A Desert in the Desert

Last week I spoke about how a Church can be an oasis in the desert if love is the foundation of the body. For two Sunday's in a row now I have been treated to an explanation of how a proper worship service is to be conducted, with an emphasis on why God forbids instrumental music during His worship. This is a classic case of where a denomination, (that claims to be non-denominational by the way) that purports to speak where the Bible speaks and is silent where it is silent, very vocally creates a forbidden practice simply because the Bible does not even mention it. This particular non-denominational denomination very much speaks on an issue where the Bible is completely silent.

Be that as it may, I respect this Church and its members tremendously. I have refused to impose my beliefs on any member of this assembly because I know where they stand. I am not sure where Christ stands on this, but I am pretty sure I am regarded as a guest, or a visitor from out of town. Which is kind of funny since we are all visitors from out of town! The point is, I am not there to argue. I am there to worship God. I have come to hear and study the word of God. But, unfortunately, rather than being regarded as a fellow Christian, I am looked upon as as someone who is lost and astray.

Now I will grant you...I am a sinner of the first-rate. I am not proud of that fact. But I accepted Christ as my Savior a long time ago. And as far as I can tell from the scripture, Christ's blood will continue to wash away my sins until I crossover into Paradise.

This past Sunday, something occurred that demonstrated the absolute folly of legalism in a Church. It was time for the communion. One of those most adamant about saving my soul from the evils of instrumental music announced there would be no Lord's Supper tonight. I was very disappointed because nothing draws me nearer to Christ than the partaking of the Lord's Supper. He added that there was no grape juice. So I asked, "did you ask the Chaplain for wine?"

There was a pregnant pause, and the zealous brother said, "I have a thing about using wine for the Lord's Supper."

So I said, "Well, I don't and there may be others here who don't. I'll go ask."

Sure enough, there was wine. So the Chaplain's assistant brought it in and poured cups for all of us and left. We partook of the Lord's Supper and it was the highlight of the worship service for me. I was able to experience the blood and body of Christ with the instruments that were wholly biblical...real wine and real unleavened bread.

I find it alarming that someone would take it upon himself to deny his other brothers in Christ the opportunity to become one with Christ because of his personal prejudice. He was willing to sacrifice the most important part of our being there for his own personal reasons. This brother is a good man. I know he is full of love and he is trying to do the right thing. But when rules and regulations become the focal point of your faith, you tend to lose sight of the really important things about Jesus Christ. You forget about mercy, grace, forgiveness, kindness, and...freedom.

Please do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the freedom to sin. I do not mean the freedom to worship as we see fit. God has given us a pretty good outline on how we are to live our lives and how we are to worship Him. But we do have freedom in Christ. We are not bound by precise codes and regulations for worship services. If the Bible is indeed silent on something, than perhaps God, in His infinite wisdom has seen fit to give us a choice. But I believe that choice is what really disturbs legalists. It should not. The simple truth is that God created man with the ability to think and choose. And as much as we may not like it, He gave us the power to choose whether or not we would serve Him.

The decision to cancel the Lord's Supper due to a personal preference, to me, is far more destructive in worship than to have some old granny plinking on a piano during the worship service she's been playing at for forty years! The Bible is indeed silent on instrumental music. But it is pretty explicit about the Lord's Supper. There isn't a whole lot of wiggle room on this one.

All of this comes back to love. The most loving part of a worship service is the Lord's Supper. There is something mystical that occurs between the partaker and Jesus Christ. When we hold that cup in our hands, and we break the bread together, we are standing or kneeling in the presence of Jesus...of GOD. Some chruches have the passing out of the bread and cup trays down to a science. They can fling them up and down the aisles in a manner that would impress an Olympian discus thrower. But when speed is the utmost concern, you remove the true purpose of the communion. It is a solemn moment. The most solemn moment in the entire service. People should have time to pray and reflect. They should be able to seek forgiveness of any brother they may have offended, before the sacrament. And yet, many churches pass out the trays like a factory line. Sometimes in the early Chruch, we read about the love feast. In the early Church, the Lord's Supper was, literally, a feast to give thanks for Christ's death and His resurrection. Now, as human beings will do, some of these feasts turned out to be drunken bachanallia's, and Paul was quick to put a stop on that practice. So over the years, the Lord's Supper has been dwindled down to a very informal event where you are offered a piece of a saltine cracker and, if you are lucky, a one ounce shot of wine. If you are not so lucky, you get the one ounce shot of grape juice.

