The Best Catalyst Moment

As I have shared, Catalyst was full of amazing experiences and amazing speakers. You can read my Live Blogging notes here.

And while marquee speakers are nice and hilarious antics are good, this moment was the highlight of the entire week.

Each time I watch this video, I see Kumar and Semira…the two children that my family and I sponsor through Compassion International. I see the power that each of us has to play a part, to make our mark. I see God moving.

Give yourself 20 minutes to watch this video. Hear the story of Jimmy and orphans around the world. And then, be moved to play the role of Mark and to act as Jesus’ hands and feet around the world by sponsoring a child (or more than one!) through Compassion International.

Can Loving Your Neighbor Be Sinful?

Here is something that I have often wondered. Feel free to chime in.

Is it possible to make “loving your neighbor as yourself” an idol in your life?

What say ye?

Lessons Learned from a 5k

This last weekend I ran my first ever 5k race.

This was a significant moment for me. For years, I had dreamed of being able to run a long distance. Not a starry-eyed dream, but more of a longing to be able to set a lofty goal, train to reach that goal, and then achieve that goal.

That happened for me this weekend.

I ran a 5k in my hometown. That might be an understatement. The 5k literally started and finished in front of my house. I ran well. My best time ever.

I am not one to hyper-spiritualize everything.  But, as I was running I had several things run through my head I was thankful for that may be worth mentioning.

• I was thankful I had enough food in my belly so that I had energy to run.
  Every year, 15 million children die of hunger. We can help.

• I was thankful I had running shoes on my feet.
  A ridiculous number of people in this world, mostly living in developing countries, don’t have shoes to wear. You can buy a pair of Tom’s Shoes and they will donate a pair to someone in need. Or, you can donate the shoes you aren’t wearing here. It’s estimated that, in America, there are 1.5 billion pairs of unworn shoes lying around. Let’s get them on some feet.

• I was thankful I could afford the $20 entry fee.
  At least 80% of the world’s population lives on less than $10/day. That’s only $300/month. I dropped $20 to go for a run. I’m grateful for the opportunity…but what can each of us do without in order to help somebody else who is doing without?

• I was thankful I had a family who cheered me on at the finish line.
  Africa alone has 11.6 million children who are orphans due to AIDS. I have 4 beautiful children who still have their Mommy and Daddy. We have 2 more beauties, through Compassion International, who call us Mummy and Daddy. Maybe you can sponsor a child who needs a Mummy and Daddy.

What are you thankful for? Can you share it with others?

The Nines is Tomorrow!

I am very excited about The Nines tomorrow.

I mentioned The Nines a few weeks ago in a very short post. But, now it’s here, and worth a bit more of my time.

(For those of you who don’t yet know, The Nines is an innovative, web-based conference for church and ministry leaders. The organizers have rounded up 60 or so of the most influential church leaders in America. They asked each of them to share for 9 minutes via video centered around this one theme: If you had 9 minutes to talk one-on-one with thousands of church/ministry leaders, what would you tell them? The Nines is the result.)

I am excited for The Nines tomorrow for one very specific reason. It’s not the ah-mazing line-up of speakers. It’s not the cool web-based format. It’s not the ridiculously low pricetag of FREE! (Although these are all great reasons to be excited.)

I am excited for The Nines because of…the timing.

I am in campus ministry. And tonight, we have symbolically wrapped up one of the busiest times of our year. We have welcomed thousands of new students to our campus. We have personally met hundreds of them. We have planned and prayed and prepared for these last few weeks for months. We have invested lots of time and energy and ALL of our money. We have labored diligently to create opportunities daily for new students to connect with old students and to connect with our ministry. We have spruced up our facilities. I have prepared messages to connect the hearts of our students with the words of our God.

And frankly…I’m tired.

I’m like a sponge who has squeezed everything out. It’s time for me to take some more in.

And that’s where The Nines comes in. I plan on sitting in front of my computer most of the day tomorrow with an open Bible, an open Moleskine, and an open heart. I anticipate hearing from God and being changed and challenged.

And maybe…just maybe…at the end of the day tomorrow, I will have enough in the tank to carry on for a few more weeks.

(By the way, it’s not too late to register for The Nines. You can do so here. It all takes place tomorrow, starting at 9:09am CST.)

