Daniel N. Lee

This is going to be one of my more personal posts which I have written thus far.

I must say that I am slightly nervous about going back home from college when I finish up with my two-week course next Friday.

I’m not nervous because of my wedding that will be coming up two weeks after I get home. I’m extremely excited about that. It’s going to be amazing.

What I am nervous about is the church situation back home. I have been observing things from 300 miles away, only getting bits and pieces of what’s going on in Columbia. And from what I have seen and heard, especially of what has happened over the past few months, faithful Christians, whom I have come to respect greatly, have not been acting very Christ-like toward fellow believers. They believe they they are more right, or more correct in their interpretation of the Bible than other Christians – and they very likely are. But the situation has gotten out of hand.

It appears that instead of going to a brother one on one like we are commanded to (Mt 18:15), and teaching the truth in love (Eph 4:15), they have resorted to posting comments on blogs and publishing misleading information in church bulletins for all their congregation to read. They are most likely correct in their stance on scripture, but they have been using that knowledge in a very non-Christ-like manner (in my opinion). A slight few (one or two, mostly the more immature of the ones) have even posted comments that were downright judgmental, condemning, and borderline hateful. They seemed to add a pinch of pride and self-righteousness to their comments (which I know is condemned more than “not being baptized”).

Now I feel like I am stooping to their level. I am just very upset and disappointed, which is why I am nervous about going home. I just don’t want this summer to be full of controversy and cynicism.

I guess the real reason I am writing this is that I ask everyone who reads this to pray for me. Pray that I may be calm and composed when I go back home. Pray that I may do what God would ask of me in handling this situation, and that in whatever he may lead me to do, I do it with love, patience, sincerity, and humility. Pray also that I have the strength to stand firm in what I believe and that I may not be tossed and pulled in all sorts of directions, nor will I be forced to pick a “side”.

Thank you. Your prayers and suggestions are highly appreciated.

Brand New has been my favorite band for a very long time now. Their newest album is titled The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me, and it is simply outstanding in my opinion. They are not a Christian band, by any means, but this album has quite a spiritual overtone to it. This song really got to me and continues to be my favorite song of theirs. I feel like the writer is just being real with Jesus. He doesn’t have everything together. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen to him. But he’s trying to be real and not hold back. This is exactly how I feel sometimes, but I know that it will be OK because of his love for me.
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Jesus Christ, that’s a pretty face,
The kind you’d find on someone that could save.
If they don’t put me away,
Well, it’ll be a miracle

Do you believe you’re missing out
That everything good is happening somewhere else?
But with nobody in your bed
The night’s hard to get through.

And I will die all alone,
And when I arrive I won’t know anyone

Well, Jesus Christ, I’m alone again.
So what did you do those three days you were dead?
’cause this problem’s gonna last more than the weekend.

Well, Jesus Christ, I’m not scared to die,
I’m a little bit scared of what comes after.
Do I get the gold chariot?
Do I float through the ceiling?

Do I divide and fall apart?
’cause my bright is too slight to hold back all my dark.
And the ship went down in sight of land.
And at the gates does Thomas ask to see my hands?

I know you’ll come in the night like a thief,
But I’ve had some time, O Lord, to hone my lying technique.
I know you think that I’m someone you can trust,
But I’m scared I’ll get scared, and I swear I’ll try to nail you back up.

So do you think that we could work out a sign,
So I’ll know it’s you and that it’s over so I won’t even try.

I know you’re coming for the people like me,
But we all got wood and nails
And we turn out hate in factories.
We all got wood and nails
And we turn out hate in factories.
We all got wood and nails
And we sleep inside of this machine.

What if…there were no heaven?
Is God still worth our time? Would you still devote your life to him? Would he still be great? Would Jesus’ sacrifice be worth anything? What would we have to live for? What would we have to die for? Would any of the debates over instruments, baptism, women’s roles, predestination, etc. have any point to them?

This is a question I have been wrestling with for a while. What if heaven were not intended to be the end goal of the Christian life? What if we stopped worrying about what things will and won’t get us to heaven, and instead started focusing more on how God’s kingdom could be spread here on earth?

So what if there were no heaven? I pray that we would all still be able to abide by the two greatest commands, “Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Could we still do that? Would we still do that? I hope so.

