Thursday, July 9, 2009

NEW BLOG

Thanks to some help from friends, I am moving my blog to http://craigsbeaton.wordpress.com/ : I will be able to do more with the wordpress software and will hopefully be more devout in posting sermons, thoughts, and more.

Please keep following the Beaton Trail at http://craigsbeaton.wordpress.com/ !



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Monday, March 23, 2009

Bread for the World

This morning we’ve considered the mission of the Father, Son, and Spirit to save the world. And this Table likewise reflects this mission. In John 6:51 Jesus says, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” Here we see that the salvation of the world through Jesus takes on a Eucharistic shape... The life and salvation of the world are connected to eating the flesh of Jesus. The giving of His flesh reflects the Father’s love for the world in giving His Son over to death. Jesus came to do the will of His Father and drank the cup He was given. In order to receive life and salvation from His death on the cross the world must feed upon Him. This ‘eating’ corresponds to the ‘faith’ of those who believe in His name, do not perish, and now possess everlasting life. It is that faith that you express at this Table in eating and drinking the bread and the wine. These actions symbolize your active participation in the death of Christ for as Paul says it is a communion in His body and blood. The elements do not change in substance to become such, but rather by faith we feed upon His flesh though He remains in heaven. It is through this active participation in the flesh of Christ that the Father and Son by the Spirit are now renewing and bringing life to the world. Eventually all the nations of the earth will join us at this Table as men and women, boys and girls, stream into Zion from north, south, east, and west.

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Lent and Life

The season of Lent is really a microcosm, a miniature picture, of the Christian life as a whole. The discipline of denying ourselves, taking up our individual crosses each day, and following in the steps of Jesus should characterize our lives as Christians all year round. This shouldn’t, however, be registered as an argument against the value of Lent. We could make the very argument about the Lord’s Day. The worship, refreshment of body and soul, and works of mercy that characterize this Day are by no means to be confined to one day in seven. Rather by directing our full attention to these practices for one day in seven we are training ourselves to live, work, worship, and rest like this throughout the week. The season of Lent relates to the rest of the year in the same way. By directing our attention to the sufferings and death of Christ and our calling to follow Him in the way of the cross we are cultivating a cruciform, literally cross-formed, life that will be manifest throughout the year. So as you focus on the sufferings and death of Christ; and as you give yourselves to the practices of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting throughout the season of Lent; don’t even begin to entertain the notion that this focus and these practices are somehow unique to these forty days. Rather, allow this focus and these practices to give shape to your lives as individuals and as families. In this way the Church of Jesus will again be known as a house of prayer and alms for the nations of the earth. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen!

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Divisions and the Table

In the sermon we considered how the people of God are always prone to putting obstacles in the way of those who would draw near to God. Nowhere is this propensity more clearly revealed than here at this Table. Think of the ways that various churches rope off the Table and keep folks in the outer courts. If you’re too young, or mentally infirm; if you’ve not been baptized in the correct branch of the church, or are unable correctly to parse out the way in which Christ is/not present spiritually/materially in the bread and the wine, then in many, many traditions, you are not welcome at this Table. In these ways and countless others the church has kept other Christians at a distance and failed to realize the visible unity of the Church that the one loaf symbolizes. Brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, baptism and communing at this Table define who is “in” and who is “out.” This is not the Table of the Reformed, or Episcopalians, or Lutherans, EO, or RC, it is the Table of the Lord. He decides who can come and who can’t. Let the unity that is manifested at this Table shape the way you view and treat your brothers and sisters in Christ both within and without this congregation and our denomination. Strengthened by the body and blood of Christ, endeavor to live peaceably with all those bought with the blood of Christ. You’ve been blessed and given grace in order that you might bless and extend grace to one another and to all men. Rejoice in the grace that you receive at this Table, but don’t keep it all to yourself!

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Put Your Trust in the Lord

In this morning’s Gospel Lesson we will consider John’s account of Jesus clearing the Temple near the beginning of His public ministry. In going after the Temple Jesus was targeting the primary symbol of Jewish identity. Under the old covenant the Temple was the cosmic center of the universe. It was the earthly dwelling place of God, the locus of sacrificial worship, and the center of political influence. Sadly, at times in Israel’s history the symbolic importance of the Temple became an end in itself and the people began to put their trust in the Temple, rather than Yahweh. For many Jews in the first century the Temple had become nothing more than a talisman, a symbol obligating God to bless and protect Israel. And we can so easily do the same with the symbols of God’s presence with us (Word, Sacraments, Prayer). We’re tempted to think that simply by doing these things God is somehow obligated to bless us. But when we do this we turn the means of grace into ends in and of themselves. When Israel began to trust in the Temple rather than in Yahweh, the Temple had to be destroyed. Even so when you begin to trust in your church attendance, devotional practices, or even the sacraments rather than in Jesus Christ, God is not pleased. You are gathered here this morning, not to force God’s hand, but humbly to receive His grace. Your trust shouldn’t be placed in anything we do here this morning, but rather in who Jesus is and what He has done for us and for our salvation.

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Cross and Table

Well this morning we’ve seen how the way of Jesus to the cross has set down both the pattern and basis for our way of the cross. And it is this pattern and basis that we proclaim and celebrate here this morning. For as you pass the bread and proclaim, “My life for yours,” you are proclaiming your willingness to follow Christ in the way of the cross. You’re saying that even as Jesus laid down his life for you, even so you, out of love for Christ, as a result of His gospel, and in accordance with His Word, even so will lay down your life for your one another. You’re saying that just as Jesus denied Himself and took up His cross, even so will you. And yet as you pass the cup and proclaim, “Christ’s blood for your sins,” you are proclaiming your failure to do so. Only Jesus has denied Himself and taken up the way of/to the cross in perfect obedience. And it only as His blood makes you clean that you will be able to follow Him in this way. What would you give in exchange for this bread and wine?

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Move it!

This morning we will consider the summons to follow Jesus in the way of the cross. This sense of movement is central to the Gospel of Mark leading one scholar to call Mark “the gospel of The Way.” Indeed, the Church itself was simply referred to as “the Way” in Acts. This is all quite fitting given the fact that Jesus referred to Himself as “the Way.” But this sense of movement is mostly lost on us, particularly those of us in the Reformed tradition. For us Jesus is at best a person to be studied or still worse a proposition to be affirmed. Sure one of the propositions we affirm is “Jesus is Lord” and so we’ll even throw around expressions like “the obedience of faith,” but I’m concerned that we do all of this while still firmly planted on rear ends! The Lord Jesus Christ, however, has laid down a way that is to be followed, which requires closing our books every once in awhile, turning off our televisions and iPods, and actually employing our bodies in advancing His kingdom. You can even see this movement within the liturgy this morning. As the Lord raises you from your knees in confession to your feet in consecration; and again from your seats in communion to your feet in the commission/benediction; he is training you in the basic movements of life. The Christian life is not static and impersonal, but dynamic, personal, and engaging. So as the Lord engages you this day in Word and Sacrament, be sure to respond by engaging the world for His sake. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

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