Top 100 Church Blogs

I am an avid blog reader. A list just came out highlighting the Top 100 Church Blogs. Tons of great stuff in this list to read. I just added about 20 blogs that I wasn’t already reading.

Check the list out. Find something good. Add them to your reader.

Good or Best?

Philippians 1:9-10 TNIV
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best…”

In his prayer, Paul seems to indicate that there is a difference between “what is best” and all other things. I think it was Warren Wiersbe who said that our battle usually isn’t between good and bad, but rather the battle is between good and best.

This is where I have found myself. And this is why I have cut some of the excess out of my life. The extras I was involved with were not all bad. In fact, they could even be called good. But I was doing all of that good and the expense of doing what is best.

It reminds me of when Jesus was hanging out with Mary and Martha. Martha was keeping busy, doing a lot of good things; making preparations and serving her guests. Mary, though, simply sat down at Jesus’ feet and listened to what he was saying. Jesus said that what Mary had “chosen what is better.”

Better than the good things.

What’s good in your life? Are those good things coming at the sacrifice of the best things?

What Does Real Forgiveness Look Like?

Gary Lamb is a church planter. One of the foremost in the country. And one of his church’s trailers was stolen. He writes this response to the thief.

I have problems with it, though.

First of all, he says he is writing a response to the thief “Revolution style.” Revolution is the name of his church. Is it Revolution’s style to be so nasty? So hardcore? Why does writing an open letter have to have a “style” anyway? And is this letter indicative of the entire church?

He makes three points:

1) God loves you.
2) We forgive you for stealing our trailer.
3) You are scumbags.

This leads me to ask: What does real forgiveness look like? Can you really forgive someone and still think they are scumbags? Isn’t forgiveness motivated from love…and can you honestly love someone you think is a scumbag?

And what’s up with the threats?

• We are going to kick your butt.
• The pastor is volunteering to do it.
• We will kick the crap out of you.
• It will be painful.
• You should be afraid of us.
• We will break your legs.

And after all of that, these words:

“Let me say again that we DO forgive you.”

I know that Jesus said hard things to people. And he confronted sin. However, I don’t read of any physical threats to people after he forgives them.

Am I missing something? Do you agree? Disagree? What are your thoughts on forgiveness?

The Sacrificing of our Lives

Here is Night #4’s message. It’s in outline form…

I. Review from last few nights.

II. Asking the question: If Jesus is the Great Sacrifice for us…what is our response?

a. Romans 12:1 answers that question.

III. “I appeal to you, therefore…”

a. Or—“Therefore, I urge you…”

b. Therefore—This is a reference back to chapters 1-11 in Romans…that he had just written.

i. Crash Course:

1. All people are unrighteous.

2. We are made righteous through faith in Christ.

3. We have freedom from sin and life through the Holy Spirit.

ii. When Paul says “therefore,” he is letting us know that all of that doctrine, all of that theology…was never meant to be dead and boring. It wasn’t meant to be something we just talk about. It was meant to be something that changes us…that motivates us…

c. And therefore…Paul appeals to us. That word means he calls out to us, he urges us, he invites us…

i. The invitation is on the table.

1. Which means…we don’t have to respond. It’s kind of like when you were younger and you got an invitation to a birthday party. You didn’t have to go if you didn’t want to…Jesus won’t make you follow him. God won’t make you worship Him. The decision is not your mom’s or dad’s or pastor’s. The decision of what you are going to do with your life is up to you.

IV. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God”

a. This is the motivation. Paul makes his appeal to us…makes his invitation…and the mercy of God should be our reason to accept that invitation.

b. So great is God’s mercy for us…that we are motivated to respond.

i. Have you ever had an encounter with someone who offered their mercy or forgiveness to you and it motivated you to change?

ii. Luke 19:1-9 ESV

19:1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.

1. Zacchaeus was a Jew. And the Jewish people were living under the Roman government…and they hated it. And as a tax collector, Zacchaeus had sold out and decided to work for the Roman government collecting taxes. And tax collectors would collect the appropriate taxes, but the government allowed the tax collectors to collect any extra that they wanted to keep for themselves. It was very corrupt. And so tax collectors were hated not only because they sold out to work for the government…but also because they stole a lot of money for themselves from the people they collected taxes from.

