Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Dispensing or Sharing?
Mark Nikirk at Boar's Head Tavern recently commented on a change in his church:
If communion is a symbolic representation of our joining with Christ in His death and resurrection, then one must ask if that symbol is to be "dispensed" or "shared." Is the church a mere dispenser of the gospel, and once dispensed, people are free to take the product or not? Or, is the church the place where people go to together take the gospel journey, and together to take that journey to the rest of the world?
Can we "work out our salvation" alone?
It seems to me that He does so in relationship - otherwise, why the Incarnation?
The salvation offered by Christ and symbolized in communion is not dispensed, it is shared. First God came and shared life with those around Him, and they in turn share it with those around them, and so forth. The Old Testament is a story of God trying to dispense His good news - the New Testament, the very covenant symbolized in that sacrament
Church is intended to be a corporate experience - it is where we share our faith with one another. It is not a dispenser of the gospel.
In the consumeristic model there is a barrier between the seller and buyer, each is safe from the other. That barrier keeps the parties safe from one another. But in the shared experience of church, no such safety barrier exists. We are exposed not only to some vision of God in our heads, or even to God, but to each other.
As was said of Aslan - it is not safe, but it is good.
Technorati Tags:church, sharing, dispensing, safety
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator
Our church introduced communion stations in lieu of having corporate communion more frequently. I couldn’t help but be just a little disappointed. On the other hand, they’re acknowledging that something might be missing. I have to give credit where credit is due. My question: How many other places have communion stations and what do you think of them? By ‘communion station’ I mean a small table where the elements are kept. At any point during the music portion of the service, a person can come up and serve them self.I never heard of that, but it strikes me as a "natural" as the movement to ever increasingly shunt aside the liturgical and the sacramental continues. There are about a dozen ways to look at a move like this, but I want to focus on the one I have put in the title of this post.
If communion is a symbolic representation of our joining with Christ in His death and resurrection, then one must ask if that symbol is to be "dispensed" or "shared." Is the church a mere dispenser of the gospel, and once dispensed, people are free to take the product or not? Or, is the church the place where people go to together take the gospel journey, and together to take that journey to the rest of the world?
Can we "work out our salvation" alone?
Phil 2:12-13 - So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.I, for one, do not think so. One must ask how God works in us?
It seems to me that He does so in relationship - otherwise, why the Incarnation?
The salvation offered by Christ and symbolized in communion is not dispensed, it is shared. First God came and shared life with those around Him, and they in turn share it with those around them, and so forth. The Old Testament is a story of God trying to dispense His good news - the New Testament, the very covenant symbolized in that sacrament
Luke 22:20 - And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.IS TO BE SHARED!
Church is intended to be a corporate experience - it is where we share our faith with one another. It is not a dispenser of the gospel.
In the consumeristic model there is a barrier between the seller and buyer, each is safe from the other. That barrier keeps the parties safe from one another. But in the shared experience of church, no such safety barrier exists. We are exposed not only to some vision of God in our heads, or even to God, but to each other.
As was said of Aslan - it is not safe, but it is good.
Technorati Tags:church, sharing, dispensing, safety
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator
