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Posts Tagged ‘koinonia’

Words of Jesus

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 8:51
“I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

The words of Jesus are a big deal. So often, we gloss over these almost unbelievable statements that Jesus made while teaching.

In Jesus’s time and for many centuries before and afterward, the spoken word was the primary way of communicating. People would seek out those who were knowledgeable or anointed in order to hear them speak. They would come away from these experiences changed.

Sometimes, even today, this can happen. We will hear of a person who speaks with great charisma and authority that we want to see and hear him/her in person. But, we’re busy people. We seldom “drop everything” just to go and hear someone speak. So, in an effort to recreate these opportunities, we seek out videos of live events, recordings and podcasts, or YouTube. But it’s not quite the same. Not really.

Oh, yes, we now live in the Information Age. If it’s not recorded, then it’s written down. Thousands and thousands of words are being transmitted every day. The written word is everywhere: Internet sites (and blogs like this one), books, magazines, phone texting, and email, just to name a few. We are communicating more and more virtually. But the written word, though powerful in many ways, can never replace the power of the spoken word in person.

This is especially true in relationships. To connect with one another we need to hear and see one another. True communication is a full body experience. Without all the cues, there are lots interpretations that can ensue. We must be willing to gather together.

We cannot go back and experience Jesus in person. We only have a written record. This record, the scriptures, has been cut up, translated, redefined, interpreted, and analyzed by thousands of people, from scholars to backwoods preachers. We are a long way from a firsthand experience.

In the end, it’s just between Christ and me. What do I understand when I read His Words? What do I hear when I speak His Words out loud? What words of Jesus resonate within me? What decisions will I make? What words will I keep? What words will I believe?

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First Fruits at Pentecost

Posted in Feast Days and Holy Days, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 31, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 2:1
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

Pentecost, in Old Testament times, was actually considered a Feast Day. It was a day to bring the “first fruits” of the harvest to the Lord. It was offered in thanksgiving of what had been given to the people.

This day, we are celebrating the high school graduation of our oldest son. In many ways, he is our first fruit. He was a gift of God to us and and now we return him to the will and way of God. He turns 18 in a few more weeks and then he’ll be off to college, seeking his own future, making many of his own choices. Thanks be to God for the gift of our son.

Sergei was a foundling on the streets of Riga, Latvia. He has a few memories of his life in that country, but not many. At one time, he had a family there, but he does not remember how he was separated from them. He was in a boys’ gang for awhile on the street, but he doesn’t really remember how long… it could have been a day, a week, or even longer. When he was found by the police, he was taken to the orphanage and given a birth date and a name on June 27th. On January 21st, 1998, he entered the United States with a new name and a new family. He was chosen by God for a new life.

We gather today as a family to celebrate his harvest…. and God is with us.

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Warnings

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 21:11
And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

Jesus, like many of the earlier prophets, spent much of his teaching time warning people of what was to come, from his own death to the end time. I don’t believe the point of his warnings was to generate fear but a desire for change.

Prophets, futurists and fortune tellers alike base their predictions on what has been and what is now. They look at the trajectory. But the future can change if we change! We must pay attention to the warnings and the possibilities and if we want a different future, we must act.

With all of our wars, pestilences, famines, storms, and pollution, our earth’s trajectory is destruction. When looking at that “big picture” it is overwhelming and yes, even frightening. What can I possibly do to change this path?

If people’s hearts can be healed by love, then the earth can be healed in the same way. I know it sounds so corny, but truthfully, if we are not in relationship with our environment as well as our society, caring for them as we care for our own loved ones, who will? Koinonia (community) is not just the people, it’s place.

I am so small in this, but today, I will think on and do the small things that I can. I will bless my neighbor. I will bless my family and I will bless the earth, so lovingly given by God.

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Born of God

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 1:12, 13b
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God … born of God.

This is the gift of Christ Jesus, to have the flame within ignited by the Spirit of God. We are born… or reborn… this is the root of the saying, “born again.”

As I mentioned before, we all have the light, but our personal light needs to be linked to the Source.

And once that happens, as Paul tells Timothy (2 Timothy 1:6), “… I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you…” We do this through the personal devotion, koinonia [community], and connecting with the flame of others.

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Peter Wept

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 6, 2009| 1 Comment »

Matthew 26:74-75
Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

In Matthew’s version of this story, Peter is confronted with the truth of himself and weeps; a few lines later, Judas confronts himself and commits suicide. Both men felt remorse. Both were overwhelmed by their actions but only one survives. Peter is not mentioned again individually by Matthew, except as within the group of eleven disciples who return to Galilee to see Jesus ascend. But in Luke’s gospel, we see Peter among the gathered disciples and then he rushes to the empty tomb to see it for himself.

Here’s my point: Peter wept when he saw himself in stark reality. Both Luke and Matthew say he wept bitterly which implies how difficult it was for him to accept the truth. But Peter’s response, his next step, was to return to community instead of isolating himself.

When we see the truth of ourselves, our first tendency is to hide and go it alone. But that is not the best way. Isolation is just the beginning of a downward spiral into depression and hopelessness. Nothing we have done or said is beyond surrender to God. Forgiveness is made real by sharing that painful confession with other believers. It is the body of Christ that puts hands and feet on forgiveness and renewal.

I am working my way back into community, into koinonia. Will there be open arms?

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Community = Church

Posted in Lent, Sermon Echoes, tagged , , on March 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Just a quick response to the sermon this weekend. As I mentioned to Craig, his points were good but I still think there is more to community than learning to love ‘annoying’ [or difficult] people, keeping our minds on straight [accepting correction from others], and bringing the world to Jesus. I am more interested now in the koinonia concepts that we have been investigating in the study of Philippians… where there is a commitment and mutual benefit… there must be give and take. See more.

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