2. And Zacchaeus is one of these guys. And he would have lived a life of loneliness and isolation. He would have no friends…he would be totally despised. And he would have been shunned everywhere he went.

3. But…enter Jesus. Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus’ house. The passage says that Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully…of course he would. He didn’t have any other friends and here this man wanted to be with him. The people watching this wondered how in the world Jesus would go to the house of such a notorious sinner.

4. And what was Zacchaeus’ response? “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” Why do you think that Zacchaeus did this?

5. I think it’s because he was accepted by Christ, even though he was such a great sinner. I think he received Jesus’ mercy and acceptance, despite who he was. And you know what? That mercy and love motivated him to action. He gives away half of the money he had and repays everyone what he stole from them plus 4x more.

6. PERSONAL STORY?

c. By the mercies of God…we are motivated to action.

V. “I appeal to you therefore brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice”

a. Let’s take it apart word by word.

i. “Offer” or “Present”—This is a cool word. This is to give something to someone…to offer it to them. Actually, the word means to “yield.”

1. A lot of you are driving. Can you explain to me what it means to yield? You give to others the right of way.

2. When the people came to offer their lambs as a Passover sacrifice…they were giving the rights to that lamb to someone else. Who were they giving it to? God.

3. To yield something is to give someone else the rights. The dictionary: “to give up possession or claim of a thing; to hand over possession; to surrender to another; to relinquish one’s possession.”

ii. “Your Bodies”—

1. Is your body one thing? Or a lot of things?

a. It’s both. Your body is one thing made up of lots of things.

2. Paul writes in both Romans and I Corinthians that bodies are made up of many parts.

a. So, if you are yielding your body…you are yielding all of the parts that make up your body.

3. Let’s put it all together then. So if you yield your body, what does it mean? That you give away the rights of your body to someone else. And, since your body is made up of lots of different parts, you yield all of those parts.

a. I had heard a story about a great knight who won many battles and killed many men. And, at the height of his fame, he decided to surrender his life to Christ and be baptized. He got into the water and went down and held up his right hand…which also was the hand he used to carry his sword.

b. All of the rest of the parts of his body were offered…yielded…but he couldn’t offer his entire body to God.

4. We have to offer all of us.

a. Minds.

b. Eyes.

c. Ears.

d. Mouths.

e. Shoulders.

f. Heart.

g. Arms—strength.

h. Hands.

i. Legs.

iii. “As a Living Sacrifice”—

1. Living Sacrifice is an oxymoron…like “jumbo shrimp” or “pretty ugly” or “male sensitivity” or—wait for it—“female logic.

2. Let’s take a look at living and dead sacrifices.

a. First of all…it’s easier to be a dead sacrifice than to be a living sacrifice.

i. Dead sacrifices only have to be a sacrifice once. Once they are sacrificed…they are dead…and it’s all over.

ii. Dead sacrifices don’t do anything. They are of absolutely no use after their sacrifice. God can no longer use a dead sacrifice.

iii. Living sacrifices have to be sacrificed over and over again. The problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps wanting to crawl off the altar.

1. If you were watching Ewe-la the other night…you noticed that if Rich hadn’t been holding her down, she wouldn’t have stayed put. She didn’t enjoy being our sacrifice that night. That’s because being a sacrifice isn’t fun. It can be painful. It hurts. There is fire on the altar and we don’t like to go through fire.

2. We have to drag ourselves up onto the altar everyday and go through the process of sacrificing ourselves.

3. Our theme verse for the week:

Luke 9:23 ESV

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

a. If anyone want to come after me—follow me, be my disciple.

b. Let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me—what did Jesus’ cross lead to? His sacrifice. Jesus here tells us that we are going to have to pick up our crosses everyday…sacrifice ourselves everday.

iv. Living sacrifices, however, can be useful. A dead sacrifice is good for nothing. But God can use a living sacrifice.

b. A dead sacrifice is offered once and then is no longer useful. But a living sacrifice is offered again and again…and is very useful to God.

