I was a little frazzled as I headed towards the front of church for communion. Our self-guided section turned into a mob rather than a line. By the time we half-organized ourselves, I was ready for body, blood, seat. That fast.
I stepped to the front, held my hands out for the wafer, and looked up into the face of our senior pastor. Pastor Mike stopped and looked back at me.
"They're letting everybody in today!" He teased.
It's a joke I've heard many times over the last few years, but it still catches me off-guard every time. I chuckle but my first thought is always, "This is a church; we should be letting everybody in."
To be confronted with this joke at the communion table helped me remember that I am not worthy to even be let in the door much less invited to approach the table of grace or enjoy the sweet taste of forgiveness. This isn't a weekly ritual we do even when the lines turn into mobs... it's a beautiful gift purchased by the ultimate sacrifice.
Pastor Mike placed the wafer in my hand. "Body of our Lord," he said.
In my hands I clutched the tangible reminder of that gift, that forgiveness, that perfect love that I am not worthy of. The body of Christ given for me. The body of our Lord--Pastor Mike's and mine. We may not always agree yet share a common goal: to serve and honor Him. Along with Christians worldwide, we share hope, faith, and forgiveness through Christ. He's our Lord.
"It's good to see you," he said, smacking me playfully in the arm.
I was out of town for the entire month of October. He noticed. Thousands of members and he noticed my absence. Billions of people on earth yet when we haven't spent quality time with the Lord, He notices. Billions of people on earth and when we sit at His feet, He's glad to see us.
I ate the bread, drank the wine, and got lost on my way back to my seat. Both literally among the sea of people and pews but also figuratively in the beauty of that moment I shared with the Lord.
Thankful for grace,
<>< Katie
Showing posts with label Body of Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Body of Christ. Show all posts
Monday, November 7, 2011
Monday, November 8, 2010
Worship Around the Campfire
We sat out by the fire literally in the middle of the woods. No buildings, no platform tents within sight. The trees opened to the stars illuminating the autumn sky. The babbling brook down the hill accompanied our singing. We did a mix of acoustic and a capella worship songs to our God, the Creator of this beautiful moment.
Listening to Mindy's rockstar voice, I'll admit, I got a bit jealous. I enjoy singing; I do a decent job. I don't sound like Mindy. At all.
I watched an eight year old pick and play in the fire. I'm not sure if it's my history of burns or my natural inclination towards safety but I've never been a fire picker. I'm barely brave enough to roast a marshmallow.
I watched Kurt rhythmically strum his guitar. Despite the smoke in his face, his fingers found the frets. Allyson's slowly teaching me guitar. But I only know four chords.
A high schooler cuddled with the camp dog. I've always been more of a cat person, an idea reinforced when I was attacked by dogs a few weeks ago.
A chaperone faithfully kept the fire burning. Not so big that we all had to scoot back. Not so small that we needed additional blankets for heat. Just perfect.
God, I said in my head, You've given Mindy the gift of singing. She sounds wonderful. You've given Kurt the gift to play guitar. It's peaceful. You've given these other folks bravery and fire-building abilities. It's so great that we can all be here together amidst Your beautiful creation to enjoy this moment.
Katie, God responded, not in an audible voice, You're jealous that you can't sing like Mindy, play guitar like Kurt, find a cuddle-buddy in a limping, four-legged friend, and build a fire like the one we've got here. But you know what you can do? Make twenty s'mores in less than five minutes. Ready, set, go.
"I'm ready for some chocolate and graham crackers..."
"Me, too."
Chaos. And I only broke one half of a cracker.
<>< Katie
"Now if the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don’t need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don’t need you!' On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." 1 Corinthians 12:15-27
Listening to Mindy's rockstar voice, I'll admit, I got a bit jealous. I enjoy singing; I do a decent job. I don't sound like Mindy. At all.
I watched an eight year old pick and play in the fire. I'm not sure if it's my history of burns or my natural inclination towards safety but I've never been a fire picker. I'm barely brave enough to roast a marshmallow.
I watched Kurt rhythmically strum his guitar. Despite the smoke in his face, his fingers found the frets. Allyson's slowly teaching me guitar. But I only know four chords.
A high schooler cuddled with the camp dog. I've always been more of a cat person, an idea reinforced when I was attacked by dogs a few weeks ago.
