Jesus, The Chosen One

A friend recently asked for the lyrics to this song, and I figured - especially for my Open Door family that enjoy this song - that it wouldn't hurt to give some explanation of how it came about:

Rise up sons of splendor
and bow before His throne.
Rise up sons of splendor
and praise the Chosen One.

He is the Seed of Israel,
The Promised One of God.
He is our Priest and Sacrifice,
Our Covenant of Blood.
He is the Resurrected Son,
The Victor over death.
He is the Interceding One;
Let everything with breath
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

About seven years ago I was reading the book of Hebrews. It was a time that I had little direction, little focus and was daily asking myself what I was going to do "with the rest of my life." As I read, I began to write down a few strands of thought that grabbed my attention as biblical themes. These themes brought such a renewed sense of assurance in God's character and Christ's goodness, so I started looking harder at the "big picture" of the book of Hebrews.

Suddenly, I was arrested by a thought: Jesus, is my great high priest; Jesus is my sacrificial lamb. He is my priest and sacrifice. Only an amazing man - only an amazing God could accomplish this mysterious and wonderful double-reality. A wave of joy filled my heart and I dug through the text to find more connections, more themes, more joy and comfort. The inevitable happened. I found the blessed truth that the more I focused on God's amazing grace, nature, and salvation, the less I was concerned with me. I became less focused on what "I was going to do" and more amazed at what Jesus, my priest, my sacrifice, had done.

As the lyrics fell together (a simple set of statements - barely 100 words and nothing to impress by way of composition), I found how to begin the song. I had to begin with where I had been led - to utter surrender and utter allegiance to the King of Kings, the only Messiah, the only wise God. Chapter 2 rung in my ears: "10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." To be bought with such a price, the suffering of my captain, my king! This thought resulted in an unexpected reality: I am a son of the Glorious One - a son of splendor. The privilege and honor of such grace took shape in the first few lines. What should I do, then, in response to such privilege? Bow and rejoice.

Upon these simple lines of poetry rests my view of election. Jesus is the Chosen One. He is the one toward whom all history, all of God's gracious acts, all of the scripture was bending. He is the One in whom God the Father is "well pleased." He is the One to whom all honor is due. He is the one that deserves all focus and attention. Election is not about me. It is about Jesus. However it is that I share in this blessing; by whatever secret or obvious truth that I am brought into Him, by whatever process I become a child of the King, a son of splendor; I have only one response: bow and rejoice.

You will notice an intentional lack of the first person pronoun in this song. It is the lesson that I learned, the lesson that I hope encourages you today: focus on Jesus. He is the reason. He is the hinge pin of the entire created order - the point of it all. Avoid sowing the seeds of 'I' and 'me' today and, instead, reap the blessings of 'He' and 'Him'. Just think of who He Is.

Ministering a Person

I've been thinking a lot this week about the current topic of our internship program: "ministering the word." We've been talking about serving the congregation at our church with the truth of the scriptures in a public venue (preaching) and in private (counseling). But I have been pondering something, and it was articulated by a wonderful pastor who spoke at a table-talk forum Monday night. He was talking about the fact that we, as ministers of the gospel, are ministering a person to other people. To say it in another way, we are administering Jesus to people through the scriptures.

This really got me thinking about Communion as another ministry of the Word. What I'm a bit concerned about in my denomination is that we've done such a good job at emphasizing the primacy of scripture that we've neglected a fundamental aspect of "administering Jesus" via the Eucharist (or Communion or the Lord's Supper/Table or what-have-you).

Here, in the breaking of bread and pouring out of wine, we have the clearest God-Given, Jesus-Authorized, communal, multimedia presentation of the gospel. (Yes, baptism has its wonderful place, but let's be honest...it is not as multi-sensory and especially not communal in the same way as sharing food and drink together.) This is ministry of the Word himself - an administration of Jesus that has special significance. But what are we, as Baptists especially, doing with it?

We tend to sequester it to a quarterly function, or deprive it by giving very little teaching on it, or economize it by using boxes of "bread" and pre-fab packets of juice. I wonder, "Where is the robust flavor of grain? Where is the "spare no expense" attitude that comes with purchasing wine?" Are we "cheapening" Communion in more ways than one?

The questions of frugality and frequency don't trouble me quite as much as a related issue, however (and here's where I'm really concerned). The "hard-tack," the grape juice, and the infrequency are typically combined with an element of solemnity (which is not inappropriate in and of itself), but it's almost as if these are all flowing together so that no one will enjoy any part of the wonderful act of Communion. What's not to enjoy?

I wonder if we're forgetting what Jesus is showing us in the breaking of the bread and the pouring out of wine - a celebratory meal in the context of Passover, of freedom. I wonder if we're forgetting what Luke is pointing to at the close of his Gospel narrative (Lk 24.31-32) and the beginning of his narrative in Acts (2.42-43) - that Jesus is known in the breaking of bread and his followers are known by it. In the Eucharist we are administering a person to people. I'm not talking about Transubstantiation. I'm talking about a demonstration of a multimedia, multi-sensory act that administers Jesus - who he is, what he does, what he is really like - in some ways - more than words are able. It's a special, solemn, exciting, celebratory, heart-wrenching expression of who God is. What is God like? He breaks himself, pours himself out, and says "put this into yourselves," and offers a new life and a new way of living.

Isn't this a crucial means of ministering the Word - of administering Jesus - to people? And doesn't this act stand in the gap between private and public ministry of the Word - being both individual and corporate?

Now, I've likely written more things than I should. So, I'm going to wrap this up. If you've read this, then I'd like to know your thoughts. Does what I'm saying make sense? Could it be time for a change of focus, a change of practice, and a change in perspective that says "Communion is important, so let's highlight it, celebrate it, and spare no expense in it to enjoy this wonderful gift." Should we be administering Jesus in a different way?