VI. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

a. As Nate mentioned last night at campfire…worship is not just music. We have bought into this idea that worship is just music. But in this verse, Paul explicitly says that worship is offering our bodies as a living sacrifice.

i. True worship involves your whole body…as we have already talked about…not just your voices. It involves your hands, your feet, your eyes, your mind, your heart.

b. I think the rest of the book of Romans give us a glimpse into what this means…to be living sacrifices.

i. Live humbly—“I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.” (12:3)

ii. Use our gifts—“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” (12:6)

iii. Genuine Love—“Let love be genuine.” (12:9)

iv. Serve Others—“Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly…live peaceably with all. ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.’” (12:15-16, 18, 20)

v. Submit to Authority—“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” (13:1)

vi. Don’t Judge—“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God…” (14:10)

vii. Follow Christ’s Example—“Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself…” (15:2-3)

c. Those are just some of the ways we are called to be living sacrifices. How that looks day-to-day is up to you.

VII. Jesus as both Priest and Sacrifice

a. Vic mentioned this morning this interesting idea that Jesus was both the priest who offered the sacrifice…and the sacrifice. He offered himself.

i. We are called to do the same thing. We are called to make an offering…and the offering we are called to make is ourselves…our bodies…our lives.

An Update on Nights 1 and 2

I am still at camp. And there is wi-fi here. How crazy is that?

Anyway, a quick update on how the first two messages went.

Night #1 went very well. The group of students here are amazing and have been great to speak to. They listen and respond well. During the first message, we gave each of the students a large paving stone to write on throughout the week. We talked about the passage in Joshua 4 where the Israelites collected stones as a memorial of the journey God was taking them on. The students will write on their stones throughout the week and create a sort of “memorial.” It’s cool.

We introduced a lamb to the students this night as well…I used her to illustrate my points regarding the Passover lamb.

Night #2 was even better. We had the students build an altar with their stones. Then we placed our lamb on the altar. The students came up to her and placed their hands in plates of ketchup and then placed their hands on the lamb…confessing their sins and seeing them “transferred” to the lamb. It was AMAZING and very powerful.

Night #3 was also cool. The staff of the camp washed the feet of the campers and we shared in a meaningful time of communion.

Tonight is Night #4. I do not feel as confident with the message as I would like. I think, though, that it will leave the door open for me tomorrow to really share what I would like to share on the last night.

The Sacrificing of our Lordship

Here is Night #3’s message.

The first night we talked extensively about the first Passover…and last night we talked specifically about Jesus being our Passover Lamb. We didn’t talk much about what happened after that initial Passover, though.

Exodus 12:14-17 ESV
14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever.

God wanted the Israelites to remember this event for generations. And so…He made it into a yearly festival. Folks would travel from miles around and gather. They would sacrifice their lambs. They would share the meal. And it would be a huge deal.

And Jesus, being a good Jew, would have done this as well. The passages that we are going to look at tonight center around the Passover celebration…and Jesus was going to participate in with his disciples. This would be the last week of his life on earth…and so these are the days leading up to his arrest, trial, and crucifixion.

And what we are going to see first tonight is Jesus taking very common practices in his day…traditions…and giving them new meaning.

John 13:1-17 ESV
13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

It’s the beginning of the Feast of the Passover…and the passage says that Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world. Jesus knew that his death was coming.

You know…in movies and on TV and even sometimes in the real news, you hear about someone who has gone to the doctor and gotten a bad report. Maybe it’s cancer and they only have a few weeks to live. What do they do? Usually they will go and spend all of their money on things that they want. They will take a great vacation or buy a really fancy sports car or go skydiving. And it’s all about the experiences that THEY can have before they die. How many stories have you heard of someone who hears that they are dying…and they decide to go to a homeless shelter a feed the hungry? Or they decide to go next door and mow their elderly neighbors yard?

Jesus knew his death was coming…and instead of becoming self-focused and self-absorbed with all of the terrible things he was facing…he decided to serve his friends. The passage says that he just kept on loving them…this passage shows us that love leads to service.

In fact, verse 3 says that God had given everything in Jesus’ hands. He had all of the power, all the authority, all of the everything. And if you had all of the power, all of the authority, all of the everything…what would you do? I can tell you what Jesus did: he got up from his meal, took of his outer clothes, and took a towel and tied it around his waist. He poured some water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet and dried them off with the towel around his waist. With all the power, authority, and everything…Jesus served.

