During the last meal Jesus ate with His disciples before the crucifixion, He predicted that the disciple to whom he gave a piece of bread would betray Him. We know, of course, that it was Judas. In describing the scene, John records a detail that isn’t in the other accounts. He writes, “As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.” (John 13:30 NIV)

I want to call your attention to the phrase, “And it was night.” I think John meant a whole lot more than the fact that the sun had already gone down by the time Judas left the meal. Scripture uses the terms “night” and “darkness” as metaphors for sin, evil and corruption. Evil triumphed as Judas left. John says that Satan had already entered into him (John 13:27).

Judas wasn’t the only one who gave himself to the dark. Later that same night, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus confronted another group. Luke 22:52-53 says, “Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour – when darkness reigns.”” (NIV)

If we are honest with ourselves, it often looks like darkness reigns in our lives as well. We struggle with habits we can’t seem to break. Temptation overcomes us. We lose our tempers or allow our thoughts to travel down forbidden paths. We fight depression or despair. It seems that darkness overwhelms us.

When Jesus was crucified and buried it certainly looked like night had fallen and the darkness had won. Fortunately, that is not the end of the story. In speaking of Jesus, John writes, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:4-5 NIV) That phrase, “the darkness has not understood it” can also be translated “the darkness has not overcome it.”

Yes, the darkness reigned for a little while. They killed the “light of the world”, but on the third day, the light dawned again. Jesus didn’t just die, He rose again!

Each Sunday we gather together to remember the time when it was night and darkness reigned. But more than that, we gather to remember that Jesus overcame the darkness. Because of Him, we, too, can live in the light. Darkness does not have to reign in us. In Ephesians 5:8-11 Paul writes, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” (NIV)

Today as we eat the bread and drink the juice which remind us of the price Jesus paid to overcome the darkness, let’s examine ourselves. Does darkness still reign in us, or are we living in the light?

Our world’s a mess. Just about anywhere you look there is conflict and strife. The news is filled with the butchery that’s going on in the Middle East. There are wars all across Africa. Russia and Europe are facing off over Ukraine. India and Pakistan are fighting over who owns Kashmir. Even in places where people aren’t actively killing each other, nations like China and North Korea threaten violence against their neighbors.

The year 2014 marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. Most of us know people who fought in World War II or in the Korean conflict. If we haven’t been personally affected by the wars in places like Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, the Gulf, Afghanistan or Iraq we know people who are.

It shouldn’t surprise us that our world is torn by strife. Jesus said it would be this way. He told His disciples, ““When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.”” (Luke 21:9-11 NIV)

All we have to do is reflect on history, or look around us, to see that what Jesus said is true.
But why is it this way? James asks the important question: “What causes fights and quarrels among you?” He goes on to answer it: “Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:1-3 NIV)

As James says, selfishness and greed are major causes of war. Somebody wants something someone else has and decides to take it by force.

However, there is another cause of strife and conflict. Both Peter and Jude write about people who reject authority (2 Peter 2:10, Jude 8). When enough people rebel against the authority over them, it leads to revolution or civil war. Our own country was born out of rebellion against the British Crown. A century later we fought by far the bloodiest war in our history because a significant number of people chose to reject the authority of the central government. Those in the South called it the “Second Revolution”. Their opponents in the North called it “The Rebellion”.

These tendencies toward selfishness, greed and rebellion against authority have been with us right from the beginning. Why else did Adam and Eve eat the fruit God told them not to eat? Unfortunately, the same tendencies are still at work within us. There is something within us which wants to push the boundaries. We chafe at restrictions. We like the thrill of getting away with something we weren’t supposed to do.

The odd thing is that even though we can make excuses for ourselves and justify why it is alright for us to take what we want or to defy authority, we don’t like it when someone challenges our authority or defies the boundaries we have set. For example, we get upset when our children deliberately break one of our household rules. You know something? God feels the same way when we rebel against His authority. He regards rebellion just as vile as witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23)

When our children reject our authority and go their own way, it causes alienation and strife between us and them.

