Topics – Communion, Joy, Pain & Suffering
At the Passover meal just before Jesus was killed he instituted the practice of communion. When we take communion, we do so in the time between the initial experience of our faith and the final fulfillment of our unity with God and each other. This space “in-between” is like the wilderness the Jews experienced after leaving Egypt but before entering the promised land.
Focus Scripture – Luke 22:7-20HIDESHOW
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."
9 "Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.
10 He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there."
13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
9 "Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.
10 He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there."
13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Extended SummaryHIDESHOW
At the Passover meal just before Jesus was killed he instituted the practice of communion. When we take communion, we do so in the time between the initial experience of our faith and the final fulfillment of our unity with God and each other. This space “in-between” is like the wilderness the Jews experienced after leaving Egypt but before entering the promised land. We know the joy of having been freed from captivity in many ways, but we are not yet fully free and we are not yet fully whole/healed from all that ails us.
Greg referred to this as the “funky in-between time” that has a mixture of joy and sorrow. We need to hold these two distinct realities in tension with each other. We need to live in the freedom and joy of a people who have been set from the condemnation of judgment and the bondage of sin! This is good news indeed! But we also need to be honest and sober about the fact that this world is not our home, we are not yet in the promised land and there are many realities within this world that are painful and apparently they are here to stay until Christ returns. In some cases, we experience healings and miracles and in others we do not. The point is to stay connected and faithful to God and each other.
Greg gave these points of advice in facing difficulties in our lives (including physical afflictions, moral failings and other struggles):
1. Be real. Acknowledge the reality of your situation. And also acknowledge the reality of how you feel about the situation.
2. Search your heart before God about it. If you feel conviction about the issue pray as you feel led to. If its for healing pray for it and ask others to agree with you on this. If its about a moral failing, pray that God would change the desires of your heart.
3. Don’t beat yourself up with “ought’s” and “should’s.” Sometimes we have to say to ourselves, “right now, this is just how it is…”
Living in the wilderness means living with these tensions and the feeling of not being where we want to be yet. Prayerfully with God and our community each one of us has to decide how to relate to these sorts of difficulties in our lives. There are two obvious pitfalls:
a. that we just let ourselves off the hook on our own.
b. that we beat ourselves up for things we can’t change.
We need God and each other to help us recognize when to press on for change and when to accept things as they are for the time being.
Greg referred to this as the “funky in-between time” that has a mixture of joy and sorrow. We need to hold these two distinct realities in tension with each other. We need to live in the freedom and joy of a people who have been set from the condemnation of judgment and the bondage of sin! This is good news indeed! But we also need to be honest and sober about the fact that this world is not our home, we are not yet in the promised land and there are many realities within this world that are painful and apparently they are here to stay until Christ returns. In some cases, we experience healings and miracles and in others we do not. The point is to stay connected and faithful to God and each other.
Greg gave these points of advice in facing difficulties in our lives (including physical afflictions, moral failings and other struggles):
1. Be real. Acknowledge the reality of your situation. And also acknowledge the reality of how you feel about the situation.
2. Search your heart before God about it. If you feel conviction about the issue pray as you feel led to. If its for healing pray for it and ask others to agree with you on this. If its about a moral failing, pray that God would change the desires of your heart.
3. Don’t beat yourself up with “ought’s” and “should’s.” Sometimes we have to say to ourselves, “right now, this is just how it is…”
Living in the wilderness means living with these tensions and the feeling of not being where we want to be yet. Prayerfully with God and our community each one of us has to decide how to relate to these sorts of difficulties in our lives. There are two obvious pitfalls:
a. that we just let ourselves off the hook on our own.
b. that we beat ourselves up for things we can’t change.
We need God and each other to help us recognize when to press on for change and when to accept things as they are for the time being.
Practical Applications (homework)HIDESHOW
We get our tradition of communion from the Last Supper, a meal shared by Jesus and his disciples to celebrate the Passover. We can use communion as a time to reflect on the fact that we’re all in an “in-between” time: we both celebrate what Jesus has done for us, but we also must be honest about the disappointment and pain we experience in this oppressed world. For your homework, schedule a communion meal with people you’re close to (could be friends or a small group) and agree to share honestly about the “in-between” tension that we all experience:
- During the first part of your meal together, celebrate some of the ways that Jesus has delivered each of you from “Egypt.” What forgiveness have you experienced? What freedoms or reconciliation have you been blessed with? How have you been emotionally or physically healed? How has God helped you overcome some part of you that wasn’t Christlike? After everyone has shared, take a few minutes to thank God for these blessings?
- Then, spend some time being honest with each other about disappointment and pain that is real in each of your lives. What “wilderness” struggles do you still have? Get advice and guidance from each other about whether you should continue to work on these struggles, or if God is calling you to let go of them, at least for now. After everyone has shared, take a few minutes to thank God for his mercy and grace. Ask him to continue to make his infinite love known to us in tangible ways, even though we all still struggle in the wilderness.
Reflection QuestionsHIDESHOW
- What stood out to you most from this message and the supporting text?
- What are some examples of people refusing to accept reality as it is in this “funky in-between time” as Greg described it? What are the consequences of this refusal?
- As Christians, we all experience some joy and freedom in response to “getting out of Egypt” and we all also experience difficulties as a result of our imperfections and afflictions in this life. Which seems to dominate your experience more: the joy of knowing God, or the pain of living in this broken world? What sort of balance should we seek? Discuss this with one another.
- Are there specific challenges that you want to share with your group? Are there things you are beating yourself up over? Are there things you are not pressing forward on that perhaps you should be?