Seems backwards, doesn’t it? Foot washing in these days was so degrading of a task that a master of a house who owns slaves wouldn’t even make his Jewish slaves do it…he would make Gentile slaves do it. That’s why Peter responds the way that he does: he loves Jesus too much to let him do things that even slaves don’t do. In his mind, Jesus would never be so degraded as to dress up like a slave and do what was not even required by a Jewish slave.

And you know what blows my mind…the passage says that the devil had already put it in the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus. But does the passage say anything about Jesus skipping over Judas’ feet? No. Jesus even washed the feet of his enemies. And that’s consistent with what Jesus teaches us to do…love our enemies.

M. Scott Peck tells that the foot washing of Christ was one of the most significant events in Jesus’ life. He says, “Until that moment the whole point of things had been for someone to get on top, and once he had gotten on top, to stay on top or else attempt to get further up on top. But here this man, already on top—who was rabbi, teacher, master—suddenly got down on the bottom and began to wash the feet of his followers. In that one act, Jesus symbolically overturned the whole social order. Hardly comprehending what was happening, even his own disciples were almost horrified by his behavior.”

Jesus symbolically overturned the whole social order. The top is no longer on the top. Jesus was definitely on the top…he says, “I am the Lord and the Teacher. And if I…being THE Lord and THE Teacher…wash your feet, you surely should do the same.”

He asks us to do the same for others…including the Judas Iscariots in our life. Now, it was customary for people who had guests in their house to wash their feet in these regions. It was a tradition. And Jesus takes this very common tradition…and turns it all over on its head and gives it a brand new meaning. The washing of feet wasn’t just washing feet anymore…it was being a humble servant of others.

It’s interesting that Jesus asks us to do this. In other places in the Scriptures, he asks us to baptize and teach others and to share communion…which we will talk about in a minute. And we do those things…we share communion and baptize, but we don’t often have feet-washing services. There are some churches that have these feet-washing services. I think most of us wouldn’t like to do it because it would be too unsophisticated or backcountry or something… but that’s exactly the point. Jesus did not care about dignity or appearances or his reputation. He became a slave to others. I wonder, if we would literally wash each other’s feet, if we wouldn’t be reminded that Christ did the very same thing?

But the point remains…Jesus took the tradition of foot-washing and turned it upside-down and used it to show us that he has called us to become a slave towards others.

Let’s look at what else happens this night.

Luke 22:14-20 ESV
14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Jesus and his followers are getting ready to share in the traditional meal of the Passover. This was a very sacred, special event…rich in tradition. And Jesus honored a lot of these traditions, but not all of them.

Remember a few nights ago when we talked about the 4^th Element of the Sacrifice? That element stated that the people prepared and then ate the Passover. And do you remember how they prepared? They had their belts fastened…their sandals on their feet…and their staff in their hand. And God wanted them to do that so that they could walk out the door quickly when Pharaoh released them. The belts were fastened…and mostly likely, they had their cloaks tucked into their belts…that would help them walk. And their sandals on and their staff in their hands…all to help them walk. I think we can probably deduce that they would eat the meal standing up.

However, in a parallel passage for this story in Mark 14…it states that Jesus and his disciples ate their Passover meal reclining…which is how they usually ate in this day…laying down on a pillow.

So…Jesus honors tradition. He was eating the meal. But he also has a tendency to break tradition…by doing so laying down. There is a great place for tradition in our faith. They have their place. They remind us of what happened long ago. However, if the traditions we honor lose their meaning…and we observe that tradition just because “we have always done it that way”—then it may no longer be worthy of being observed.

And that is what we are going to see with Jesus and the Passover meal tradition tonight. He takes something that the Jews have done for so long…and he changes the meaning of it and turns it into something new. And that new thing…we participate in that every time we take communion.

And so we are going to put everything together from the last 2 nights tonight. The Jews celebrated the Passover tradition. They chose their lamb and sacrificed it. And they remembered that the blood of that lamb over the doorframes secured their lives. And they ate this meal to remember that.

But Jesus does what he does…he takes it and gives it a new meaning. Let me tell you story.

In Jesus’ day, families usually lived in a cluster of building called insulas. These insulas were usually located around a courtyard, and entire families would live together in these insulas. Grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles…all would love together and constantly interact with each other in these insulas.

