This is my Body

The other ordinance which God gave to his church is that of communion, Lord’s Table, or breaking of Bread. I’ve been reflecting on that again recently in both a theological and practical sense. It’s always been prone to misunderstanding.

Early Christians were accused by the pagan world of being savages – after all didn’t they eat flesh and drink blood? There is also such a wide variety of practice of it in Christian churches that the essence can be lost in the welter of discussion around its timing, frequency, open vs closed, etc. I am glad that we do this every week in our church gathering , though all of us at times would admit that if we regularly repeat an act, it can become a habit and a practice we so easily take for granted. We have also given it greater prominence recently by placing it in the middle of the service rather than as an ‘add-on’ at the end. It has been given its rightful place as an essential part of the worship service and allows everyone the opportunity to participate rather than being forced to leave to attend to children etc.

In the Roman Catholic church, the doctrine of transubstantiation is given prominence - the idea that the bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Christ (hence the ringing of the bell to signify the actual moment of ‘transubstantiation’ and the need for all of the wine to be totally consumed at the end of the eucharist. Thus there is the temptation to abuse alcohol!)

Martin Luther the great reformer was very hard to shift from this position. Famously he scratched onto the table at Marburg “Hoc Est Corpus Meum”. What more could be said - if Jesus said “This IS my body” then surely transubstantiation had some merit, he argued. Fast forward nearly 500 years and I remember sitting in a church members meeting as a young Christian and listening confused to a discussion as to what should happen to the bread after communion was over. It was argued that it needed to be disposed of carefully since it had been used for such a sacred purpose!! No wonder I was confused.

Ulrich Zwingli however, the leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, profoundly disagreed with Luther and rightly pointed out that the elements are symbolic and suggestive rather than actual body and blood and hence there was no merit at all in the bread and wine themselves. He rejected the idea of real presence. The Lords Table was intended to signify the death of Christ. Such views did not go down well with Luther and led to the gathering at Marburg where Luther stuck by the actual words of Christ.

Our view of the Lord’s Table as Baptists is essentially the Zwinglian view – but we must be careful not to over emphasise the symbolic nature of the table and downgrade the very obvious truth that there also lies within it a means of grace. It is a help to us to go on with God. At the Table we look back to the cross, look up to God, look round at the needs of the world and look forward to heaven. After all it is only “Till He Come” then we shall gather at a very different feast – the marriage supper of the Lamb.

The Water That Divides

The reason I'm a Baptist pastor is out of conviction, not convenience.  There are many things I believe in that make me a “Baptist”.  Baptism is only one of them. But I’ve been reflecting on baptism once again in preparation for the recent service and am again struck by the clarity of biblical teaching on this subject.  In fact it is incontrovertible.

Linguistically – baptism is the transliteration of the Greek “baptizo” which always means to plunge, submerge, immerse or dip.  In New Testament times ‘baptizo’ was an ordinary everyday word, without overt religious significance.  It was used in several ways; for example, to describe drawing water out of a well or dyeing a garment.  Both of those situations require full immersion of either bucket or garment!  Another Greek word “rantizo” means sprinkling but is never used in the New Testament of baptism.

Symbolically – immersion is a graphic portrayal of the reality of dying to sin and being raised to new life in Christ.  The death-resurrection parallel is powerful – Christ physically died and bodily rose again.  He even described his own impending death as a baptism he had to undergo!  We die to self and rise again to new life.  Down and Up.  Submerge and Reemerge.  Great stuff!

Theologically – baptism is closely identified with discipleship and is a physical mark of it.  Matthew 28 identifies it as a major element of the Great Commission. The subject therefore must always be one who has started on the road, who is learning to follow and who is desiring to keep going.  That is the only legitimate candidate for baptism.  When the mark of the covenant (circumcision) was applied to the Old Testament people of God the Israelites, it was applied, not in anticipation of them becoming the children of God, but because they already were. God knows no other way.  The mark of discipleship can only be applied to those who have started on that road – not because they potentially might at some undefined time in the future.

Practically – nothing more clearly portrays the gospel than the ordinances Christ gave to his church.  The regular, ongoing, participatory ordinance of the Lords Supper and the once only, one time event ordinance of believers baptism.  Both clearly portray the death and resurrection of Christ in easily understood pictures and symbols.  Both need to be regular features of local church life, because both prioritize the gospel message and explain it to the eyes of a watching unbelieving world.

A Very Different Book

Last year I read a very helpful little book by the well-known (from Northern Irish stock!) Don Carson: “Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor – The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson”

I wrote a review of it for Irish Baptist Life and thought I'd share it again here. 

The author is well known because of his numerous theological works, which have been of great help to many of us.  This biography however is entirely different to Carson’s normal writings.  There is a narrative creativity here which we probably didn’t know he possessed.  It tells the heart-warming and engaging story of his father, Tom Carson, who was born in Carrickfergus in 1911 and went on to serve as a pastor for most of his life in French Canada.  Using his father’s journals, letters and notes, Carson shares his story – the life of an ordinary pastor.  In the introduction he says most pastors are ordinary pastors – they do not have high profiles, they do not preach to thousands; they just plug away, day after day, with the ordinary demands of ministry. Tom Carson was one such man.

 It’s all here – encouragements and discouragements, crises and challenges, visitation, mediation and translation.  We learn of how Tom just ‘plugged away’ in some tough times and how he managed his scarce time and resources and how he had to deal with misunderstandings, feelings of guilt at so much he just couldn’t get done and family and personal challenges.

Particularly powerful is Carson’s chapter on his mother’s Alzheimer years and Tom’s practical care of her and her subsequent homecoming.  It is very intimate, we are given a glimpse into the sometimes far too hidden agonies of pastors and how they are just “flesh and blood” like the rest. 

In a world of mega-church and misguided perceptions that success in ministry is all about numbers, this very powerful little book is a very welcome antidote.  In the words of John Piper “How can the application of a Bible-saturated mind (Don’s) to a Bible saturated life (Tom’s) produce an even more helpful story……?”

Worship - The Greatest Act

We were looking at the subject of worship on Sunday morning. How important that is for the start of a new year - yet how confusing as well. Worship is more than music - its not that simple. We worship because God is worthy and yet if we only worship for an hour on a Sunday does that mean he’s only worthy for that time? Of course not – rather my whole life should be an act of worship. The way I talk to people, my life at home, work, church, my attitudes, my choices and my decisions should all be done and made as an act of worship.

In Acts 2 v 42 the early Christians “devoted themselves – not for them any idea of getting saved and then drifting long. Rather, they became fully mature followers of Christ and in their actions demonstrated their beliefs. What is worship? Here’s a working definition.........

“Directly acknowledge God’s goodness and activity in everyday life and responding in acts of praise or good deeds”

So....worship on your own – see God at work in everyday experience in the little things as well as the big things of your life. Spend regular time in personal devotions and learn to sing.  It’s amazing what praising can do.  Worship by doing good things which bring a smile to the face of God.

But worship also with your family – your spiritual family, your brothers and sisters in Christ.  Do not be tempted to neglect this.  There is something special about people coming together to sing and learn and interact and grow.  It’s absolutely vital.  But when we do so we should seek to show by our attitudes that we are true worshippers – how about arriving early and staying late?  How about leaving the nearest car parking spaces for those who need them most?  How about smiling?  And best of all as true worshippers how about coming to church services to receive from the Lord (what hast thou to say to me?) and giving to others?

I want to be a worshipper in spirit and in truth – for such the Father seeks to worship Him!