SOME SAY CHURCH, BUT I SAY ECCLESIOLOGY

WE NEED TO TALK MORE ABOUT ECCLESIOLOGY

 

I am a student of the Church. Some of my earliest memories involve being in church. In fact, I have no recollection of never going to church on a Sunday. But, before I was a teenager, I knew that I was increasingly bored during the church services. On one occasion, I came up with an ingenious idea on how to get out of going to church. The idea came to me when I realised that if a car's battery went flat, the car could not start. I then reasoned, that if, on a Saturday, if I went to our family car and opened the car’s glove box - so that the little glovebox light would stay on, then, by Sunday morning, the car’s battery would probably become flat by then! The result would be that I wouldn’t have to go to church that Sunday. The next day, my younger brother and sister and I got into the family car to go off to church as usual. Only I knew that the car would not be able to start. But alas. It did start! And off to church we went. My plan had been foiled. Never again would I attempt such a less than genius plan. In fact, it wouldn’t be too long before going to church became one of my greatest delights.  

THE DAY CHAPPO TURNED UP

Before I was fifteen years of age, my church experience involved going into an old, dark building with a huge timber cathedral ceiling held together by hundreds of massive metal bolts. In the duller moments of the church service I would attempt to count the number of these bolts, but never successfully. Then one day, my world changed. The minister, Rev. Peter Payne, invited Canon John Chapman, from Sydney, to be the guest speaker. He spoke in a way that I had never heard anyone speak. He had my attention. Even though I had been going to church all of my life, I had never heard anyone speak like John Chapman. He obviously also had an impact on my parents too because, from that moment, my parents, and that means “we”, all went to church Sunday morning and evening services! 

When I turned 15 after the visit of Canon John Chapman, I went through the preparation for Confirmation. I met with Rev. Payne one-on-one as he unpacked the implications of the gospel. He asked me read Paul's Epistle to the Romans. I did so using the Living Bible, a recent paraphrase by Kenneth Taylor. By the time I finished reading Romans, my heart was transformed and my eyes were opened. Perhaps it was the seeds sown by John Chapman's recent visit, or the pastoral care and discipleship by the prayerful Peter Payne, or the careful reading of Paul's Epistle to the Romans, but the process of preparing for Confirmation was turning point in my life. In the ensuing years I was to have several more turning points, and with each turning point, I was to grow in my understanding of what a ‘Church’ was. The next turning point for me, and for my parents, was how the church seemed to force Peter Payne to leave our church.

WHO IS THAT PREACHER?

I was  probably too young to understand what had happened to Rev. Peter Payne after I was Confirmed. As far as I can recall, he was apparently “too evangelical”. At the time, I didn’t know what evangelical meant, but whatever it meant, it had apparently upset some of the members of the vestry to the extent that they wanted Rev. Payne to leave.

I cannot recall any message that Peter Payne preached. As I said earlier, I do recall Rev. Payne speaking to me during the Confirmation preparation. I also recall him coming around to our home to see my parents who were facing some challenges. Interestingly, it was a few years later, after I had begun the voracious habit of listening to audio cassettes from Bible teachers from the Christian Cassette Lending Library (New South Wales), that I found another cassette in our lounge room that I couldn't identify. I listened to it and was very impressed with the calibre of preacher. In fact, he was amazing. I wanted to hear more from this incredible preacher. I took the cassette out to have a closer look at it for any identification of who this preacher might be. To my astonishment, it was the Reverend Peter Payne! All those years of Sundays that I sat in the church when he was preaching there, and I couldn’t hear him! But after listening to him on that cassette, I realised what I must have actually been missing out on while I sat there during his sermons. Instead of listening, I had been trying to count wooden truss bolts! As a preacher this discovery has taught me the importance of ‘demanding’ that people listen to what I have prepared for the good of their soul in what I am preaching. This is one of the reasons why I have never read my notes during the sermon.