A chaperone faithfully kept the fire burning. Not so big that we all had to scoot back. Not so small that we needed additional blankets for heat. Just perfect.
God, I said in my head, You've given Mindy the gift of singing. She sounds wonderful. You've given Kurt the gift to play guitar. It's peaceful. You've given these other folks bravery and fire-building abilities. It's so great that we can all be here together amidst Your beautiful creation to enjoy this moment.
Katie, God responded, not in an audible voice, You're jealous that you can't sing like Mindy, play guitar like Kurt, find a cuddle-buddy in a limping, four-legged friend, and build a fire like the one we've got here. But you know what you can do? Make twenty s'mores in less than five minutes. Ready, set, go.
"I'm ready for some chocolate and graham crackers..."
"Me, too."
Chaos. And I only broke one half of a cracker.
<>< Katie
"Now if the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don’t need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don’t need you!' On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." 1 Corinthians 12:15-27
Monday, September 13, 2010
Putting on the Towel
I went to a small seminar where Stephanie the leader began to call names for volunteers.
"Keith, Elizabeth, and..."
I knew my name was coming and sure enough it came. The three of us went to the front of the room, and Stephanie began her analogy.
We were a family. Keith was the father and there was no mother. Elizabeth and I were Keith's daughters; we both dropped to our knees and walked towards him. Stephanie narrated that Keith loved us both very much, so he put his arms around our shoulders and held us close. We smiled. Stephanie continued by saying that Keith gave Elizabeth all of the food, the clothes, and everything and told her to take care of her sister (that's me). Then Keith went away but continued to watch on his brand new Nanny Cam.
With Keith no longer between us, there was a gap between Elizabeth and me. Stephanie said Elizabeth ate a big dinner, and I went hungry. Since I truly was hungry at the time it was not difficult to act out: I frowned and rubbed my stomach. While Elizabeth slept in her warm bed, I was left out in the cold without a bed at all.
While aspects of this drama are not Biblically accurate, it does hold some fraction of the truth.
The first chapter of James calls us to care for the widows and orphans. In the time when this was written, widows held no role in society. The least of these.
Plain and simple: He calls us to put the towel on and serve.
Just before Passover, Jesus and His disciples gathered for a meal. The disciples argued over who would wash the feet. This is a dirty job; a job for the lowest one on the totem pole. The job of a servant. Think about it, would you like to wash someone else's feet? Keep in mind the disciples were wearing sandals not nice sneakers. Think of the worst Chaco dirt-tan you've ever seen and then multiple it by twelve. Yucky, right? No wonder they're arguing.
Jesus stands up, leaves the room, and returns wearing a towel around his waist. He gets down on one knee and one by one takes the feet of the disciples and washes them clean. The Lord above all got on His knees and served His friends. The Creator of the feet (and the dirt) caressed the callouses clean of crud. Jesus, the Most High, took the role of the lowest of the low. He served His brothers, and He calls us to do the same.
In today's society, serving is the cool thing to do. People love to stand up and fight for a cause. Look at the fund raisers for New Orleans. For Darfur. For Haiti. For AIDs. For malaria. How many of those projects are Christ-based? Sure, some, but many are not.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, non-Christians are doing our job. They are taking care of one another which is what Christ calls US to do. We serve for a different reason than they do. We serve for God's glory, not our own.
Right?
Or do we sit on our couches for Christ's glory and not our own?
Honestly, when is the last time you served someone in Christ's name? I'm not talking about your Christian roommate or your church. Sure, those things are important, too, absolutely, but that's not what we're discussing today.
When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone, put the towel on, and cared for the least of these? Hugged the man dying of AIDs? Watched the single mother's children for free? Gave food to the homeless man? Reached out to the woman in the abusive situation? The least of these.
"Katie, I don't know anyone with AIDs, dying of hunger, and living on the street."
You're right. Neither do I. Because I haven't taken the time to find them. They exist in my city. I bet they exist in your city, too. They're in line at the soup kitchen every Wednesday begging for something to eat. They're in the nursing homes yearning to be visited. They're in the schools in needing someone to help them with their homework and teach them that they are important. They are all around you waiting to hear the name of Christ. Will you tell them?
