Spirituality Column #285
May 1, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers – Zionsville

By Bob Walters

In the spirit of spring cleaning let’s discuss a pair of not entirely inaccurate but eminently debatable declarations made recently in this space.

First, in the April 3 column Truth, Holy Week, and the Big Picture, I wrote that Luke was “the only Gospel writer who was neither in Jerusalem for the crucifixion nor an acquaintance of Jesus.”  A small point, really, but I should remember what I write in my own column, like specifically on March 24, 2009 (“Luke: Jesus Came for All”)

It is true that the Bible does not name or position Luke as being with Jesus as unambiguously as it describes the presence with Jesus of the other three Gospel writers: disciples Matthew and John, and Mark who ran naked from the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was arrested.

But – and I wrote this three years ago – Christian tradition says that Luke was one of “the seventy-two” harvest workers Jesus sent out like “lambs among wolves” to spread his teaching (Luke 10:1-23).  Also – and again Luke wasn’t named – it was very likely Luke, according to early scholars, who was walking with Cleopas to the village of Emmaus (Luke 24:13ff) when Jesus appeared to them after the resurrection.

Even though the Bible doesn’t say either way, it stands to reason Luke met and knew Jesus, so, oops.  The “big picture” is that Luke knew the truth resides in Jesus.

Second, from April 10, The Wine, the Cup, and Communion described how the four Biblical accounts of the Last Supper and Communion (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts), never actually mention “wine.”  They don’t, but the point wasn’t wine; it was that Jesus described the contents of the cup as the “blood of the new covenant.”

Alertly, my good church buddy Don and savvy Current reader Michal were among those who sent emails citing Matthew 26:29, where Jesus, offering the cup, refers to drinking “this fruit of the vine” again in His “Father’s kingdom.”

“What could be in the cup except wine?” they wondered.  Fair question, and it stands to reason the cup contained wine.  Yet there are enough biblical metaphors surrounding “fruit” (e.g. Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 7:16), “vine” (e.g. John 15), and “Kingdom” for an interesting conversation as to what Jesus meant beyond just wine.

But still, oops.  More precise writing would have maintained focus on the central point, which is that the “blood of the new covenant” is our shared life of faith in Christ.

I should have tinkered with those columns a little longer.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) and his friend Brent Riggs have been tinkering with Bob’s blogspot site, www.commonchristianity.blogspot.com. Have a look.  Bob's book, Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary, is available at Amazon.com and Lulu.com.

Spirituality Column #284
April 24, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers – Zionsville
Indianapolis North Metro Home Newspapers

By Bob Walters



And the truth rings clear in Acts 20:35: the blessing is in the giving.

Spirituality Column #283
April 17, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers – Zionsville
(North Indianapolis Metro home newspapers)

The Saltiness of a Dogged Christian
By Bob Walters



I always thought that expression meant “common” in a good sort of way; that it was a compliment to one’s overall usefulness and humility to be called a “salt of the earth” type of person.

Turns out, it is a compliment, but not in the secular (non-God) way I had imagined.  Like so many Biblical words and phrases, “salt” has more than one meaning, more than one image, and is a scriptural co-terminus of both life and death.

In this verse of the Sermon on the Mount - chapters 5, 6, and 7 in the Bible’s Gospel of Matthew – Jesus tells his disciples that, just as salt is an indispensable necessity of life, they too are indispensable to the real life – the eternal life – of humanity’s New Covenant with God.

What salt does for food, the disciples were enjoined to do for the Kingdom of God.  “Salt” is a preservative that prevents spoilage – it “saves” food.  As a seasoning, salt enlivens the taste of food.  It would be the disciples’ role going forward to share their life in Jesus with the whole world; to be the salt of Jesus’s ministry.

Jesus isn’t the salt; Jesus is the life.  It’s we Christians who are to be the indispensable salt for the Kingdom of God; to preserve and enliven the truth of Christ for the world around us.  Salt also covers over the taste of tainted food – think “my sinful life.”  And, salt is a cleaning component – think “the cleansing power of Jesus’s blood.”

I truly never understood the importance of salt in world history until an article showed up in my email a couple of years ago noting that most early wars were fought and wealth was won over salt.  Whether it was access, ownership, or trade routes, salt drove commerce because it was both a multi-purpose substance and the only way anyone had of preserving food.

As for discipleship salt, I recently finished reading “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy”, Eric Metaxas’ superb 2011 biography of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was executed late in World War II by a defeated and bitter Hitler.  Now I’m reading Bonhoeffer’s 1937 theological classic, “The Cost of Discipleship,” which goes into some detail regarding the Sermon on the Mount, salt, and much else.

Bonhoeffer, who lived a full, determined, and exemplary – if shortened – Christian life to the very end was the very salt Jesus Christ called his disciples to be.

If you are curious what that looks like, these books are for you.