CONFIRMATION TO PENTECOST

The first time I visited a Pentecostal church was a Sunday night down the Bellarine Peninsular. My dad had been introduced to a Christian businessman, Murray Harkness, who was also a lay pastor of a small Pentecostal church. I was only 16-years old. My earliest memories of church was the church that I was confirmed in. Therefore, for most of my 16-years, I had only experienced a liturgical church. But this  little Ocean Grove Pentecostal church had no organ, no prayer book, no priest, no choir, and no order of service! I was well and truly out of my comfort zone. I suspect that Murray must have suggested to my parents that if they wanted to go to a Pentecostal church, there was one in downtown Geelong (instead driving all the way out to Ocean Grove). And this is how we came to become a part of the oddly named, Apostolic Church. The contrast between the church I grew up compared with the church that I fell into for nearly 5 years, contributed to my later fascination with what the bible prescribed for what constituted a church. This eventually led to a quest - a quest to understand as much as I could about Christ's plan for His Church. This is how I became a student of the Church and therefore the study of ecclesiology. If you're interested, I have things to share about what constitutes ‘a church’ in the next few posts. 

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

MATTHEW 16:17-19

WHEN JESUS SPOKE, PEOPLE DID MORE THAN LISTEN

 

Jesus is universally admired. Based on the work of J. Warner Wallace, in his book, Person of Interest, every major religion has respect for Jesus and what He taught. No other religious leader has been so highly regarded. Yet, no other religious leader has been more misrepresented by other religions! This is why if anyone really wants to know who Jesus is, and what He taught, it is best to go direct to the source — the Gospels. But beware. If you do, you will likely be surprised. Jesus spent time speaking with young children, invalids, the ill, women, and despised, the rejected, the hated, and the arrogant. But it’s not just that He spoke with these often overlooked people—it’s how these people responded when He did. If I have one big regret about my preaching, it is that I never learnt how to speak to people like Jesus obviously did. If you read the Gospel of Matthew you may be shocked how Jesus spoke to those in power – especially religious leaders. If you read the Gospel of John you may be shocked how outrageous Jesus’ very public claims sounded – especially when it sounded like He said that if anyone destroyed the thirty-six acres of the Temple precinct, which had taken 46-years to build, He could rebuild it in just three days! And if you read the Gospel of Luke you may be stunned by how Jesus spoke publicly to certain high-profile people but even more stunned by how those people responded to Jesus. And this is what I want to discuss very briefly, but I want to cheat because I want to draw upon the poetry of William Thompson to do so.   

 

WHAT JESUS SAID

You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
¶ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
¶ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs,
which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.
So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Matthew 23:24-28

All of Matthew 23 is the record of Jesus denouncing the Jewish religious scribes, Pharisees, and Rabbis, with very strong language. Yet how did Jesus pronounce these denouncements? As harsh as these statements sound on paper, as the above excerpt demonstrates, those whom He was addressing must have heard Jesus caring for them with great tenderness and sincerity. I wish I could preach the truth like this!

 

THE WAY JESUS SAID IT

¶ There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Luke 13:1-5

At one point, Jesus was asked who the worst sinners were. His answer was jaw-dropping.

“Everyone!”

“Yes, but who needs to repent?” He was asked.

“Everyone!” Jesus answered.

Imagine being in the crowd hearing this from Jesus. Now imagine this. How would you feel if I came up to you and said, “I tell you the truth; unless you repent, you will perish for eternity!” This is what Jesus told the crowds who had come to hear Him. And while not everyone accepted what Jesus said, many did as we later read in the Book of Acts (Acts 15:5). Perhaps those whose hearts were closed and cold to Christ merely heard an angry condemning man. But perhaps those who were open to Jesus heard a man whom they knew loved them and cared for them? And those many who did heard an extraordinary man who loved them deeply, and cared for them immeasurably. 

 

WHEN WILLIAM LAMARTINE THOMPSON MET JESUS

William L. Thompson was born in Ohio in 1847. He studied music as a young and was talented enough to be invited to study music in Germany. After some time in Germany, he returned to America and became a popular song-writer for famous performing artists. But Thompson also began to experience rejections from music publishers. During this difficult phase of his life he turned to Christ. He had begun reading through the Gospels with fresh zeal and discovered that the Jesus described in those Gospels was deeply caring, very tender especially with women and children and anyone who truly turned to Him. Even though he had started his own music publishing company and also a music store in Ohio, his focus and priorities had now changed.