Look around you. The world's isn't all hunky dory. It's a matter of opening our eyes and seeing the needs. It's only after physical and emotional needs are met that we can be God's mouthpiece to reach the spiritual needs. Do you truly believe that there are "greater things still to be done in this city"? Why aren't you out there doing them?
Otherwise it's like Stephanie's sketch where Keith told me he loved me, but I didn't see it because Elizabeth had all of the food and I had none. I saw that Keith loved Elizabeth, but I could not see how he loved me. If she would take the time to show me rather than tell me Dad loved me, I might have believed her.
<>< Katie
Note: I am preaching to myself here just as much as I am preaching to anyone else.
"Keith, Elizabeth, and..."
I knew my name was coming and sure enough it came. The three of us went to the front of the room, and Stephanie began her analogy.
We were a family. Keith was the father and there was no mother. Elizabeth and I were Keith's daughters; we both dropped to our knees and walked towards him. Stephanie narrated that Keith loved us both very much, so he put his arms around our shoulders and held us close. We smiled. Stephanie continued by saying that Keith gave Elizabeth all of the food, the clothes, and everything and told her to take care of her sister (that's me). Then Keith went away but continued to watch on his brand new Nanny Cam.
With Keith no longer between us, there was a gap between Elizabeth and me. Stephanie said Elizabeth ate a big dinner, and I went hungry. Since I truly was hungry at the time it was not difficult to act out: I frowned and rubbed my stomach. While Elizabeth slept in her warm bed, I was left out in the cold without a bed at all.
While aspects of this drama are not Biblically accurate, it does hold some fraction of the truth.
The first chapter of James calls us to care for the widows and orphans. In the time when this was written, widows held no role in society. The least of these.
Plain and simple: He calls us to put the towel on and serve.
Just before Passover, Jesus and His disciples gathered for a meal. The disciples argued over who would wash the feet. This is a dirty job; a job for the lowest one on the totem pole. The job of a servant. Think about it, would you like to wash someone else's feet? Keep in mind the disciples were wearing sandals not nice sneakers. Think of the worst Chaco dirt-tan you've ever seen and then multiple it by twelve. Yucky, right? No wonder they're arguing.
Jesus stands up, leaves the room, and returns wearing a towel around his waist. He gets down on one knee and one by one takes the feet of the disciples and washes them clean. The Lord above all got on His knees and served His friends. The Creator of the feet (and the dirt) caressed the callouses clean of crud. Jesus, the Most High, took the role of the lowest of the low. He served His brothers, and He calls us to do the same.
In today's society, serving is the cool thing to do. People love to stand up and fight for a cause. Look at the fund raisers for New Orleans. For Darfur. For Haiti. For AIDs. For malaria. How many of those projects are Christ-based? Sure, some, but many are not.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, non-Christians are doing our job. They are taking care of one another which is what Christ calls US to do. We serve for a different reason than they do. We serve for God's glory, not our own.
Right?
Or do we sit on our couches for Christ's glory and not our own?
Honestly, when is the last time you served someone in Christ's name? I'm not talking about your Christian roommate or your church. Sure, those things are important, too, absolutely, but that's not what we're discussing today.
When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone, put the towel on, and cared for the least of these? Hugged the man dying of AIDs? Watched the single mother's children for free? Gave food to the homeless man? Reached out to the woman in the abusive situation? The least of these.
"Katie, I don't know anyone with AIDs, dying of hunger, and living on the street."
You're right. Neither do I. Because I haven't taken the time to find them. They exist in my city. I bet they exist in your city, too. They're in line at the soup kitchen every Wednesday begging for something to eat. They're in the nursing homes yearning to be visited. They're in the schools in needing someone to help them with their homework and teach them that they are important. They are all around you waiting to hear the name of Christ. Will you tell them?
Look around you. The world's isn't all hunky dory. It's a matter of opening our eyes and seeing the needs. It's only after physical and emotional needs are met that we can be God's mouthpiece to reach the spiritual needs. Do you truly believe that there are "greater things still to be done in this city"? Why aren't you out there doing them?
Otherwise it's like Stephanie's sketch where Keith told me he loved me, but I didn't see it because Elizabeth had all of the food and I had none. I saw that Keith loved Elizabeth, but I could not see how he loved me. If she would take the time to show me rather than tell me Dad loved me, I might have believed her.