I have come to think that maybe (and this is simply a possible suggestion) when the New Testament authors discuss salvation, they may not be simply talking about something to long for after we die. Maybe, just maybe, salvation also includes (maybe even exclusively in some instances) the transformation of our lives right here on earth, to the effect that we make the world around us better just by having lived in it. This business of loving one’s neighbor, loving one’s enemies, humbling oneself, regarding others as more important than oneself, treating others the way oneself wants to be treated, turning the other cheek, going the second mile, being meek, peaceful, pure in heart, compassionate, forgiving, patient, and the list goes one. Maybe all these instructions are not in order to get us to heaven but to get heaven to us.

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he prayed that God’s kingdom would come. The prayer is in traditional Hebrew parallel-style poetry, so the next lines explain exactly how God’s kingdom would come: Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We will know that God’s kingdom has come when his will is done on earth as it is in heaven. It’s not about our getting to heaven, but about heaven getting to us.

Don’t try to read into this more than what I am saying. I am NOT saying that heaven is not a worthy goal, and I am not saying that we should assume that every time salvation is discussed in the New Testament that the author is not referring to the afterlife, because he may indeed. I’m simply trying to raise the issue of whether or not heaven should be our primary focus in this life or if we are to have our focus on bringing heaven to those around us here on earth.

Maybe if we live on earth as if we were in heaven, then we may be more prepared for our place with God after this life is over. But why do we have to wait until we die to live daily in the presence of God? Why do we have to die before we see Jesus? Why do we have to die before we can be called sons of God? Why do we have to die before we are immersed in the light of the Son? Why do we have to die before we continually cry out to God, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!”?

We don’t have to wait until we die. We have that opportunity right now! Stop waiting around, worrying about the tomorrow that may never come, and start actively seeking the kingdom of God first in whatever you do. Then “all these things” will fall into place.

So the question then is, what should we do? I must say, that I do not know. We have become so far removed from the setting of the first century worship assembly that it would be nearly impossible to take the meal as they did week after week. Instead of smaller groups of believers meeting in each others homes to share a meal, including the Lord’s Supper at the end, we have thousand-member congregations sitting in pews, staring at the floor or at the back of their sister’s head.

I’m not suggesting to completely rid ourselves of these “mega-church” type settings. I find it very encouraging to worship in one place at one time with hundreds or thousands of fellow believers. However, this type of setting is not easily conducive to the spirit of the Lord’s Supper. So what can be done?

Here are a few suggestions that others and I have brainstormed:

• While the communion trays are passed, instead of sitting silently by yourself, have everyone in the congregation turn to their neighbors (2 or 3 friends/family members) and remember Christ together. Share stories about how the resurrection of Christ has changed your life. Reminisce about times that God has shown his love to you. Laugh, have fun, get excited because you are a part of the greatest story of redemption the world has ever known!
• Or maybe we should periodically have fellowship meals following the service, in potluck style like they were obviously doing in Corinth. At the end of the meal, before anybody leaves, we could break bread and pass the cup in remembrance and thanksgiving.
• Or, should we not do communion at all during the morning service and wait until Sunday night when we could meet as families in each other’s homes to have food, fellowship, and communion in a more intimate setting. (We would make arrangements on Sunday morning for those unable to attend a Sunday night small group)

Let me know what you think, and if you have other suggestions based off the discussion then please let me know.

Ok, sorry it has been so long between the first section and this next one. This is an important issue, and I needed some extra time to work some things out. Plus life just catches me off guard sometimes. But it’s alright now. I’m taking a break from my first-person narratives to bring you the long-awaited 2nd half of the discussion I started about a month ago.
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Alright, so we’ve sped through Luke, looking more closely at the meals which Jesus shared with those desiring to follow him. These were meals of celebration, community, covenant renewal. And the Last Supper was the climax of such meals which actually instigated a new covenant instead of renewing the old one.

And after all this through the life of Jesus, we see in Acts that these meals were shared quite frequently among the believers. These meals were also in celebration of the new covenant and the resulting community which those who choose to follow Christ share with God, Christ, the Spirit, and each other.

So now, after looking at the Luke-Acts, let’s turn to the other passage most commonly referenced and misunderstood concerning instructions on the Lord’s Supper — 1 Corinthians 10 and 11.

Let’s start in 10:14-22, bearing in mind that this passage is dealing more with the issue of meat sacrificed to idols than instructions on the Lord’s Supper, but Paul raises some interesting points.