So let’s say that we have the son of a family in this insula. And this son is of the age to marry. The father of the groom and the father of the bride would negotiate what was called a bride price. The is a monetary amount that the groom’s family would pay the bride’s family for her…not as an exchange of property, but because both families realized that the bride leaving her family would be a great loss. And they were compensated for that loss.

The bride then and the groom would sit down to a meal together with their families. The groom would have a cup of wine in front of him. He would take a sip from the cup of wine and then slide the cup across the table to the bride. What he was doing was symbolically saying that he wanted to make a covenant of marriage with her. If she drank from the cup he gave her, she was agreeing to the covenant and basically sealing their engagement. From that point on, she was referred to as “one bought with a price” and seen as an engaged woman.

Then the groom would get up from the table and leave and return to his father’s home…the insula. And the groom would begin to build new rooms on to the insula for he and his bride. Meanwhile, the bride would prepare for her groom’s return. Nobody knew when he would come back…to build on the insula could take some time, but she didn’t want to risk missing him; she wanted to be prepared. Because on the day he came back for her, it would be their wedding day. So she had to be ready. She didn’t want to be caught unprepared.

When the groom was done with his building on the insula, and when it met his father’s approval, he would travel back to his bride. He would then blow a shofar, which is a ram’s horn. The bride would hear it, she would know that her groom and come back, and that her wedding day had arrived.

Can we see what Jesus is doing here at the Last Supper? He took what had become a great tradition and gave it a new meaning.

Like we just read in Luke, Jesus took a cup of wine…took a drink out of it…and then slid it across the table and shared it with his disciples. Just like the groom does with the bride. His disciples would have immediately recognized that Jesus was…in essence…proposing to them, wanting to enter into a covenant with him. He even says that the cup is a “new covenant.” And all of the disciples shared that cup, thus entering into the covenant with Jesus.

And then…this is what Jesus says:

John 14:2-3 ESV
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Do you see what has just happened? He just had a cup of wine…and gave it to his disciples. And then he says that his father’s house has many rooms…insulas. And that he, as the groom, is going away to prepare a place for his bride. And if he goes away to prepare a place for his bride, he will come back to get her.

Jesus confesses his great love for his bride. He is saying, at the Last Supper, that he loves us so much that he would pay the bride price…he would give his life for ours. And he seals it with a covenant…and then goes to prepare a place for us…and if he does that, than we know that he will come back to get us to take us to where he is.

So…imagine the beauty of that night for Jesus and his disciples. He takes these traditions and gives them new meaning. I think that for a lot of us…the taking of communion has become a stale tradition that we just do every week because we have always just done it every week. And it has lost its meaning.

But tonight…you have discovered new meaning.

TAKE COMMUNION

This night for Jesus and his disciples…much like our night…would have been very meaningful spiritually for them. For lack of a better word…it would have been a spiritual high or a spiritual mountaintop.

And camp is the same way for us…and this night and last night have been the same way…spiritually high.

But I want us to look at something. This is what happens immediately after the washing of feet and the wedding imagery and the new understanding of communion.

Luke 22:24 ESV
24 A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

What?! Can you believe it? They come out of this super-meaningful spiritual moment…and immediately, they begin bickering amongst themselves as to which one of them was the greatest.

They immediately went back to their old way of life. After all, this wasn’t the first time that they had this argument. In Matthew 18, this same argument came up. At one point, even the mommy of two of the disciples came up to Jesus and asked that her sons be the greatest in Jesus’ kingdom. Crazy…they were so lame that they had to have mom come and vouch for them.

They went back to their old way of life after having this amazing encounter with Jesus. You see…they knew that Jesus was the King. And they knew that Kings had people in their kingdoms who were officers, statesmen, and other important officials. And they were jockeying for position.

But think about what they had just witnessed. Jesus, their King, had taken the role of a slave. And even told them that they should do the same thing.

The disciples knew Jesus was a king…but they expected him to be a king like all the other kings in the world. But in case you didn’t notice…Jesus is not like all the other kings.

Jesus has to respond:

Luke 22:25-26 ESV

25 And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

The kings of the world have authority…they have subjects…they tell people where to go and what to do and have people bring them their food and on and on.

But then Jesus makes a statement that changes everything: “But not so with you.”