Maundy Thursday Message

I became an ordained minister 31 years ago.  Since then, I have led or assisted in almost two hundred communion services. In most of them I read the “words of institution,” as they are found in 1 Corinthians 11:23-32.  Not until a couple of years ago, did I come to question what I thought was it meant, 27-32

 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.  A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.  For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.  When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

Let’s face it--how many people have you known who have gotten sick or died because of communion? How can communion make you sick?

Yet here it is in the Bible. According to Paul, communion caused some to be sick and others to “fall asleep” that is, to die. 

One interpretation is that if we take communion with a guilty conscience we are cursed by it. But I have known many unrepentant sinners to take communion, yet none of them have gotten sick by it.  Besides, if sinlessness were required for communion, none of us should take it.

Another explanation is that if we take it without understanding we are guilty. But again, there are ignorant people in every church. Some whole denominations misinterpret communion, in my opinion yet you don’t see them getting sick because of it. 

Here’s where I think we have it wrong. The ritual of communion was in Paul’s day very different from what it is today. In the early church, communion was the culmination of the agapae or love feast that came after the formal service. The church fathers, such as Ignatius of Antioch, Pliny the Younger, Hyppolitus of Rome, Tertullian, and many others.  Everyone shared a full meal together.  It was what we call today a covered dish dinner, eaten as a symbol of unity and love.

Anyone who has ever attended a church social knows what a great time it can be.  But we also know what headaches they can cause, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11: 17-23.

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. (In other words, Paul was really ticked off.)

18-19 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt, there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.

Have you ever been to a covered dish in a church where people were not getting along?  The fellowship hall becomes a war room, full of whispered conversations and angry looks.  One group sits together at one table, while another group sits at another. 

Disagreements don’t bother Paul.  On the contrary, disagreements in the church are a healthy way of arriving at the truth. What bothered him was how they expressed their disagreement. Instead of seeing disagreements as opportunities for the common edification and growth, they were an occasion for pride, jealousy, even violence.

I once heard an elder threaten to lay a tire tool to the skull of another over a “theological disagreement.”

Some disagreements were over doctrine or practice. Some were over racial or ethnic differences. Many had to do with the way the church should relate to the world around them. Some were divisions between rich and poor.  All were harmful to the peace of the church.

But these divisions were not the only problems--they weren’t even the worst problem.

20-21 When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.

People seemed to have forgotten that this was a “love” feast. In their minds, it was just another covered dish. They were not asking the question “How can I used this as an opportunity to show my brothers and sisters how much I care for them?”  Instead they were saying “How do I keep Peter from eating all the biscuits?”

The result of this was that those who were slower got nothing, while those who were faster got too much. So instead of it being a love feast, it was a gluttony festival—an all-you-can-eat night at Shoneys.

But even that was not the worst.

Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!

People watched what the others brought. Those who brought a lot thought they were getting cheated.  Those who brought nothing resented those who did, because they were not bringing more.  If people did not contribute to the meal they sent them home or made them get to the back of the line. Those who brought a lot got to go first. 

Paul contrasted their attitude with Jesus’ at the Last Supper

23-26  For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night 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, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."   For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Paul begins. “The Lord Jesus On the same night he was betrayed.’

Why betrayed? Why not on the same night he was arrested?  On the same night he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane? Why not on the same night he washed his disciples feet?

Jesus knew Judas was betraying him, but he washed his feet anyway. He made sure the Judas got a good meal before he went out to betray him. He loved him and continued to love him whether he betrayed him or not.  Jesus gave Judas a sop from his own hand, which meant that Judas had to be near Him in a place of honor.  Love people regardless of what they do to you.  Love your enemies and care for those with whom you disagree. 

He broke bread and said, “this is My body.” Jesus was saying he is going to have His body broken for us just like that bread.  He took the wine and said, “this is My blood.”  He would bleed for us, because He loved us. If Jesus can be broken and bleed for us, maybe we can be a little bit nicer to each other. 

