T. David Beck: The Simple Way of Jesus

Of any day of the year, today is the day to have some special reflection on Communion.  Today is the day before Good Friday -- that is, it's Maundy Thursday, the day we commemorate the Last Supper. That's the evening Communion started. For reflection, I offer you two words today to describe what Communion is: miracle meal . It is a miracle because Jesus meets us in a mysterious way in Communion. It's not just a religious practice to jog your memory about the Jesus story. Nor is it merely your own private, special prayer time. Some of Paul's thoughts about Communion are conveyed in 1 Cor 10-11. It is a time of sharing in the body and blood of Christ, and Christ is present in such a way that people can come under judgment by disrespecting Communion. I think it's remarkable that Paul doesn't talk like this about anything else the church does. There's something special about Communion. I conclude that Communion is a miracle, when King Jesus is presen...

James 2 begins like this: 1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? I was reading this today with friends here at King's Harbor, and I was trying to form a picture in my head of what James didn't want and what he did want. He didn't want to see church looking like a typical ancient dinner party, in which people were seated in order of social prominence. Important/rich people at the front, unimportant/poor people in the back -- or maybe outside the door. What would James want a church gathering to look like? W...