There is a very good discussion going on over at Feast Upon the Word. Robert C started it with his post on grace and works in Ephesians. The discussion is quite long (up to 72 comments as of this posting) but worth reading. It's helped me clarify my thinking on many topics and think about new things as well.
Among other helpful thoughts, the discussion got me thinking about works. What are they good for, anyway? Let's just suppose that we believe Luke 17:10 and Mosiah 2:21: Even if we serve God with all diligence (i.e. obedience) we would still be unprofitable servants.
What does unprofitable mean? Well, in the context, it means that the servant has not gained anything to his credit. What does that mean?
Imagine a man living in Jesus' day, looking for a way to make a living, so he decides to sell himself into slavery, becoming a bondservant (sort of like an indentured servant). He gets a place to live, food, and protection, and the master gets someone who will do everything the master tells him to do. That's the deal. So if the servant does everything he is told, that is not counted towards him as some kind of bonus, as though he went above and beyond. Thus, he cannot one day say to the master, "I worked really hard so now you owe me something," because those were the terms of the contract. The word "unprofitable" applies to the servant, not to the master; i.e. the master may very well have profited from the servant's labor, but he doesn't owe the servant anything.
So, how do we profit from works if they are in fact "unprofitable"? I think the discussion I linked to holds the answer....
19 August 2007
Grace and More
05 August 2007
"Bitter" + "Cup"
I've been thinking about the words “bitter cup.” (A more detailed version of this post is available here.)
How is the word “cup” used in the scriptures? A search of the KJV for the word yielded 57 references, which I divided into eight categories:
1) ACTUAL CUP – though additional symbolism is (at least sometimes) implied
2) SACRAMENTAL CUP3) CUP OF FURY/TREMBLING/JUDGMENT
4) CUP OF THE ATONEMENT/MARTYRDOM/DISCIPLESHIP5) CUP OF REWARD OR INHERITANCE
6) CUP OF SALVATION7) CUP OF CONSOLATION
8 ) CUP OF ABOMINATIONS/INIQUITYSYNTHESIS
What, if anything, do all of these verses have to with each other? First: that our discipleship is sometimes bitter in the same way (though to a lesser degree) as the Lord’s atonement. Bringing in the verses from Group 2, we see another important point: the sacramental cup is inseparably connected to that bitter cup Jesus hoped to avoid. Nevertheless, trembling, he took the cup and drank it completely. There’s something to be said about quantity and quality here: Groups 3 and 8 talk about God’s wrath and our iniquity reaching a maximum—that’s the “quantity” part. But Group 3 also refers to “the dregs,” which forces us to consider the quality of Christ’s suffering and the full meaning of his words on the cross, “It is finished.”
Lastly, the connection between Jesus’ bitter cup and our sacramental cup is both beautiful and overwhelming. That cup, which for Jesus was the bitterest, made possible the sacramental cup, which for us is the sweetest.
10 September 2006
Warning Label for The Lamb of God
I thought I'd share a little warning about one of the Church's videos, The Lamb of God.
The Background
My daughter A*, 5, loves this video. She watches it just about every Sunday and has for the last couple years. My 2-yr old often joins her.
The Setup
A* has a friend, S*, whose family is not religious, and as far as we know has had no exposure to Christianity. A* and S* play together often. S* came over to play last Sunday, and A* asked, "Do you want to watch Lamb of God?"
The Joy
Oh, what proud parents we were! "There's our little missionary," we thought, as we overheard an occasional word. A* was explaning all the various parts of the story: "...and after we die we will live with him and be happy and never be sick." My wife and I went about preparing dinner, half-listening the way parents do when nothing is the matter.
The Alarm
Something started to prick my attention. I thought, "What is it? No sounds of trouble—just the girls watching the video. The video...what was it about that video...?" It had been some time since I watched the video, but I remembered loving it. It was very emotional. "Yes," my brain warned, "it was very emotional."
The Tragedy
I went into the livingroom just as the story was depicting Jesus being raised on the cross. This is, as most readers will know, just after he has been flogged, slapped, spat upon, mocked, and nailed to the cross. S* was wide-eyed but expressionless on the couch, saying nothing. In other words, she looked petrified. (A*, of course, looked as content as ever.)
I shut off the television, at which point S* looked up at me and began to cry. Then wail. Then cry out with fear.‡
The Catastrophe
I tried to comfort S*, letting her know that she would not be hurt and Jesus was okay in the end and—! A* tried to explain more to her friend, only to get things mixed up in her excitement and—! I tried to get A* to leave S* and me alone, so I could explain things slowly, calmy, but—! A* felt like she had done something wrong and also started to cry.
The Clean-up
I took S* home, still sobbing, and tried to explain to her mother what had happened. Her mother was familiar enough with the story of Jesus to understand what her daughter had seen. "Was it animated?" she asked, then added reluctantly, "or was it...?"
"Not animated," I replied, disheartened. "Film." Her mother's face went a little pale.
The Aftermath
Her mother was very understanding, S* and A* still play together each day, and S*'s family has not brought it up. A* watched The Lamb of God today and didn't even mention last week.
The Lesson
No harm no foul, right? Maybe, but I worry that there was some harm. For one, how will S* respond emotionally the next time she hears the "good news" of the Christian message?
I also learned to think about our stories a little differently. A* grew up hearing about the cross. She saw paintings and cartoons and talked and sang songs about it before she ever saw the movie version. But what a terrifying, brutal, awful story it is if you don't know what to expect!
‡minor edits since first published