For whenever you eat this bread or drink this cup, you show forth the Lord’s death until He comes.

Whenever you sit down to eat together, remember who you are. You are Christ’s Body, held together by the sacred sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. He bled and died for each one of us.  When you sit at the table, we show ourselves to be His family.

In this context, verses 27 through 32 finally sense.  I have never seen anyone get sick of die because he or she did not understand the mysteries of communion, but I have seen people get sick and even die because of bitterness, jealousy, and unforgiveness.  I have not seen people get sick and die from grape juice and crackers, but I have seen churches get sick and die because they were forgotten by the people in the pew next to them, who regarded them not a sister or brother, but as a set decoration for the drama that is their more important lives.

When we have communion, where is the Body of Christ?  The answer is easy--we are it.  The Body of Christ are the people with whom we share this feast.  When we don’t see Him there, and instead  see them as merely human, then we miss the reason for communion and might as well eat juice and crackers alone in our rooms. 

I urge you to look around this room, and see the Body of Christ, not just eating juice and crackers together, but  humbling ourselves before the Lord in repentance and sorrow. Then we discern the Body together. This is the body that should concern us, not food and drink, but flesh and blood.   

Jephthah

When you think about the heroes of the faith, Jephthah is not who usually comes to mind. But when the writer of Hebrews listed them in chapter 11, Jephthah came to his mind.  Jephthah, like Gideon and Samson was a very flawed hero, but he was a hero nonetheless. 

Jephthah was a complicated man who may not easily be classified as a hero or a villain.   He truly was in line with God's heart, but he did not always know what God wanted him to do.

Perhaps if we knew the whole story of Jephthah, we would understand him a little better. 

Jephthah was the son of a man named Gilead, who lived in the Jordan valley of Israel.  His mother was a prostitute and a Gentile.  His half brothers drove him out of the home.  He grew up without a father and without proper religious instruction. 

Jephthah turned to a life of crime. He gathered around him a group of people who were called "empty men" (think bandits) who preyed upon the surrounding countries.   That was where he was when he heard the call of God. 

 Judg 11:4-11  Some time later, when the Ammonites made war on Israel,  the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. "Come," they said, "be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites."

 Jephthah said to them, "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house? Why do you come to me now, when you're in trouble?"

 The elders of Gilead said to him, "Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be our head over all who live in Gilead."

 Jephthah answered, "Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me — will I really be your head?"

 The elders of Gilead replied, "The LORD is our witness; we will certainly do as you say."  So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.

Jephthah struck a deal with them that he would lead them in battle in exchange for being the leader of the country.  When he became king, a change came over him.  He became a true leader, trying to do what was right in God’s eyes. 

So far, so good.  Until then, he deserved his position as a hero of faith.  Then Jephthah made a rash vow. He said that if the Lord let him win, he would sacrifice the first thing through his gate when he came home.  When he came home, the first thing through his gate was his own little daughter.  Since he was the new leader of the country, he could not appear weak in the eyes of his subjects. He had to fulfill the vow he made.

We must be fair here.  Some commentators argue that Jephthah did not sacrifice his daughter.  They argue that instead of sacrificing her, his daughter was consecrated to Him as a nazirite.  I sincerely hope they are right, but the majority of scholars believe she was actually sacrificed. 

The story of Jephthah does not get any better after that.  He then got into an argument with another Hebrew tribe—the Ephraimites. 

Judges 12:1-3 The men of Ephraim called out their forces, crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We're going to burn down your house over your head."

 Jephthah answered, "I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn't save me out of their hands.  When I saw that you wouldn't help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?"

Today, we are not sure what the issues were or what the truth was that brought Jephthah in conflict with a tribe of Israel.  Each side tells a conflicting story.   It escalated into full-scale war between Gilead and Ephraim.  It only ended when the Ephraimite army was defeated.

Was this war necessary?  Could Jephthah not have negotiated peace with his Hebrew brothers?  It appears that he did not even try.  War was the only form of negotiation he knew, just as killing was the only way he knew to honor God.