When the citizens of a country reject the authority of their government it causes alienation and strife.

When we reject or defy the authority of God it causes alienation and separation between us and Him. As Isaiah writes, “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2 NIV)

But though our rebellion against God’s authority separated us from Him, His reaction was very different from ours when someone defies us. When our children rebel, we want to punish them. When citizens rebel, the government tries to coerce obedience through force of arms. When we rebelled against God, He gave us Jesus. We’re all familiar with John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (NIV)

The Apostle Paul expands the thought, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:8-11 NIV)

Jesus paid the price for our rebellion. He took our penalty on Himself. God treated Him as a rebellious enemy so we might be reconciled. It is because of what Jesus did for us that we remember Him each week. We eat the bread to remind us of Christ’s broken body – when it should have been us that was broken. We drink the juice to remind us of Christ’s blood – shed for us in place of ours.

Today as we eat and drink let’s give thanks that Christ reconciled us to God in spite of our rebellion and selfishness.

During the last meal Jesus ate with His disciples before the crucifixion, He broke some bread, gave it to the disciples and said, “do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24) After supper Jesus passed a cup around and said, “drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:25)

Through the centuries, the church has kept this memorial. But what is it that Jesus wants us to remember? “Ah,” you say. “Isn’t it obvious? Jesus wants us to remember the sacrifice He made for us. He wants us to remember the covenant we’ve entered into with Him.”

All that is very true, but the Gospel accounts imply that there is something more we should remember as well. Matthew writes, “Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.”” (Matthew 26:27-29 NIV)

From this we learn that Jesus was not only going to establish a new covenant between us and God by sacrificing Himself, He also promised to drink the fruit of the vine with the disciples again. This is a clear indication that Jesus’ sacrifice was not the end. Though He would die, He would not stay dead. He would rise again.

Why is it important to remember that Jesus not only died, but rose again? There are many reasons why it’s important. However, I will just mention one. Peter writes, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,” (1 Peter 3:18 NIV)

It was God’s Spirit which raised Christ from the dead. Scripture tells us that if we are in Christ, that same Spirit also lives in us. Yet we so often forget! Writing to the Ephesians, Paul says, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,” (Ephesians 1:17-20 NIV)

This paragraph reminds us of the role the Spirit plays in our lives.

The Spirit makes us wise: Do we lack wisdom and understanding? We need to remember that, in Christ, we have the Spirit of wisdom living within us.

The Spirit gives us hope: Are we discouraged or in despair? We need to remember the Spirit within us who gives us hope.

The Spirit gives us power: Are we weak and unable to bear up under the struggles and cares of life? We need to remember that the same mighty power which raised Jesus from the dead is also available to us through the Spirit.

The Spirit gives us strength: Are you on the verge of being overwhelmed or overcome by forces to great to resist? You need to remember that, “…the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4 NIV)

We’re here to remember Jesus – just as He asked us to do. As we eat the bread and drink the cup, let’s remember that the same Spirit which raised Him from the dead lives in us also.

In our culture these days there’s a lot of talk about privilege and victimhood. Various groups claim that they’ve been oppressed or discriminated against. For example, we hear talk about how the 1% is holding everyone else back. It almost seems sometimes like there’s a competition going on to claim who is the most victimized. It’s become a perverse sort of pride: “I’ve had it tougher than you so I’m better than you!” When you stop and think about it, it’s rather pathetic that people define themselves not by what they are, or by what they could be, but by what has happened to them. They allow circumstances to control and define them. Instead of overcoming they are trapped by the past.

Unfortunately, there are even some who use the badge of “victim” to excuse their own behavior. There’s no question that injustice does happen. When it does, it needs to be made right. But whether it is ever made right in this life or not, we should never justify our own wrongdoing because we were mistreated. Frankly, a lot of times people claim the status of being a victim to avoid responsibility. They have the attitude that because they, or their group, has been mistreated at some time in the past, society now owes them. Their victimhood excuses them from the consequences of their own decisions and actions.