In the 1870s there were many people in the America and the United Kingdom who were coming to Christ under the evangelistic ministry of Dwight L. Moody. Thompson was certainly aware of the great evangelist. He had moved from writing popular songs to writing hymns. He wrote a hymn that he felt was appropriate for the type of evangelistic meetings that Mr. Moody was conducted. He called it, an invitation hymn. It was designed to come after the sermon and led to what had become referred to as ‘the altar call’ where people were invited to receive Christ and become a Christian. The invitation hymn was called, Softly and Tenderly. When D.L. Moody first heard it he insisted that they begin using it in their revival meetings. In fact, it almost became known  as D.L. Moody song! As the aged Mr. Moody was confined to what would be his death-bed, he called for Mr. Thompson and told him: 

“I would rather have written ‘Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling’ than anything I have been able to do in my whole life.” – D.L. Moody

I first heard this hymn when popular, but troubled, Australian singer, Debbie Byrne sang it at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl’s Carols by Candle Light. Knowing some her horrific life journey, I was deeply moved by her rendition of this song. Because I admit that I have been unable to convey through any sermon that I ever preached just how loving, caring, gentle, and just, Jesus is, I now feel that if I cite William Thompson’s Softly and Tenderly to make this case, I am cheating legitimately. I conclude with the words of his beautiful song:

1 Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
calling for you and for me;
see, on the portals he’s waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.

Refrain:
Come home, come home;
you who are weary come home;
earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home!

2 Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies,
mercies for you and for me? [Refrain]

3 Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
passing from you and from me;
shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
coming for you and for me. [Refrain]

4 O for the wonderful love he has promised,
promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,
pardon for you and for me. [Refrain]

I hope you will agree that Will Thompson’s invitational hymn beautifully presents Christ. Perhaps even more potentially, I hope this song helps you, and those you know, to hear how Jesus really sounded, when He called people to repent — and perhaps might help us to realise how Jesus still sounds when He calls people to repent today when they hear Him invite, “Come home.” And, I hope this song helps you to understand why when Jesus spoke people did more than just listen – they responded to Him gladly and were eternally grateful for doing so.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

DUMB PRAYERS THAT I HAVE PRAYED AND GOD HAS ANSWERED OVER THE YEARS

Over the past nearly 29-years of pastoring Legana I have occasionally mentioned that one day I would write about “the dumb prayers that I’ve prayed.” It’s not really that they are all ‘dumb’ prayers, it’s that they are the kind of prayers that are guaranteed to be answered by God (because they are “surrendered” prayers) but have not been fully considered what God’s answer might entail. I do not consider the more well-known and obvious “dumb” prayers – such as praying for revival to bring in hundreds of lost/lonely/broken souls into the kingdom and then being surprised by God’s answer resulting in exhaustion, burn-out, over-stretched resources, spiritual attacks, and the inevitable pride. Neither do I consider the even more obvious “dumb” prayer for patience and humility and the resultant means (difficult people and obvious trials!) by which such a prayer can only be answered. Instead, I begin with a prayer I prayed as a teenager then others that I prayed down through the years which have led me to this unexpected point. What I hope, and pray, you might discover after you have read this is something which will might benefit you in your knowledge of God and how He often answers prayers.

.

WHAT’S THE POINT OF PRAYING THEN?

There a different ways to pray. Some prayers can be verbalised. Some prayers can be silent. Some prayers are spontaneous. Some prayers are prepared. Some prayers are prayed in private and are clumsy. Some prayers are prayed in public and are clever. Some prayers are long. Some prayers are short – even just one word. Whatever way you pray, there are three things you need to keep in mind.