So why does the writer of Hebrews include him?

The greatest evil is not always done by evil men, but by good men making evil choices.  It comes from people trying to do the right thing in ignorance and arrogance.  Jephthah’s story is a cautionary tale of what happens when faith goes wrong. 

Paul talked about this in his early persecution of Christians in Galatians. He said his persecution of Christians was done out of Godly zeal. Luther called for the extermination of the Jews.  Sir Thomas Moore oversaw the burning of non Catholics in England.  Many of our ancestors tolerated the enslavement of an entire race in the south. These were  not bad  men but good ones. How can good men participate in such evil?

In Jephthah’s case, his bad choices came about for two reasons.   

The first reason is that we have a partial understanding of God, then become to lazy or arrogant to dig deeper. When faith leads us in the wrong direction, then it becomes wrong.  Jephthah was a rough, unlettered man who had done no serious study of God’s law. If he had, he would have known that human sacrifices were forbidden by God.  He could have consulted with the priests and scholars of Israel to determine what alternatives he might have for executing his daughter.  Jephthah did none of that.  Jephthah was convinced that he knew all there was to know about the Law of God.  To him, the only thing that was important was that he had taken a vow. 

God gave us Ten Commandments for this reason—we could not get along with five.  Even the Ten Commandments were not sufficient. God had to add an eleventh—to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  How can we say that fulfilling a vow is so important that it gives us the right needlessly to take another life?  

The Law of God did not require that he take his daughter’s life. The Law required that when a child is consecrated to God that the parents pay a tax on their heads.  It was done with every firstborn child of Israel.  But Jephthah did not know that, because he was not raised in Israel.  He just assumed he knew what was right.

This is what happens when we know only part of the Law, or enforce part of the law, not just a portion of it.

Once I asked a man if he would come to Sunday School. He gave me an honest answer.  He said that he went to Sunday School as a child, and therefore learned all he needed to learn about the Bible. But we really never get to the place where we can say that.  The Bible contains a fully nuanced, balanced approach to righteousness, based on proverbs and stories that give us specific examples for specific situations. We need to know it all if we are to use it properly, and we never learn enough.

For example, a man abuses his wife and children. He claims the right to do so because the Bible says he is the head of the household and they should submit to him.  He remains absolutely convinced that he can do as he pleases, based on a Biblical mandate. In fact, he is convinced it is his duty to maintain order.

He remembers the passage that says, “Wives submit to your husbands” in Ephesians 5.  But he has forgotten the passage that says “Husbands, love your wives.”

In another example, a man feels cheated by a store. He sues the store for damages and gets a big settlement, so big that it forces the owner into bankruptcy. H is convinced that he has done the right thing, since he has taken vengeance upon someone who had hurt him. But he has forgotten the command to “love your enemies.”

If we only look at part of the Bible and not at the whole, we can get a distorted picture of what we are to do. 

The second reason Jephthah missed it was because he kept a vow to God, but did not know God’s heart.  God demands more than just obedience to a few commandments.  We must believe in Him, and understand His nature. 

Jephthah’s faith did not extend beyond the battlefield.  He knew how to cling to principles, and not back down from a fight. But Jephthah did not understand God.  He did not know his heart and feelings.  God requires us to know His commandments. More than that, He requires us to know His heart and Spirit. 

For the Christian, the law of God is not our only guide. His Spirit is as important as the Law.  That is why the Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:6  “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” 

You may know about God, but do you know Him?  You may pray properly, but do you know to whom you are praying?  

When Jephthah had a disagreement with this fellow Hebrews, he did not know how to make peace.  He only knew how to make war.  A thousand years later, Jesus would say “blessed are the peacemakers.”  If only Jephthah could have known and understood this, many lives would have been spared.

Jesus did not come to give us more law. He came to give us grace. He offered God’s hand of forgiveness and love o all people, so that any person might receive who is willing to believe. 

Don’t think that just because you think you are a good person that you know God.  If you know Law without God’s person, you are not better than Jephthah or anyone else who followed rules as religion. 