The cross of Christ helps us put things in perspective. In one sense, Jesus was the ultimate victim. Here was a man who had never done anything wrong. He had spent His life trying to help people. He had healed, fed and comforted thousands. He had even raised people from the dead. Everything He did was good, and for the benefit of others. In return, people criticized and mocked Him. They spit in His face and beat Him. They whipped Him and nailed Him to a cross.

But was Jesus really a victim? No! He said, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord…” (John 10:17-18 NIV)

Jesus didn’t go to the cross because He was a helpless victim. He could have easily avoided the cross altogether. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He spoke just a couple of words and the Roman soldiers who had come to arrest Him fell to the ground. When Peter struck a blow on His behalf Jesus told him, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way? (Matthew 26:54 NIV)

Jesus went to the cross, not because He was forced but, voluntarily. He chose to suffer; He chose the cross as a means to an end. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 2:2 NIV)

Far from making Jesus a victim, it was the cross which unleashed God’s power and made salvation possible. And that same power is available to those of us who belong to Jesus. In Ephesians 1, verses 18 through 21, Paul writes, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” (NIV)

Each week we eat a piece of bread and drink a cup of juice to remind us of Jesus’ cross. It reminds us of His suffering. It reminds us of the glory and position that Jesus received because of His obedience and sacrifice. It reminds us of God’s mighty power which raised Jesus from the dead. It reminds us that the same power is at work in us.

But the bread and juice also confront us with a choice. Jesus told us that in this world, we will have trouble (John 16:33). When trouble comes we can let it victimize us, or we can follow Jesus’ example and look beyond to what God wants to accomplish through our suffering. You see, Jesus not only told us trouble would come, He also instructs us to deny ourselves and pick up our cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23).

Today when we eat the bread and drink the cup, what will we choose? Will we choose to be victims, or will we voluntarily take up our cross and follow Jesus so that we will experience God’s mighty power?

(I gave this talk one Sunday when the preacher brought a sermon on Job’s suffering.)

Each week we remember Jesus’ suffering by eating a piece of bread which recalls to mind His body on the cross, and drinking a cup of juice which reminds us of His shed blood. When we do this we remember that He went through the agony of the crucifixion for us. It was our sin and wrongdoing that put Him there. It was His death which made it possible for us to be reconciled to God.

But today I want to look at things from a different perspective. Instead of considering Christ’s death from the point of view that it was our sin which put Him on the cross, let’s look at it from the standpoint of His innocence. He suffered even though He had done nothing wrong. Sinlessness did not keep Him from suffering. There’s a lesson it that which we need to remember

There is something in the makeup of most human beings to assume that trouble is always the result or consequence of wrongdoing. When someone suffers an illness, a heartache, or some other kind of trouble or catastrophe we are tempted to ask what they did to deserve it. “If they hadn’t done something wrong,” we say, “they wouldn’t be in this fix!”

Conversely, when things go well – particularly when we come through a situation which had the potential to harm us, we have a saying, “Well, I must have been living right!”

In reality, however, there is no direct relationship between suffering and unrighteousness. Scripture tells us repeatedly that Jesus was sinless. He did no wrong at all, yet He suffered horribly. The Roman governor, Pilate, admitted time after time that Jesus was innocent, but he executed Him anyway.

The Lord’s Supper which we eat each week reminds us that if we suffer, it does not necessarily mean that we’ve done anything wrong. We may be suffering because we are innocent! Living for Christ and doing what is right may be the very things which bring trouble on our heads. “In fact,” Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:12, “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” (NIV)

As Paul reminds us, we are not immune from suffering just because we are Christians. When trouble comes, we should not be surprised or shocked. Yes, we should take the opportunity to ask why we’re suffering. Eating the bread and drinking the juice gives us an opportunity for introspection. We should examine ourselves. If our suffering is a result of our own sin or wrongdoing, we need to confess it and repent. But on the other hand, we should not automatically assume that we have done something wrong because we are suffering. The bread and juice are also a reminder that the innocent suffer, too.