What has happened to this blessed event, Communion? Why has it turned into such a meaningless rite of our worship service? I think the problem is that the entire sacramant has fallen prey to checking blocks on somebody's idea of a worship matrix. We do it to check blocks. How many times have those officiating over the distribution really made a point prior to breaking out in their discus teams to toss the plates around, that Christ is among us during the feast? I mean really made the point? Sure, we hear the standard communioin passages from 1Corinthians or maybe John. But how often does someone stand up there and convince you that you are in the presence of the Lord? Listen up, Church...Communion is the moment in worship where you bow before the body of Jesus Christ. It is the point where we all are to be examining our souls and making sure that we are doing this in the manner that pleases the lord. Because He is here! He is among us. He is entering our bodies through the wine (juice for those of you) and the bread.

And why is he entering us in this manner? Every Christian child should know that the wine cleanses our soul from our sins. But many adults do not know that the bread is there to give us strength to face the enemy...Satan. That is why in liturgical Churches, you will often here the statement during the Eucharist, "We realize that we take this wine and this bread for not only solace (comfort in knowing our sins are cleansed away) but for sustenance (to give us strength to face the battles that Satan will throw our way this week) It is a beautiful service that, in a pithy way, sums up the reason why Christ went to the cross. That is why we are commanded to have clear heads when we partake of the communion. We cannot be thinking that "Old Jack Ross screwed me out of a box of ten penny nails last Wednesday," as you hold your cup of wine and stare into Old Jack Ross's eyes. You must clear that thought out and pray for forgiveness for yourself and Old Jack Ross.

I have no evidence to back up what I am about to say. But I believe, with all my heart, that the primary purpose of Church gatherings was to observe the Lord's Supper. And it was to be observed in holiness and reverence. This is not a time for talking and joking in the pews. Your Lord is with you at that moment. We should be in awe that He would lower Himself to come and see us pathetic sinners. But He does come, every time we gather together.

It may seem like I dislike the folks who see me as the prodigal son. I do not. I love them and know their heart. I know they believe they are doing the work of the Lord. But they continue to miss the point that I made last Sunday.

If you do not have love, you are nothing. You may know all the ins and outs of a proper worship, but if you are teaching it and performing it in a manner that resembles a Nazi Party meeting, perhaps your methodology needs some work.

Death is a daily part of our lives here. Nearly every day a soldier dies, every day several Iraqis die, sometimes loved ones back home die. We are under stress...more stress than many of us have ever felt. The last thing that soldiers need right now, is to be told that everything they ever thought about worshiping God was wrong. Most American soldiers have some background in some form of Christianity. So even if they come from a Catholic background and walk into a non-denominational, evangelical Protestant Church, they will at least recognize the cross, the crucifixion, the virgin birth, and the salvation that came through Jesus' death.

If you feel the desire to convert this soldier from his wayward Christian background, the shotgun approach to all his alleged sins is not going to work. Love, love, love. You love him into your fold. Teach him the joys of Christ, the grace of Christ, the mercy of Christ, the forgiveness of Christ. Pick him up, hug him. Tell him he matters because Christ died for him. Feed his soul with what it needs. Put his crazy life here in Iraq in a Christian perspective. Tell him God is by his side when he is on patrol. It is simple. The Church is here to love people to Christ. It is not here to point condemning fingers at the guitar in the front of the Church. Maybe there may come a time for that, if this soldier wants to join a Church that does not use intrumental music during worship. But here in Iraq, there are more important things soldiers need to know about Christ.

And that is the mission of the Church, after all...to preach Christ and Him crucified...the greatest love story of all.