¶ “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ¶ “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
JESUS THE CHRIST, Matthew 6:5-7

Firstly, when we pray, we are talking to God. When praying at a public occasion we are still praying to God and we are praying on behalf of those present. Out of respect for those who are present these public-occasion prayers should be well considered. This is why I recommend writing such prayers out and reading them with passion when prayed in public. Otherwise, the pray-er often sounds confuddled with mindless phrases such as this prayer I have heard many times:

“Father God, oh Father God, Father God Lord, I [pause] I come to You to pray Father God, Father God Lord. Yeah [pause] Amen.”

(Perhaps this should go in the obvious dumb prayer category because I have no idea what is being prayed for.)

Secondly, when we pray, particularly in private, our words don’t particularly matter. There are not ‘right’ words to use in prayer. Prayer is not magic. Prayer is not like a Harry Potter spell. Prayer is coming from your spirit to God’s Spirit (Rom. 8:26; 1Cor. 2:11). God hears your heart when you pray.

Thirdly, God always hears our prayer but does not always answer our prayer/s they way we want. Prayer should be an expression of worship for God and trust in Him. When we pray we should also trust God with the timing of His answer not just the ‘how’ of His answer. One of the most inspirational books on prayer that I ever read — which had an enormous influence on my life — wasn’t even a book on prayer! It was the story of Dawson Trotman. As a young man he came to Christ and together with a few other guys they began praying for people, then nations, to come to Christ. Before his tragic drowning death as he rescued a young drowning girl, he had remarked that nearly everything he had prayed for some twenty-years earlier had been answered positively by God. “I now have” he said, “one regret – not that I didn’t pray enough, but that I didn’t pray for enough!” Dawson Trotman became one of Billy Graham’s intercessors and the founder coordinator of evangelism follow-up ministry called the Navigators. 

The point of praying is that we are invited by our heavenly Father to extend the reign of His Son over the earth through the ordinance of prayer. When we pray “Thy kingdom come!” we may not fully grasp either importance or the impact of our praying. 

 

WHAT’S ‘PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT’ THEN?

Christianity is the only ‘religion’ that regards prayer as a God-focused and God-empowered conversation. Jesus taught that after He had ascended back to the Father that it was imperative for His disciples to wait for the outpouring of the promised gift of the Holy Spirit who had been with the disciples up until that point, but when He would be poured out into the earth He would be in the disciples (Jn. 14:17). Other religions regard prayer quite differently. Some religions teach adherents that prayer is like meditation and needs to be mindless, while other religions teach their adherents that prayer involves the recitation of certain words sometimes in a language unknown to the pray-er such as Latin or Arabic. But Christianity teaches worshipers of the Creator and LORD to pray “in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18; Jude 20). This can be (i) praying a Spirit-gifted language that involves the Spirit-baptised believer speaking in tongues to God in prayer (1Cor. 14:2); or, (ii) praying in your heart-language in a way that the Spirit leads you to pray (1Cor. 14:15).

¶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Romans 8:26

 

WHAT’S GOD DOING IN ME WHEN I PRAY THEN?

When C.S. Lewis’s wife, Joy, was dying of bone cancer, Jack (C.S.) was seen praying everyday in the nearby Anglican chapel. The Rector asked him if he was praying to change God about Joy’s prognosis? Jack replied, “No, I’m praying for God to change me!” Since prayer is a worshipful conversation with God, there is a high likelihood that when we pray throughout our day as our spirit communes with God that our spirit is also ‘hearing’ unconsciously from God. This perhaps is even more pronounced when we pray in tongues to God. Therefore, what may surprise praying worshipers is just how much they positively change as they wait on God in prayer seeking His face rather than His attention (Jn. 15:7). 