Isn’t it time you quit pretending that you know God, and actually meet Him?  Jesus is the way to salvation, and to finding the heart and soul of God.

Samson

Samson is the most unworthy hero in the Bible.

There are only five men who’s births stories are told in the Bible—Moses, Samuel, John the Baptist, Jesus, --and Samson.  Moses was the bringer of the Law of God, Samuel was the beginning of the prophets of God, John the Baptist and Jesus were—well, John the Baptist and Jesus. Samson was not in their class.  

Samson’s father was Manoah.  One day his wife was in the field, when a man came and announced that she was going to have a baby.  She was not to touch strong drink or eat anything unclean, nor was he to ever to get a haircut, because her child was to be a nazirite from birth.

A nazirite was a man separated by a vow of God.  He was a soldier in the Lord’s army, given over full time to the work of God.  There were two kinds of nazirites—those who fulfilled a temporary vow and those who made the vow permanently.  Samuel and John the Baptist were permanent nazirites.  Jeremiah was also likely a one, as well as some of the other prophets.  It was a great honor to be Nazirite, but it was also a great responsibility.

This is true for anyone who bears God’s name and is dedicated to the service of God    When we bear God’s name, we are scrutinized more carefully.  People judge God by our behavior.   We are in the same position as Samson. If we bear the name, we must also bear the responsibility of living up to it. 

Samson did not choose to be a nazirite. This was decided long before he was born. So he rebelled. He drank.  He caroused with women. He got into fights. Samson was an incredibly foolish and arrogant man. 

Samson’s behavior may have been foolish, but it is not all that unusual.  There are millions of believers engaging in the same kind of moral brinksmanship.  We engage in addictive behaviors and think we will not be hooked.  We flirt with women, and think we will not be seduced.  We watch enticing movies and television programs, and think we will not develop a craving for sin.  We fan the flames of passion and think we will not be burned.

After a while, we get used to sin.  It is the sin were used to that is the most dangerous. That is why Bunyan said.

“Sin is a monster of such awful mein

That to be hated is merely to be seen

But see too oft, familiar with his face

We first, tolerate, then pity, then embrace.”

The sensible thing for Samson to have done if he didn’t want to be a nazirite was to stop being a nazirite.  jThen at least he would not be hypocritical. But Samson could not do this, because he truly was a believer. Samson kept two and only two signs of the nazirite life.

First was his hatred of Israel’s enemies. The Devil objects to us loving God, an loving Christians, but if we want to hate sinners and other faiths, the Devil has no objections at all.  In fact, he encourages it. He is for anything that divides people and keeps the Gospel confined to only one group. 

It’s amazing how many people forsake their faith, yet think they are holy because they are against what God is against. God doesn’t care if you oppose Islam.  He wants you to be for Christianity.  God does not care if you are anti-Communist. He wants you to be pro-Jesus.  Samson was anti-Philistine, but that did not make him a good Jew. 

Samson’s hatred of the Philistines did not come from his faith, but his sense of his own worth.  He thought he was better and smarter than they, so he felt justified in hating him. He  forgot that the only thing that separates believers and unbeliever is belief.  Other than that, we are all pretty much the same.

Second was his hair.  A nazirite’s hair was a witness to his special relationship with God.    Anyone who saw his hair knew that this was a man of God. Anyone, that is,  but the Philistines.  Samson was not about to tell them.  Among the Philistines, though, he was just one more frat boy at the party. 

Samson wore his hair long as a witness for God. Then he refused to witness.  No one knew what it was for.  In fact, Samson was being an eloquent evangelist against God, since he was living proof of ineffectual faith

Eventually, it caught up with Samson, as it will eventually catch up with us.  When we try the limits of God’s patience, eventually we will fall.

Samson took up with a Philistine spy named Delilah.  He knew she was a spy. Three times she begged him for the secret of his power. Three times he lied. But eventually, Delilah wore him down, and he gave her the secret of his power—his special relationship to God.