This ritual we take part in each week reminds us of another truth as well: Suffering is not the whole story. Jesus not only suffered and died, He also rose and was glorified. In fact Jesus’ suffering was a precondition for His being glorified. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that it was because of Jesus’ obedience in going to the cross that God exalted Him to the highest place.

Since this is so, the bread and juice are not only a reminder, they are a promise. We may not always know why we have to suffer, but by remembering what Christ went through, we can look forward to the glory that we will one day receive because we belong to Him.

Peter writes, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:12-17 NIV)

Today as we take the emblems, lets look beyond the suffering they remind us of to the glory that they imply will one day be ours.

The Christian life is full of paradoxes. There are many things which are totally opposite to the way the world thinks and works.

For example, the world says that in order to get ahead, you have to take. You have to use every opportunity to accumulate things. But Jesus taught the opposite. He said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38 NIV) Further, we need to give with the right attitude. If we give with the motive of getting, rather than to bless others, we will not receive blessings in return.

The world teaches us that the way to become great is to promote yourself. In addition, a lot of people have the idea that in order to rise you have to do it at the expense of others. You have to knock everyone else down so you can get ahead of them. But Scripture teaches the exact opposite. Jesus told His disciples, “…You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45 NIV)

Later, the Apostle Peter wrote, “…All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” (1 Peter 5:5-6 NIV)

Another one of the paradoxes of Christianity is that in order to live, we have to die. Jesus said, “…whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:35-37 NIV)

Along the same lines Paul wrote, “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” (Romans 6:8 NIV)

The world teaches us not to display weakness. We should hide our vulnerabilities. We are supposed to be strong and act tough. In contrast, the Bible teaches us that we are strongest when we are weak. How can this be? It is because it is when we get out of the way and quit depending on ourselves, that God’s power can work through us.

In 1st Corinthians 1, verses 20 through 31 Paul writes, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”” (NIV)

This is one reason we take Communion each week. It reminds us of reality. It keeps things in perspective. We have nothing to boast about except what Christ has done for us. We are weak, and we need His strength. We are strong only in Him. The bread which represents Christ’s body and the juice which represents His blood, remind us that He died for us. In order to live, we too must die to self and take on His life.

(Prepared to go along with a sermon on Acts 24:24-26 titled “When It’s Convenient”)

Solomon wrote, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV) This year in particular I’m enjoying the change in the seasons from Winter to Spring. From my office window I can see a tree. Just the other day I noticed that it was totally covered with green leaves. How did that happen so fast? It seems the last time I looked there was nothing but bare limbs, stark against sullen, cloudy skies. Suddenly, much of the sky is blocked by leaves and sunlight shines on delicate shades of green. It’s a welcome reminder of the rhythms of nature. That things occur when the time is appropriate.

There are seasons in spiritual things as well. Something which intrigues me in the Gospel of John is the comments he makes about time. At least twice, Jesus refused to take action because, He said, that His time had not come. On at least two other occasions, those who wished to harm Jesus could not do so because His time had not yet come. But then, as Jesus came near to the end of His ministry He said more than once that the time had come.

What time? Time for what? Jesus said this to some Greeks who came to see Him, “…The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:23-25 NIV)

What Jesus was saying was that the time had come for Him to die. It was time for Him to give His life as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.

When we stop and think about it, there are two parts to salvation. Salvation not only has to be prepared and offered, it also has to be received. God is the only One who could prepare and offer it. However, He isn’t going to force us to take it. It’s a personal decision each one of us has to make for ourselves. Salvation is available for the asking – but we have to ask.