 

MY DUMB PRAYERS

I consider a ‘dumb’ prayer to be one that the pray-er had not fully considered the implications of how God might answer that prayer. The unconsidered implications are especially its cost, discomfort, inconvenience, and potential suffering. At one point I was prayerfully begging God to redeem and rescue the hurting, lost, lonely and broken people of my community. Those who have experienced my pastoring will be aware how God answered that prayer and how at times it was overwhelming. Then I developed a deep concern for the unwell. Again, those who are aware of my pastoral journey will know that I began a season some time ago, when for every significant health issue that someone came to me for prayer, was actually put on me. On several occasions this resulted in me being hospitalised. The list of ‘dumb prayers’ below are only the first half of these answered prayers. I am leaving the second-half — the implications — to your imagination. These are some of my ‘dumb’ prayers over the years that God has answered and as a result I have been transformed and become more responsive to God’s will:

🥺 Father, send me wherever You want – but please don’t make it an easy place. Make it a really hard place spiritually. Make it a place where few of Your servants are prepared to go! [Prayed before Kim and I moved to Tasmania.]

🥺 Lord God, fill me with Your love. Give me Your compassion for the hard-to-love. Help me oh God to truly see people and to truly hear them! [Prayed after Kim and I moved to Tasmania.]

🥺 Jesus, help me to understand Your Word. Show me what Your Word really says and to see past what I have been taught and told Your Word says to see what Your Word truly says! [Prayed regularly while in Tasmania.]

🥺 Holy Spirit, please rescue the lost, the lonely, the broken, the hurting, the confused, and the unloved! Holy Spirit, please bring them into the Kingdom of Christ through Your church! Help me to love them, heal them, and care for them. In the meantime, please fill Your people with Your love and power to be the hands and the feet to offer the love, the care, and the Father’s adoption to these needy people. [Prayed very recently while in Tasmania.]

🥺 Lord GOD, give me the time I need to complete this PhD with Monash and help me to navigate each of the challenges that will arise in doing so! [Prayed very regularly in Tasmania at the moment.]

🥺 Father, help me to hear Your voice and to heed Your Word! In fact, help me to make a difference both now and for the next four centuries by what I will leave behind [Prayed presently while preparing to depart Tasmania for wherever God will lead us.]

🥺 God, have Your way in my life! Make me, shape me, and break me, to be conformed to Your will! [Prayed presently while preparing to depart Tasmania for wherever God will lead us.]

 

PRAYING FOR GOD’S WILL TO BE DONE IS NEVER DUMB

I am a Pentecostal, but I do not hold to the Word-of-faith / Prosperity-gospel. As a Pentecostal I believe that the gifts of the Spirit are still available and will be so until the eschaton (“the Last Day” referred to in John 6:39-44, 54; 11:24; 12:48).Thus, I believe that the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit still performs miracles – including transforming lost souls into saved saints. But I also believe – not because I am a Pentecostal, but because I am a Bible-believing Christian – that God is good and always does good. This means that God has a good will and that I need to pray according to His will — even when I do not like His will! My ultimate example to pray according to God’s will is the record of Jesus in Gethsemane just before He went to the cross. And therefore, so should we.

Again, for the second time, He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”  And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.
Matthew 26:42-44

Thus, praying for God’s will to be done in your life is never dumb!

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

WELCOME THEM - SO THAT MY HOUSE MAY BE FULL

Who is welcomed into your home especially if they are unexpected, unannounced and unknown? As Jesus travelled around Israel He often told a story which His disciples would have repeatedly heard. It was the story of a nobleman who was hosting a great banquet in his large home and had invited other nobles (his countrymen) to be his guests. But one after another each made a weak excuse for not attending. The nobleman then told his servant to go and invite the outcasts to be his guests instead.

But He said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.
And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited,
‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses.
The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it.
Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen,
and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’  And another said,
‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
So the servant came and reported these things to his master.
Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant,
‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’
And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.
Luke 14:16-23

I wonder if this nobleman hosting this banquet had a family? If so, how might they have felt seeing the homeless, the unwashed, the less-abled, and the uncouth come to this banquet in their large and pristine family home? How would they have felt seeing their father heartily greeting and embracing these strangers as they came into their home? This parable reveals something shocking about who Jesus is. While many of Christ’s parables are clearly about Him – is this parable? If Christ is in this parable, which of the characters portrays Him? The noble? The servant? The formally invited? The outcasts who actually and gladly came to the banquet? Perhaps this parable is about Christ’s church – His followers? Let’s consider these options and who Jesus was addressing this parable to.

