Somebody just signed in on msn with the sign-in name "the glove compartment isn't aptly named and everybody knows it." That struck me; my thoughts led me to those sayings and terms for things that have been in use for so long that nobody really knows why they are called that any more.
And that led me to remember Christology today where Mark was talking about the 1st communion. When Jesus broke the bread, which was a normal thing at any supper, he passed around the bread tell ing the disciples to eat it; it was his body. And same with the cup: this wine was his blood, and they were to drink it. How odd is that? The disciples must have been really confused and not know the significance of it. Like, they didn't get it that Jesus was going to die. They didn't get it that He was going to have His body literally broken for them, and His blood literally shed for them. They didn't get it until after He rose from the dead that He did that to take our sins on Him, cleanse us with His blood.
Yet Mark was saying that how many times do we sit in church and say, "Sheesh, we still have communion to go," as we anxiously look at our watches. We gulp it down and get outta there. Or we expect to have it every month or something. If we don't have it for a while, we wonder why not. But it's more about the ritual. How many times do we think of the impact of Christ's body being broken, His blood being spilled, and us celebrating that?
My point that I am getting at is there are things that we do today that we have no clue why we do anymore. The disciples might have been horrified at Jesus' words that meal. For a Jew to eat human flesh or drink blood! Same when Jesus said in the synagogue after He fed the 5,000 that unless they (the Pharisees I believe) eat His flesh and drink His blood they woudn't have eternal life. That's nuts.
If we ritualize or periodically forget the meaning of such an integral and conspicuous part of our Christian life, how much more do we concerning the more subtle aspects of our walk?
Thoughts?
Snaf
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2 comments:
I think that when it comes down to it, you have to be constantly personalizing your relationship with God. That also means that we have to be on guard. How often do people go to church and either believe everything that the pastor says, or go there just to be seen? We must check these things. Essentially as we become pastors we have to train our congregation to trust us, but also to make their relationship with God real. This will make us vulnerable to their opinion or perhaps even their correction. But it is all important.
A person who just believes what the pastor has to say has no experience just knowledge. It would be like a man calling himself a mechanic without ever seeing or touching a car. Church is for edification, there is no edification if there is no change.
Hmm interesting. Personalization: key.
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