In verse 18 Paul compares the Lord’s Supper with the fellowship offering which was under the old law. Of the three types of offerings neither the burnt offering (which was completely consumed by fire from the altar) nor the sin offering (which was completely consumed save for the portion of meat which the priest could take for themselves to eat) were comparable to the sacrifice of Jesus, nor our meal which we share together under his command. The fellowship offering was taken to the altar and singed. The priest was allowed to take his fair share of it and then the rest was taken back to the community of family and friends to eat in celebration of God’s love and forgiveness toward his covenant people. (Leviticus 1-7)

But also notice that while these offerings were sacrificed at the altar, that is not where the celebration took place, obviously. The celebration came at the table. Paul says here that those who eat the sacrifices are sharers in the altar, and I believe that those who eat of the Lord’s Supper are partakers in Christ’s altar, the cross, for Paul says in 11:26 that by eating this meal we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. But Paul then goes on to say in 10:21 that we are partakers in the table of the Lord. And the table theme throughout the New Testament is one of joy, celebration, and renewal.

So, some principles from this passage in chapter 10:

• The Lord’s Supper is compared to the fellowship meals which the Jews ate together in celebration.
• We are partakers in the table, not the altar. At the altar we find death, gloom, sadness, guilt, unworthiness. At the table we encounter life, joy, celebration, forgiveness, and acceptance.
• It seems like too many Christians are eating the meal as if it were Friday, not Sunday.

And finally, I would like to take a closer look at the issues which Paul is addressing in chapter 11. The beginning of this chapter is the start to a lengthy discussion on order in the assembled body of believers. I believe that this simple fact has a lot to do with the way much of the material in 11-14 is interpreted. Let’s especially keep this in mind when Paul reaches his discussion on order in the Lord’s Supper (11:17-34). I’m not able to go in depth with every individual verse along the way, but I hope to hit some of the highlights.

What was happening in Corinth was that as the church would assemble, they would have pot-luck style meals to share together, ending off with the Lord’s Supper. However, the upper class citizens would be able to gather earlier than the lower class simply because they didn’t have to do as much work, if any at all. Everyone brought to the table whatever they could bring to share with others. The richer folks might bring meats, wines, and other fancy foods. The peasants might only be able to bring a few carrots or loaves of bread. But since the richer folks were arriving earlier, they also began to eat before the others could arrive. So the poor were stuck with what meager food they could bring, and the rich were getting full and drunk. They were not waiting on each other and treating each other like family, much less like the body of Christ.

So with this context in mind, let’s reexamine some of the verses which many have ripped from their original context and twisted to fit their views on how things should be done. It seems to me that what Paul is saying in this passage is that the Lord’s Supper is meant to be a shared experience with all believers, and none is to be left out. I see nothing in this section about a quite time of individual self-evaluation and introspection, sitting silently while a trayful of crackers is passed to you. This is what many people have done in order to comply with Paul’s words about taking the meal in a “worthy” manner (11:27) and “judging the body rightly.” (11:29)

First of all, let’s contextualize what unworthy manner Paul is talking about. It goes back to what Paul was just talking about – taking advantage of the less fortunate of the church and looking out solely for one’s own interests. If you don’t care about the communal aspect of “Communion”, then you are taking it in an “unworthy manner” just as Paul describes in 11:19-22.

Then, I have also heard that we should be focused on the body of Christ which was sacrificed for us on the cross, and I agree with that to an extent, but again, we are taking the meal on Sunday, not Friday. Also, the group of believers is referred to as the body of Christ, which makes more sense in the context of ch. 11 & 12. It is the body of believers that we are to be judging rightly. We should care about the needs of our brothers and look out for the interest of our sisters. Paul is simply saying in these verses that if the Christians at Corinth were going to share a meal together, they should do so in a way that includes everyone so that all may have an equal share of the meal, including the Lord’s Supper at the end.

Paul ends by telling them to wait for each other, and if anyone is really so hungry that he cannot possibly wait, then he should eat at home before coming. Paul is stressing the community and fellowship behind Communion. Without that community orientation, the meal is nothing more than some bread and wine. But as we gather together in God’s name, then the meal is transformed into to flesh and blood of the covenant.

Honestly, from Paul’s discussion on the meal as a communal event, I feel that we are just as wrong to sit silently in our pews, blocking out the rest of the world, including our brothers and sisters right next to us, as we assume the common eyes-down-Bible-opened-introspection position. It is not supposed to be some individual experience like we have turned it into. I feel like we have seen what happened in Corinth and have gone to the polar opposite in order to avoid making those same mistakes. Ironically, we have become even more individualistic and selfish in our taking of the Lord’s Supper as the Corinthians were.
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These are just some thoughts. If you see what I’m talking about and it makes sense, please do something about it. Let’s try and be consistent when we look to scripture for a model of how to do church. Let’s break out of our tradition of individualism and see the light and joy that comes from sharing a fellowship meal with those whom we are closest to.