 

WHO IS WHO?

The Nobleman?

Could the nobleman represent Christ? In this parable the nobleman is wealthy and enjoying the trappings of wealth. We see that he was generous, and hospitable. Certainly these are qualities of Christ. We also see that the nobleman was rejected. Christ was also rejected. “He came to His own” John tells us, “and His own did not receive Him!” (Jn. 1:11). We discover that the nobleman is deeply compassionate man who cared for the despised. This too was trait of Christ (Mark 6:34).

The Servant?

If the nobleman was Christ, then it might follow that the servant was His Church (comprised of His followers). After all, the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) certainly resembles the charge that the nobleman gave to his servant. But could it be that the nobleman in Christ’s parable is actually the Father? In which case, this would make the Servant Christ Himself. The Old Testament prophets certain foresaw the coming messiah as the Servant of the Lord (Isa. 52:13; 53:11). 

The Invited Countrymen?

The guests originally invited to the banquet were very familiar with the nobleman. Perhaps they were too familiar. Their familiarity failed to recognise what they were being invited to and who it was who was inviting them. Their pathetic excuses bear this out. It may have been that Jesus was sounding a warning to Israel – especially its nobles (Priests, Pharisees, Sadducees) not to too quickly dismiss His invitation to come to the Father’s banquet. Despite being very religious, these member of the Jewish ruling council (the Sanhedrin) did not know God!

The Outcasts?

The outcasts of society – the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame – gladly accepted the offer of the nobleman. Coincidentally, these are ones whom Jesus frequently ministered to (Matt. 11:5). 

 

WHO ARE WE?

We are not the nobleman in this story. We could be the servant though. We could be the nobleman’s countrymen who each refused his banquet invitation (but I hope none of us will be). We certainly could also be the outcasts, if not physically, we should all come to realise that at least without Christ, we are all spiritually blind, deaf, crippled and lame. And if we do realise our parlour spiritual condition without Christ, we would surely be eternally grateful for GOD’s banquet hall invitation. But there are two other characters in this parable. Both are silent but both are integral to the parable. We are already told that the nobleman had a servant who served as his messenger. It is improbable that he didn’t have other attendants who would have waited on the surprised dinner guests. I hope that this group represents us. But there is one more “character” in this parable which features prominently in this story, albeit silently, the one identified by the nobleman as: “my house.”

We are the living house of the Lord (1Peter 2:5). More than any other character or character’s action in this story, it is the house of the house of the nobleman which reveals the heart of God. The house in this parable reveals who God is. It is spacious. It is not merely about having a people over for dinner, it is about hosting and even accommodating the homeless so that it becomes their home as well. C.S. Lewis captures this house in his third book in the Ransom Trilogy and calls it, St. Anne’s. It is a mansion where an odd collection of guests take up residence and working together they save the world. This is a beautiful picture of the church. It’s host, Dr. Edwin Ransom, is himself crippled, and welcomes old and young, the religious and the irreligious, the refined and even the most bearly refined – “Mr. Bultitude”. This representation of the church as a holy building comprised of redeemed people, is re-used in the story of the Good Samaritan where the Inn and its keeper is a place of acceptance, rest, and healing for the wounded and rejected. In First Corinthians, the apostle Paul calls the ragtag, motley crew, of slaves and free, males and females, Jews and gentiles, whom Christ has called into His Church, a “temple” (1Cor. 3:16-17). The apostle Peter further uses the picture of a house to describe Christ’s Church when he uses the motif of the rejected Christ who has an ever enlarging house to welcome, entertain, and accommodate the formally spiritually destitute, distraught, and delinquent — yet redeemed followers of Christ. This is the local church!

 

“So that My House may be full!”

This Sunday, which of the characters in Christ’s parable of the nobleman’s banquet will you emulate? Because whichever one you choose it will determine how you will welcome and serve the hurting, broken, lost, and lonely whom the LORD is sending into His house so that “My House may be full!”.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.