And this raises a question: Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave at the right or appropriate time to make salvation possible, but what is the appropriate time to receive it? Scripture answers the question by saying that the right or appropriate time to receive salvation is NOW. If we are not already in Christ, we should not dither or procrastinate about submitting our lives to Him. The Apostle Paul writes, “As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2 NIV)

In the busyness of life; in the routines of going to work or school; in the constant ups and downs of raising a family, it’s easy to forget that now is the time of God’s favor. We tell ourselves that we don’t have time to think about spiritual things. It’ll wait until tomorrow when we have a little more time. But the time of salvation isn’t tomorrow – it is now. Today is the only day we can be sure of. We can’t go back and re-live yesterday. We don’t know whether there will even be a tomorrow. And so we need to make sure of our salvation now, while we have the opportunity.

Jesus knew how forgetful we are. He knew that we would need to be reminded that today is the day of salvation. He knew that even those of us who have already become Christians would tend to take our salvation for granted. And so, He gave us a memorial. The unleavened bread we eat each Sunday reminds us that Jesus paid the price for our redemption with His own body. The juice we drink reminds us of His blood which covers our sins.

Since the last time those of us who are Christians participated in this memorial, we’ve all sinned and haven’t lived up to God’s standards as we ought. The bread and juice are a reminder that now is the time to deal with those sins. Now is the time to ask Christ to cleanse us once again.

If you haven’t yet become a Christian, then the bread and juice really aren’t for you. But please use what we’re doing as reminder that Christ died for you, too, and today is your opportunity to get right with God.

As we eat and drink, let’s make sure of our salvation. Let’s come to God with repentant hearts. Let’s commit ourselves again to live for Christ.

One of the arguments people use to say that there cannot be a God is the existence of evil. They say that if an all-powerful, good God existed, He would not permit the pain and suffering we see all around us. People who say such things fail to recognize that if God is to give us freedom, He has to allow us to do what is wrong. If we have genuine choice, it is possible that we will choose things which are against God’s will. Yes, God could prevent evil, but if He did, we would no longer be free to choose. As long as some choose to do wrong, there will be suffering.

On the other end of the scale, there are some who believe in God. They believe that He is all-powerful, that He is good and that He is love. As a consequence, they say, hell cannot exist. Or, if it does exist, it cannot be eternal. God is so good and loving that He could not tolerate seeing anyone burn forever.

What these people fail to understand is that it is precisely because God is loving and good that an eternal hell must exist. God loves us so much that He will never force His will on us. If we choose to do what is evil; if we choose to turn away from Him, He will allow us to do so. However, since God is good, He cannot bear evil. And when we choose to do evil we cannot bear to be in the presence of good because it highlights our badness. When we choose to do what is wrong, the consequence is separation between us and God. We walk away from Him. If we refuse to be with God, what alternative is left but to be where God is not – that is in, hell?

C.S. Lewis writes, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.” (C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1946, pp. 72-73.)

While God’s love and goodness makes hell inevitable, His goodness and love also compels Him to give us an alternative. If we choose to accept it, God takes the consequences of our evil and wrongdoing on Himself.

We’re all familiar with John 3:16. But what many are not so familiar with are the verses which come right after it. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (John 3:16-20 NKJ)

These verses are very clear: there’s no need for anyone to go to hell, but we can choose it. God will respect our choice. If we do wind up in hell it’s because we chose to be there. It’s because we chose to keep on doing evil rather than choosing Christ.

Each week we gather to remember what God has done for us so that we can escape the consequences of our own choice to do wrong. The bread and the juice remind us that Christ died so that we can have life.

Every time we come to the Communion table, it’s an opportunity to renew our choice: have we chosen Christ? Have we chosen eternal death, or eternal life?

Every birth is special. It’s a time of wonder and amazement. I suppose that when he or she first holds a newborn, just about every parent thinks about the potential of this new life. What is this child born to do? Who will this child become? Will this child live up to its potential?

We can hope. We can dream. We can speculate, but except in very rare cases, we don’t know what lies ahead for a child. We don’t know the direction he will take. We don’t know the path that God has chosen for him. We don’t know what he was born to accomplish.

