Gospel Time...

This is the time of year when the Christian calendar is most known. More people are aware of the events of Easter and the significance to the Christian story. Soon Easter will pass. The mainstream church, of which I used to be a part, will continue to celebrate time in a not-really-distinct secular manner. We will see opportunities to come together to celebrate moms, dads, patriotic holidays, even celebrations of Halloween will take place. This is a sad state of affairs. The calendar of the church has always meant much more. It has pointed to the Christian story. The Christ story. The Gospel.

The Gospel calendar begins at Easter. From the moment of resurrection time has changed for the one who is a Christian. We celebrate time differently. We celebrate with remembrance and expectation. The Gospel calendar moves backward from Easter Sunday to Advent. And then forward to Pentecost (which ends at Advent). This ordering of the calendar has real significance.

As we can see here the calendar displays 6 movements of time. Advent is a time of expectation, of waiting for Jesus to come into time...into our hearts...once again for consummation. Advent ends at Christmas where we celebrate the Son of God becoming man. Christmas lasts for 2 weeks (not one day). Christmas gives way to Epiphany where we celebrate Jesus being "manifested" (this is what epiphany means) through his teaching and miracles and it lasts for 9 Sundays. Lent begins after Epiphany as the Christian begins to celebrate renewal and restoration as a prelude to the resurrection event. This season takes us through mourning and suffering into victory and triumph. Easter lasts for 7 weeks!!! The resurrection and subsequent appearances by Christ to his followers revealed his glorified nature and purpose for all mankind. The final season is Pentecost. This is a time to celebrate all that the church is and what it means to live in this "Day of the Lord" in expectation and action.

We miss so much when we lay these significant moments aside. Worse, when we pick up less worthwhile celebrations that celebrate nothing of Christ and nothing of the purpose of the church. Our preaching and teaching could easily follow these celebrations as we spent half of our time focusing on the person and work of Christ and the other half on the purpose and function of the church.

I cannot fathom whatever made us trade so much for so little.

All of this is not said to press us to simply pay homage to a foregone era. This is not to remain in some sort of nostalgia about the way things used to be. This is said to press us to relay to our people a sense of who we are in Christ. As we engage the Gospel story we continue to grow. The Gospel calendar allows us to pause, reflect, celebrate, and recall exactly who we are. Through these sacred actions we are nourished, sustained, and compelled through grace.

A Deep Spring

I come from a tradition that proudly bears the name of one of the two orthodox Christian sacraments. As a "Baptist" I lived and worked in a church environment that was oddly silent about baptism. Now don't get me wrong, the tradition had plenty to say about what baptism was not. But when it came to truly understanding or celebrating baptism for all that it was Baptists were very shallow.

One point that was never neglected was that baptism itself did not save you. However, the point was never made that baptism indeed saves you. What I mean is this. There are two types of baptism pictured in the Scriptures. One, is the baptism of water. This is the public profession of accepting the teachings of Jesus and committing to follow him. John baptized this way and this is an important marker for one who is entering into the fellowship of Christ followers. The second is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This "marking" or "sealing" of the Spirit of Christ (Romans 6:3-4; Ephesians 1:13) is the work of salvation in us. This "second" baptism is the picture to which the "first" baptism is pointing and picturing.

The problem is that when we make so much fuss about what baptism is not that we water down the meaning of the positive aspects of baptism. What are these positive aspects of baptism? I am glad you asked. I will mention two.

One, we are immersed into one body of baptized believers. This rite has been practiced always, everywhere, and by all. This rite connects all followers of Jesus into "one holy, catholic, and apostolic church". Because of this rite I can call a man in Rwanda, Rio Di Janeiro, or Rome my brother. This also connects me with those that have been baptized throughout all time. I am brothers with followers of Christ from the first apostles until now. This is possible only because of both senses of Scriptural baptism. I am not brothers with all that have been dipped into water but those that have been anointed by the Holy Spirit and covered with water to picture this reality. I am spiritually and physically connected.

Two, baptism is a reorienting of ourselves to the world around us. As those that are united into the Kingdom of God we live counter to the will and desire of the world. This "immersion" into the Kingdom should change how we approach our lifestyle. I do not buy a house simply because I want a bigger and roomier residence. I do not take a job simply because it gives me more money and benefits. I do not make sure that my kids have the same path of materialism that is all around them. Every decision I make is immersed in Kingdom thinking. In this way I am re-baptized every day. Each of these struggles calls me deeper into a life spent following Christ.  

The Jesus Meal

There is something intimate about eating a meal with others. As one that has cooked professionally, I also understand the supreme value in serving others a meal that has been the culmination of much work. I used to work in a restaurant that would reflect many different nationalities and cultures but as they gathered at tables there would be more intimacy. There was a sense of knowing at each table. There is something special about a table.

This was true for those that gathered as the early church. One of their primary ways of reflecting their community was to gather around a table. This was for a variety of reasons. One, because they had already instilled in their culture a pattern of feasts. These feasts were replaced by the early church as a chance to also gather and share the eucharist (thanksgiving) meal. A second reason was that pattern set by Jesus with his disciples at the Last Supper. There was also a practical sense in which the gathering for a meal would mask the ulterior motives of worshipping to those that would do harm to Christians.

Whatever the reasons these Christians learned that intimacy at a table is not easy to achieve. Early on in the city of Corinth there were divisions among rich and poor. There were divisions between Jew and Gentile in other cities. The welcome of Jesus bringing the poor and destitute to the table was not always remembered. Which is why it was important to celebrate communion at meals. The bread and wine would be shared as a beginning and end to the meal of the gathered Christians. They would know that they were not just eating a meal but that they were sharing a "Jesus Meal".

This practice reminded them that their vices have been cured, their temptations have been turned, their passions restrained, grace has been dispensed freely, faith strengthened, love deepened, and forgiveness tasted.

Sure there were struggles. But then just as now God's gathered people wrestle through the differences to find unity in Christ Jesus. They remember his sacrifice, his obedience, his compassion, his redemption.

This is why the meal that is called communion, the Lord's Supper, the eucharist, is rightly the "Jesus Meal". A meal that is too important to be withheld from one another more than a week. It is an exercise in receiving grace that demands our attention.

This remembering is the foundation of our community and it is the beginning of our spiritual growth.