this slowly and carefully, so you don’t miss the transition from the verse we quote as “Rejoice in the Lord…” to the other possible implications Paul has in mind for his readers.

Learning to Say Farewell

Saying Farewell

Finally, my brothers and sisters, farewell in the Lord.

The letter to the Church in Philippi reflects Paul’s own uncertainty about his life and what I think is his own trying to prepare his community for his passing (cf.  1:6; 1:20–24; 1:27; 2:5–11; 2:12–13; 3:7–11; 3:12–16).

The letter itself is believed to have been written around 62 CE and Paul is believed to have been martyred under the reign of Emperor Nero shortly thereafter.

What is even more moving is a word Paul chooses to use throughout his letter: chairo. It is used 9 times in this letter.  It can be translated as rejoice. Here are a couple instances:

• Phil. 2:17 But even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
• Phil. 3:1  Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again to you is no trouble for me, and it is a safeguard for you.
• Phil. 4:4   Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice!

But you know how else it can be translated?

It can be translated: be well: be glad, God speed, or farewell.

Let’s re-read these that way:

• Finally, my brothers and sisters, farewell in the Lord.
• Farewell in the Lord always; again I will say, farewell. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand (Phil. 4:4 ).

Do you see how this shifts it?

Not only do we see into the heart of Paul, who is one suffering in prison for the Gospel he has preached but also that he is learning how to say farewell through his own process of writing. I think he is coming to terms with the fact that this is the end for him. That his life, like Jesus’, will be poured out for those he loves.

And importantly, it is also a farewell letter to his community. Paul hopes to give them some parting words of encouragement that they may hang onto until the end. In a way, it is meant to help them learn how to say farewell and continue on into the unknown future.

Colony of Heaven

I think Paul knows that the church is always in danger of having “a failure of nerve,” of giving in to the demands of “the world,” of bending under the pressure of being nice, keeping the peace or just plain old survival. Paul is well aware of the cost that is incurred when it comes to trying to build the beloved community or as he calls it the “colony of heaven” (3:20).

To be the church, to be a part of this group of people right here – you’ll be relieved to know – does not mean that you are all saints like Francis, or Teresa, or even like Paul. It doesn’t mean that you spend every day praying, or reading Scripture. It doesn’t mean that you always love your enemies, or always say the right thing to someone. It doesn’t mean that you’ve worked out your prejudices, racisms, classisms, or whatever ism fits you. It certainly doesn’t mean that you always feel like God is close to you. Nor does it mean that since you are a part of the church, all the answers to life’s most challenging questions come to you in a blink of an eye.

This is not what it means to a part of the church.

But there is one thing that I do know that it means to be a part of this “colony of heaven” and that is that we take risks.

It is a risk to be a community of people who have no other reasons to meet together, to be committed to one another, to look out for one another, or to go bat for one another, other than because of a commitment to learn what it means to embody love right here in our world. Right here in a world that so desperately needs people committed to the way of love and integrity.

To be a “colony of heaven” not mean that we are waiting for our exit strategy to get off this planet or, like Pilate, wash our hands of all responsibility. It means that the Spirit has set up shop here and is building heaven on Earth. To see heaven here is to see that we are to live as God intended the world to be. To participate in the colony of heaven is to participate in a “dress rehearsal for the future.” It means to live now what we hope the future will look like.

It means that we aren’t waiting around for people to get their policies rewritten, or their budgets in order, or a better administration, or for them to read a few more books, or for things to sort themselves out over time so that we can begin to live rightly and act justly. No. We are not waiting, we are doing it right now. We will not wait Christ has come and is leading us to respond to the injustices of our world. If we do not stand up, if we do not speak up, who will?

To be a “colony of heaven” means that we will live in contrast with and sometimes have to be a prophetic voice to other colonies. Paul knew that the city of Philippi was itself a military colony that was populated by veterans of wars and as a Roman colony, it had all the rights and privileges of what it meant to be a Roman citizen. In this context Paul says, “Whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus…”

Every right, entitlement or privilege we have can just as easily become an obstacle to speaking truth to power. Paul knows that even with all his credentials, all his rights as a Roman citizen, this did not protect him from the empire. And he preached the Gospel of love anyway.

To be a “colony of heaven” means that we must have our minds refocused. Those who are a part of the “colony of empire” have their “minds set on earthly things.” Their imaginations are captured by the prestige of power, by the rush of wealth, by the exhilaration of violence, by the pride of silencing others. Imaginations “set on earthly things” will be met with their logical conclusion. Destruction. Violence begets violence. Silence perpetuates domination. Misuse of power is costly for the whole community.

Or as Darleen Ortega wrote this week on Facebook:

Oppression depends on the acquiescence and silence of good people.

This is why Paul stresses again and again throughout his letter that the church’s mind be set on contrasting values, prophetic witness, and concern for the other.

Here my translation of Phil 4:4ff:

Godspeed in the Lord always; again I will say, farewell. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is truthful, whatever is honorable, whatever is equitable, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there is any goodness and worthy of applause this is all the capital your colony will ever need.

Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.