Judg 16:4-22  Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver."

6 So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued."

7 Samson answered her, "If anyone ties me with seven fresh thongs that have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other man."

8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh thongs that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the thongs as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered

Samson knew that Delilah set him up, but he did not care.  He foolishly thought he could outsmart her, so he came back for more.

10 Then Delilah said to Samson, "You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied."

11 He said, "If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I'll become as weak as any other man."

12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.

For the second time,  she betrayed him. For the second time, he did not care.

13 Delilah then said to Samson, "Until now, you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied."

He replied, "If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric [on the loom] and tighten it with the pin, I'll become as weak as any other man." So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric 14 and tightened it with the pin. , and he performed for them.

Again she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.

A third time she betrayed him. This time he got nearer to the truth.

15 Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you won't confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength." 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.

17 So he told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man."

18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, "Come back once more; he has told me everything." So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19 Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.

20 Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!"

He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him

21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Samson’s life as a judge of Israel was an utter failure, and it ended in failure.  He lost his strength, his eyesight, and his freedom. He was a physically blind as he had been spiritually blind all his life. But there is redemption at the end.   Verse 22 turned the corner.  His hair grew back.

We can throw away our faith.  We can deny our special relationship with God, and we can suffer th consequences. But in the end faith can grow back.  It always grows back. God is ready to restore our faith when sin breaks us. 

That is why Samson is in the hall of fame of faith.  For most of his life, he had been a failure. But at the end of his life, Samson finally realized what God had been saying to him all his life—that the strength of our arm is not enough.  It takes God’s strength to save us, and make us the man or woman of God we were always intended to be.

Don’t wait until the end of life to find life. Don’t run from God.  Accept His power and his grace. 

What would Samson’s life have been if Samson had acted more like a believer than a brat?  Samson would have judged Israel. but that did not happen.  God redeemed us by his grace, and keep us by His blood.  Now we an experience God’s love and grace in our life. Jesus is the power of God onearth.   Do not confine him, but let Him have full possession of you, and He will use you greatly. 

The violence of the Kingdom

A few weeks ago, I preached on the story of Nicodemus, the old Pharisee who visited Jesus in the middle of the night. He's the one that Jesus told "you must be born again" It was a comment selected specifically for him.

What's interesting about this statement is what he did not say.  He did not say "Nicodemus, you must be rejuvenated."  He did not say that he should become younger in mind or spirit. 

I think that's what we expect God to say.  For years I think I've thought this deep down.  I remember when I was younger, more energetic and idealistic, and I say to myself that I ought to have the same passion now I had then. 

Rejuvenation is to some extent within our grasp. We can lose weight get plastic surgery,  dye our hair, and we'll look younger. We might even think younger. But that's not what Jesus said.

In T.S. Elliot's poem Journey of the Magi, there is a line at the end.  That says

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.

Eliot understands, I think better than m ost of us the paradox of being born again.  We cannot have a new birth unless we have a death.  We cannot live simultaneously in an old life and a new. That's why rejuvenation is not the answer.  We must have a violent overthrow of our personal regimes. 

In Matthew 11:12, Jesus said that "the kingdom of God suffereth violence, and violent men shall possess it." There is no gradual conversion. We don't slowly get better.  We have to be broken before we go on.  The new must replace the old.

I always wonder about people who say they have no regrets.  I have plenty.  One of my biggest regrets is that I was not more radical.  I have always believed in gradual change from within. Sometimes, that works, but not often.  Most of the time,  the Kingdom of God progresses by violent upheaval. 

Violence might sound to strong a world. But it is exactly what Jesus said.

When I look at the little church of which I am a part, I see a rapidly aging group of people.   I do not believe a gradual improvement, or even a second wind, will change us.  We a revolution of the Holy Spirit,  a new birth that wrests us from the warm womb of the past, and painfully drags us into the light. 

I believe that God did not send His Holy Spirit to turn back the clock. He wants to reset it.