All over the world people are getting ready to celebrate Jesus’ birth. One of the things which makes Jesus’ birth unique is that his parents were told ahead of time who He was and what His purpose in life was. The angel told Mary, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:32-33 NIV)

The angel told Joseph, “…you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21 NIV)

The angel told the shepherds, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11 NIV)

This infant, this newborn child was born to be the Christ, the Savior – the person who would rescue mankind from their sin. What Mary and Joseph probably did not realize at the time, was that in order to become our Savior, Jesus had to die. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that Jesus’ birth only has significance because of His death. Without His death, His birth is meaningless. One of our Christmas carols is absolutely correct when it states, Jesus was “born to die.” (Ring the Bells) That was the purpose of His birth.

What did Jesus’ death accomplish? Through it, or because of it, we can be saved from our sins. But it also does something else. Through it we can reach our full potential. It is a source of hope. You see, none of us has lived up to the potential we had when we were born. We all have fallen short. We haven’t fulfilled the purpose God had for us when we were born.

However, because of Jesus’ death we can be reborn. He offers us a new birth. All of us who have been baptized into His death rise to walk in new life. As that same Christmas carol says, Jesus came “to bring mankind His love, new birth.”

In this new life we can reach our potential. We can become what God intended. As the Apostle John writes, “…when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2 NIV)

Jesus never asked us to celebrate His birth, but He did ask us to remember His death. That is why each week we eat a piece of bread which reminds us of His body which He sacrificed for us. That’s why we drink a cup of juice which represents His blood which cleanses us from sin.

When we celebrate Jesus’ birth let’s remember why He was born. That it is His death which gives His birth meaning. Today as we remember His death, let’s also remember that it is because of His death we can have new life, a second birth, another chance to become what God always intended us to be. His death gives us hope.

Peter writes, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you,” (1 Peter 1:4 NIV)

I don’t know what drives people to commit suicide. I’ve never been particularly tempted to take my own life. However, I imagine that the major cause of suicide is despair. Someone feels so hopeless; he feels that the situation is so beyond his ability to cope that there is no way out. Death is preferable to any other option he can see. So he chooses death as a way of escape.

This is probably why Judas hanged himself. Scripture tells us that when he realized the consequences of what he had done in betraying Jesus he was seized with remorse (Matthew 27:3). He went to the chief priests and elders and tried to undo what he’d done. When they refused to listen to him, Judas took his own life. I assume that he figured there was no way out. Death was better than facing the consequences of his actions.

The tragedy is that it didn’t have to be that way. What Judas failed to understand, even though Jesus had already told His disciples it would happen, is that Jesus was going to rise again on the third day. He didn’t realize that the very reason Christ died was so that our sins can be forgiven.

Peter also denied Jesus. The difference between Peter and Judas is that Peter allowed Jesus to forgive him. Judas never gave Jesus the chance. He took his own life before Jesus could forgive him.

As mistaken as Judas was, in another sense he was right. Dying really is the best option. Death is the only way to pay for our sin. The Apostle Paul explains it this way, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” (Romans 6:3-8 NIV)

If we’ve died with Christ, we have a new life. As horrible as our circumstances may be, we don’t have to give way to despair. We don’t have to let our remorse over what we’ve done drive us to suicide. Christ died so we might live. Christ died so that we can be forgiven. At the last meal Jesus ate with His disciples before He died, “…he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”” (Matthew 26:27-28 NIV)

When life gets tough, we need to remember that. That’s one reason why it’s so important that we take the Communion each week. It reminds us that there is no need to despair. It reminds us of the hope we have. Yes, Christ died but He rose again. We have new life in Him.

As we eat the bread which reminds us of Jesus’ body that was crucified for us; as we drink the juice which reminds us of Jesus’ blood which He gave for our forgiveness, let’s not be like Judas who gave in to his own despair. Instead, let’s give Jesus the opportunity to forgive us as He wants to do.