Traditions, Sacred Moments, and Motives

I grew up in a home with a single dad.  We never had elaborate traditions.  I don't blame him one bit for this because family traditions are a lot of work.  With a toddler now running around our house I can understand even more how it's hard for a single parent to spend much more time on anything other than what's essential.  

Contrast that with my wife's family who goes big for holidays and get togethers.  My wife's mom is the queen of decorating!  Her house is always elegant, fun, and creative whatever season it is. Contrast that with my home growing up where we only decorated for Christmas.   We had a tree, maybe some of those plastic candles with the light bulb on top, and maybe a strand of lights out on the front bushes.  Every holiday my wife's family all gathers together for a home cooked meal near made from scratch.  Contrast that with what I grew up with where on thanksgiving we usually went to Shoney's and on Christmas going to a Chinese buffet and one year I remember going to Denny's.

Sometimes I do miss the simplicity of our simple traditions I had growing up but I also cherish and look forward to each and every holiday with my wife's big family while experiencing new ones.  Traditions can be a good thing.  Traditions can change over time, they can fade away, they can become irrelevant, we can develop new ones, we can always revisit them, or we can join in with other people's traditions.  Traditions are great and valuable to society but some things shouldn't be a tradition.

Luke 22:14-19 reads: when the hour came, He(Jesus) reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.  And He said to them, " I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.  For I tell you I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God"  And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves.  For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.  And He took the bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me."

In this passage Jesus didn't start a tradition.  He started a holy and sacred moment.  This holy moment wasn't something to be done for a while, lose interest in, and pick back up again.  This was to never change!  This moment is to remain sacred and set apart to remember what Christ did for us when he took the sin of the world upon His shoulders and paid the penalty for it with His death.

This Easter Sunday there were some firsts for me.  I wore a t-shirt to lead worship(forget the frock) and I knew I was going to say something that had a statistical 100% chance of offending someone who was in church...I asked some people not to participate in communion.  I made sure to welcome our Easter only guests and how much I valued their presence at church today.  I simply asked that if it's just your tradition to come to church on Easter to please let the plate and cup pass without taking communion out of respect for what communion is and the sacredness of the moment.  I challenge our congregation each week to examine the motives of their heart since we are a church where communion is celebrated every Sunday.  Communion isn't something where we come together and check it off our list to win Jesus points and/or feel good about ourselves because we've accomplished something.  We take it and reflect on what Jesus did and remember it was our sin that put Him on the cross.

I asked this of our guests not to shame them or make them feel alienated but because of what is written in 1st Corinthians 11:17-33.  We learn in that passage of scripture that to come and take communion with improper motives, to eat the bread and drink the juice/wine,  we eat and drink judgement on ourselves.  Everyone our congregation was encouraged to do the same thing, to examine their motives for being in church on Easter Sunday before they took the bread and the cup.  I cared enough for our Easter only guests to let them know what is written in scripture about those who take communion with improper motives.  The judgment of God is never to be taken flippantly, He is the creator of the universe and I fear our God because He is righteous and just.

The fear of God is healthy.  Because God is just the consequences of sin are just and the consequences of sin is death.

 God, though, is many things and though He is just He is also a God of grace.  Because of sin my sin my body is the body that deserved to be broken but a perfect and sinless Jesus substituted His body for him.  Because of my sin my blood should have been the blood that was spilled but a perfect and sinless Jesus Christ substituted His blood instated.  Because of my sin I should be the one to die but a perfect and sinless Jesus Christ took the burden of my sin and paid the penalty of death instead.  In communion we remember that moment in history where the sins of the world past, present, and future were placed upon our perfect and holy Lord and God Jesus Christ.  Communion is more than a tradition, it is a sacred and holy moment we are instructed to experience with pure motives, together, as one body of believers for the glory and honor of God!  

Remember your motives this week and live to glorify God in every moment!