<>< Katie
Note: I am preaching to myself here just as much as I am preaching to anyone else.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Magnificent Microwave Meals
This morning, I hadn't even put in my contacts yet when my roommates started sassing me. "Have you blogged yet today?" "PLEASE blog about last night!" "Katie, you're such a slacker blogger!" "Tell your eleven readers what we did last night!" They just like to see their times in print. Sorry to disappoint, ladies, but I am not going to explain how we managed to "seat" eight people on the futon... in three different positions. Enjoy the photo saga on facebook instead because words cannot do justice to the laughter that filled our apartment around 1am this morning.
Since school was closed today no one really wanted to eat in the cafeteria. We knew we'd be on day number four of whatever they could scrounge up from the back room and the pickings from that back room were getting grim on day two! Breakfast/lunch is typically one meal for us and can be made in the apartment thanks to our random supply of items.
Dinner, on the other hand, is more of a challenge since we don't have an oven/stove. Gourmet microwave meals only go so far. Either way, we needed to face the "icy roads" on the mile and a half trek to the grocery store. The problem is that none of the girls in our apartment who (a) drive and (b) have a car felt comfortable making this treacherous voyage. They called upstairs for one of the guys to take us to the store. It was around that time that I announced I wasn't going; Elizabeth felt my participation in this escapade was not optional.
Then why are we finding a driver? Even though I don't enjoy driving, I was well over-qualified for this dangerous excursion on dry roads.
"Get in the car, girls," I said and was expecting a repeat from the other night. Lucky for me, the only useless question was, "Which car is yours?" Clearly the one with out-of-state plates and no snow on it because I'm the only one with a real snowscraper. Pray for me in this foreign country...
Our spontaneous dinner plans turned from microwave lasagna to raw hamburgers in .7 seconds. Our apartment is going to smell like grille forever! However, I accept that because we had a wonderful time making hamburgers, chip dip, macaroni and cheese, and cookies all without a stove! That takes skill.
Since school was closed today no one really wanted to eat in the cafeteria. We knew we'd be on day number four of whatever they could scrounge up from the back room and the pickings from that back room were getting grim on day two! Breakfast/lunch is typically one meal for us and can be made in the apartment thanks to our random supply of items.
Dinner, on the other hand, is more of a challenge since we don't have an oven/stove. Gourmet microwave meals only go so far. Either way, we needed to face the "icy roads" on the mile and a half trek to the grocery store. The problem is that none of the girls in our apartment who (a) drive and (b) have a car felt comfortable making this treacherous voyage. They called upstairs for one of the guys to take us to the store. It was around that time that I announced I wasn't going; Elizabeth felt my participation in this escapade was not optional.
Then why are we finding a driver? Even though I don't enjoy driving, I was well over-qualified for this dangerous excursion on dry roads.
"Get in the car, girls," I said and was expecting a repeat from the other night. Lucky for me, the only useless question was, "Which car is yours?" Clearly the one with out-of-state plates and no snow on it because I'm the only one with a real snowscraper. Pray for me in this foreign country...
Our spontaneous dinner plans turned from microwave lasagna to raw hamburgers in .7 seconds. Our apartment is going to smell like grille forever! However, I accept that because we had a wonderful time making hamburgers, chip dip, macaroni and cheese, and cookies all without a stove! That takes skill.
"This tastes like a homecooked meal," someone remarked.
Correction: This IS a homecooked meal.
Sitting on the floor with real plates on our laps, we thanked God and each other for this meal. Every single one of us was vital in the creation of our dinner. I braved the weather and drove to the store. Adam and Allyson cooked burgers. Nikki found us a George Forman (shhh! Don't tell!). Ryan provided real plates. Amy found the ketchup, and Elizabeth used her mad skills to make Mac & Cheese. No one of us could take the credit for our meal. It was a group effort.
Just like every one of us had a unique role in tonight's dinner, we each have our unique part in the Body of Christ. In Romans 12, Paul outlines this idea when he writes,
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Well done, ladies! (And gentlemen).
<>< Katie
PS: It has also come to my attention that Mr. Kassakatis has been spewing cruel words regarding my blog. This harsh criticism will not be taken personally for I realize Mr. Kassakatis is merely jealous that he cannot communicate as well as I do. I am truly sorry. (not so much).
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