Walters (www.commonchristianity.blogspot.com, rlwcom@aol.com) quotes Bonhoeffer, “… disciples are salt … whether they like it or not.”   

Spirituality Column #282
April 10, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

The Wine, the Cup, and Communion
By Bob Walters

While writing a recent communion meditation I discovered something in the Bible as obvious at is was startling: wine is never mentioned as being in the cup of Christ.

This isn’t to argue whether in fact wine was served in the upper room at the Last Supper; it stands to reason it was. Nor am I here to argue that the disciples drank blood; it stands to reason they did not. I was just surprised that for all the symbolism and tradition tied to the wine of communion representing the blood of Christ, the Bible never actually says “wine” describing that first communion.

At His last meal on the eve (Maundy Thursday) of His crucifixion (Good Friday), Jesus told His disciples He was “going away,” broke bread representing His body, and passed the cup describing its contents as “my blood of the new covenant” (Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24) or “the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25). Jesus told them henceforth to “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).

That remembrance of Jesus is what we celebrate in communion.

But, “blood of the new covenant”? What could that mean if it wasn’t literally “blood”? It stands to reason that it meant this: Jewish law, tradition, and faith all said that “life” existed in the blood (Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 17:11, etc.) The “new covenant” is the restored relationship of fallen mankind with a loving Almighty God, of our faith in and salvation through Jesus Christ, and the forgiveness of our sins covered by the shed blood of Christ. It’s our eternal presence in the infinite light of the Lord God.

“Blood of the new covenant” means, “life forever, in faith.” These are just my words and there are 2,000 years of theological descriptions and witness far better than mine. But if we look at the cup and see only the shed blood of Jesus on the cross, of pain, suffering, guilt, fear, and the general turpitude of this mortal coil – of the misery of this human life – then we are missing the most important aspect of the cup of Christ.

In the new covenant, this cup is a cup of life, love, and freedom, not death. It is a cup of hope and grace, not a threat. It is a gift, not a debt or a transaction.

Many churches serve wine (usually mixed with holy water) in their communion celebration. Many others serve juice. What matters is to know that the cup contains the life of Jesus Christ and our hope of eternal salvation.
And to that, I say “Cheers!”

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com, www.commonchristianity.blogspot.com) notes the irony that the first communion was at the Last Supper.

Spirituality Column #281
April 3, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

Truth, Holy Week, and the Big Picture
By Bob Walters

From “Hosannas!” on Palm Sunday to the “Hallelujahs!” of Easter, Holy Week comprises the eight most talked-about days in the Bible.

“Hosanna!” is an exclamation of hope, salvation, prayer, and worship. It’s what the palm-waving faithful shouted (John 12:13) to celebrate Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on what we now call “Palm Sunday.” The people recognized Jesus as the Messiah, which made the Pharisees furious, which led to Jesus’s arrest and crucifixion.

“Hallelujah!” – a word not in the Gospels and a reality not immediately grasped at the resurrection – means “Praise the Lord.” Christians now armed with historical perspective, scriptural truth, and spiritual assuredness, exclaim “Hallelujah!” on Easter to worship the Risen Lord. “Hallelujah!” is found only in Revelation 19:1, and is the “heavenly multitude’s” affirmation of God’s “salvation and glory and power.”

All four Gospels – the Bible’s books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – contain multiple chapters describing the biggest week in human history, when God as the sinless man Jesus was killed by sinful mankind to fulfill God’s plan of salvation for mankind and all Creation by defeating sin and destroying death.

Nobody saw the week coming, understood as events unfolded, imagined the crucifixion’s cosmic scope, or appreciated the resurrection’s eternal impact. After 2,000 years of Bible descriptions, scholarly examination, church tradition, and scientific investigation, doubters are still defiant, believers are thankful and reverent … and too much of the world still can’t see the big picture. But it is forever real.

What would it have been like to be there?

Matthew and John were there, but fled with the rest of the disciples when Jesus was arrested (Matthew 26:56). John returned and is the only disciple reported to have witnessed Jesus on the Cross (John 19:26). On the third day, John and the disciple Peter raced to see the empty tomb (John 20:4).

Mark was there. He was the believer who ran naked from the arrest in Gethsemane (Mark 14:51-52).

Luke, a Greek physician and friend of the Apostle Paul, was not there. He is the only Gospel writer who was neither in Jerusalem nor an acquaintance of Jesus. But Luke is authoritative because he meticulously “investigate[d] everything from the beginning” (Luke 1:3) to create an “orderly account” in the most elegantly written of the Gospels aimed at educating the Greek and gentile world.

The accounts in Matthew 21-28, Mark 11-15, Luke 19-24, and John 12-21 vary in their descriptions of Holy Week specifics, which blurs the truth for some. What’s important to know is that God’s clear truth isn’t just in the details; it’s in the big picture.

And the biggest picture, the truth, is Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) recommends John 8:12-30. Trust what Jesus says.