PresbyterJon's very own blog

I’m sure that all of us here have a very high regard for Jesus. He is not only our savior but also God in the flesh. Scripture says that, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word...” (Hebrews 1:3 NIV) Other Scriptures talk about the fact that the universe was made through him (Hebrews 1:2) and that he is sinless (Hebrews 4:15).

Because Jesus is such an exalted person and we have such a high regard for Him, it’s difficult for us to imagine that He would ever need to have learned anything. Even worse, we would consider it almost sacrilegious to suggest that Jesus was once less than perfect. The fact is that Jesus did have to learn something, and He was not able to perfectly fulfill the role of Savior until He had learned it. In Hebrews 5:7-9 it says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him...” (NIV)

We live in an era of rapid change. For example, this year is the hundredth anniversary of the first powered flight by the Wright brothers at Kittyhawk. When you stop and think about it, that really isn’t so long ago. Many times I’ve heard my Dad reminisce about how as a small child an overflight by an airplane was a novel event. When a plane flew over they would run out in the yard and wave. The pilot would wave back from his open cockpit!

(A meditation given at Christmas time.)

It’s Christmas, and all over the world people are taking the time to at least pause for just a little while and think about the baby who was born in a livestock shed 2,000 years ago. It is appropriate to remember Christ’s birth for He is the Savior of the world. While people think about the child lying in the feeding trough, I hope that they also take the time to remember why He came – to redeem us all from sin. After all, even our custom of gift-giving is intended to remind us of the gift which Jesus gave, of reconciliation to God.

There is a notion in our culture that greatness is achieved at the expense of others. In order to get ahead you’ve got to tear someone else down. This is ironic because in kindergarten children are taught to share and help one another. But somewhere between kindergarten and graduation the message changes. Our children are told that in order to succeed they must be better than others. The one with the higher test score wins. Sports teams must crush the opposition. Among girls the pecking order is determined by who is considered the most beautiful. This sort of competition is carried over into adult life. Remember the bumper sticker which said “The one with the most toys wins”?

(Note: This meditation was given on the occasion of appointing Elders.)

As we prepare to appoint men to shepherd this congregation, it would be well for us to consider both what it means to shepherd and to be in the care of a shepherd.

We live in a violent and uncertain world. It’s virtually impossible to pick up the paper or turn on the radio without being confronted with some fresh atrocity or outbreak of unrest. War and terrorism are no longer things which just happen in distant places, but have the ability to touch us and our loved ones, personally. There are times when we feel like crying out like the prophet Jeremiah, “We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror.” (Jeremiah 8:15 NIV)

Luke records that just prior to His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus ate a meal with His disciples. “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”” (Luke 22:19-20 NIV)

We’ve read and heard those words so many times that we tend to gloss over them and miss the meaning. What did Jesus mean when He called the cup a ‘new covenant’? What is a covenant? Another word for ‘covenant’ is ‘testament.’ Our Bible is divided into two sections which we call the Old and New Testaments. We call them that because they describe the two major covenants which have defined God’s relationship with mankind. Jesus called the covenant He was instituting ‘new’ because it supersedes the covenant which God had established with the Jewish people. But what is a covenant? A covenant is usually defined as a binding agreement between parties with stipulations and promises.

If we are honest with ourselves, most of us probably have a little trouble with authority. The truth is that we have a tendency to resent it. We’re an independent lot and we don’t like somebody telling us what to do. We like to be in charge and, quite frankly, we like to think that we know more and better than the other guy.

Resentment of authority can affect all sorts of areas in our lives. Take home life. One reason teenagers sometimes have trouble living by the standards of the household is that they don’t want to acknowledge the authority their parents have just because they are parents. The New Testament instructs wives to be submissive to their husbands, and husbands to be submissive to their wives. Why do we sometimes have trouble with this concept of submission? Part of it is that we don’t want to acknowledge the other person’s authority.