September 15, 2013 - Pastor Dale Lloyd
Scripture Reading: LK. 22: 14 - 20
Prov.19: 17 One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him
for his good deed.
In a few minutes we are going to gather around this table and celebrate the
covenant meal of the church – the Eucharist, the communion. Participation in
this meal is part of our worship to God, and I have chosen to build my message
around this act of worship.
From Luke’s record of this event I draw your attention to the following phrases: As
Christ was breaking the bread he made this statement; “This is my body which
is given for you...” From that I would ask that you note, “...is given
for you.” And as He shared the cup He made this statement, “This cup
which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Please note
the phrase – “...is poured out for you.”
Two phrases: “...is given for you” - “...is poured out for you”, and in this
handful of words we are face to face with the beating heart of the gospel of
Christ. This is the very heart of redemption, of reconciliation, of restoration,
of justification; this is the heart of our entire worship: given for you,
poured out for you. This is the heart of relational peace and harmony –
given for you, poured out for you.
Whatever else this may or may not be it certainly is this: self-sacrifice entirely for
the sake of the other party and with no strings attached in terms of
payback. That is the heart of our gospel, the heart of our worship, the
heart of this covenant meal.
From Genesis to Revelations the story of God’s love is a story of self sacrifice.
That story was made flesh and blood in the person of Christ. The ultimate
demonstration of the self sacrifice of this true love is witnessed in the cross.
Every time we consider the cross we need to be aware of these two phrases spoken
by the Christ just hours before this event – given for you, poured out for
you.
And in approaching this table this is the understanding that needs to define and
inspire our worship - given for you, poured out for you.
I want to suggest that there is an element of mystery that runs through all true
sacrifice. I can’t explain it but on a “gut level” I am conscious of it. That
mystery is this: there is a quality of redemption present in true selfless
sacrifice. True sacrifice has a redemptive affect upon those who are touched
by that sacrifice. I don’t think we can argue that when we consider the
redemptive outcome of the sacrifice of Christ.
If we are redeemed this morning it is not because of anything we have done; it is
entirely because of what someone else has done for us. And right there is the
heart of it – doing for someone else what they cannot possibly do for
themselves. And make no mistake about it that doing is the sacrifice of self
and it is redemptive in nature and outcome.
In coming to this table and partaking of this covenant meal I am entering into and
making declaration of many things. But the very core of what I am acknowledging
is that Christ did in fact ‘give His body for me and Christ did in
fact ‘pour out His blood for me.’ I am further acknowledging that in and
by the mystery of that self sacrifice of His body and blood I have been
redeemed. And the third thing I am acknowledging is that the ministry of this
redemptive sacrifice continues to be exercised through the present body of
Christ. And that brings us to the Proverb.
Prov.19: 17 One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him
for his good deed.
The phrase – gracious to a poor man – appears in many different forms
depending upon your particular English translation of the scripture. Here are a
few of those translations: generous to the poor; pity upon the poor;
compassion on the poor; kind to the poor; favouring the poor; mercy to the poor;
caring for the poor.
All of these words – gracious, generous, pity, compassion, kind, favouring,
mercy, and caring are used to translate the word appearing in the
Hebrew text. That Hebrew word caries two very strong aspects of definition. One
is a physical act and the second is a quality of disposition, heart,
attitude or spirit. These two realities are not to be viewed separately but
as two sides of a single coin. There is the physical act of kindness and
there is the disposition and quality of attitude that inspires and runs
through that act of kindness.
Beyond this you will also discover that this word caries the idea of willingly and
freely providing what is necessary, as well as the idea of bending down
or bending low.
Essentially this proverb is not about the pocketbook. It addresses a far greater reality
than that – it addresses the issue of the heart. And there is nothing that
exposes the heart like the poor and needy. Jesus told us that the poor would
always be with us. Have you ever wondered why? I think they are here to reveal
the truth of our hearts; to move us to an honest assessment of our own
heart.
This goes way beyond pitching pennies at a need and begs the question – what is the
disposition of the heart in the pitching of the pennies?
This proverb tells us something profoundly incredible. It tells us that, when out
this self sacrificial heart we engage in acts of kindness, we are actually
lending to the Lord. But the English word ‘lending’ does not communicate
the depth of meaning found in the Hebrew word. And that word means – ‘to be
made one with, to be joined unto.’
With this we have come full circle and find ourselves back to those phrases of
Christ, recorded in Luke’s report – my body given for you, my blood
poured out for you. I do not have to understand this, and in fact it remains
a mystery and yet I believe it with all my heart. In the giving away of our
lives through self sacrificial acts of compassion from the heart there is a
joining with, a becoming one with the self-sacrificing heart of Christ himself.
And beyond this there is a participation in the ongoing ministry of redemption
through the mystery of true sacrifice.
In coming to this table I am consciously celebrating two realities. I am “shouting
from the rooftop” my thanksgiving that the Lord Jesus Christ – the only begotten
Son of the Father, this Holy One of God – gave His body for me and poured out
His blood for me. And that I am presently redeemed through the mystery of
that sacrifice. And secondly, I am celebrating the unspeakable privilege of
personal participation in the ongoing ministry of that redemptive sacrifice
through the giving away of my life.
The proverb tells us that the Lord will repay. And before we reduce this to mere
materialism – as the North American church loves to do – let me communicate the
core meaning of the word in the Hebrew text. It means – the peace born of
fulfilment and completion. How incredible is this? There is a participation
in sacrifice that instead of diminishing us it enlarges us, instead of reducing
us it completes and fulfils us, instead of taking away it adds to us, and
instead of producing anxiety it increases our experience of peace.
I believe this is the heart God is building in this community; a heart to bless,
to give, to share – a heart that welcomes sacrificial
living.