Grandpa's Eulogy

This past Saturday I had the privilege of speaking at my Grandfather’s funeral. Several people who couldn’t attend the service asked me for a copy of the eulogy and I thought that some of you might like to read what I had to say about my namesake. My hope is that his life will encourage you in some way and that maybe you can learn a little more about him.

Good morning. On behalf of our family, I would like to thank everyone for being here to pay tribute to my Grandfather, Al Petri, and honor the life and legacy that he leaves behind.

In 1963, after a church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King gave the eulogy at the funeral for three of the children that had died in the explosion. Now, Grandpa doesn’t have much in common with school kids from the 1960’s, but there is much of what Dr. King said then that can really speak to us today, Listen as I read a few of the words Dr. King spoke that September day:

May I now say a word to you, members of the bereaved family? It is almost impossible to say anything that can console you at this difficult hour and remove the deep clouds of disappointment which are floating in your mental skies. But I hope you can find a little consolation from the universality of this experience. Death comes to every individual. There is an amazing democracy about death. It is not aristocracy for some of the people, but a democracy for all of the people. Kings die and beggars die; rich men and poor men die; old people die and young people die. Death comes to the innocent and it comes to the guilty. Death is the irreducible common denominator of all men.

I hope you can find some consolation from Christianity's affirmation that death is not the end. Death is not a period that ends the great sentence of life, but a comma that punctuates it to more lofty significance. Death is not a blind alley that leads the human race into a state of nothingness, but an open door which leads man into life eternal. Let this daring faith, this great invincible surmise, be your sustaining power during these trying days. Now I say to you, life is hard, at times as hard as steel. It has its bleak and difficult moments. Like the ever-flowing waters of the river, life has its moments of drought and its moments of flood. Like the ever-changing cycle of the seasons, life has the soothing warmth of its summers and the piercing chill of its winters. And if one will hold on, he will discover that God walks with him, and that God is able to lift you from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope, and transform dark and desolate valleys into sunlit paths of inner peace.

We couldn’t have done any better. My dad said that the other day, after Grandpa died. We couldn’t have done any better. I think what Dad was saying was that we couldn’t have asked God to give us a better husband, or father, stepfather, grandfather, uncle, or friend. Grandpa was as good as it gets, God really gave us the best.

Grandpa and I had many parallels in our lives and the most obvious one is probably our name. He was the first Al Petri and I am the last. What many of you may not know is that both of us started life with different names than we have now. Grandpa was born in South Bend, Indiana February 26, 1918 but he wasn’t named Alexander. My wife Debbie discovered that fact a few years ago while doing some genealogy research. She asked Grandpa about it, and sure enough, he was recorded in the South Bend County Records as Joseph Petri, Jr. Soon after he was born Grandma Petri had second thoughts about his name and she renamed him Alexander Zolton.

44 years later, on July 9th, 1962, I was born. My mom and dad had decided to name me David. Dad had left the hospital, and the paperwork for my birth certificate had not been filled out yet. So, Grandpa went to visit mom and me after dad had left the hospital. Now, if you knew Grandpa at all, you would understand how difficult it was for my mom to refuse to change my name; you see, my birthday just happened to be Grandma & Grandpa’s 24th wedding anniversary. Grandpa had all the leverage he needed to convince mom to see things his way.

Grandpa did many things in his life; he was an entrepreneur that started his own business, one that is still going today, sixty years later. He was a concerned citizen that had a successful career as a politician, he was a state representative, a city councilman, and he really enjoyed his time in politics. What can you say about his life, a life that was 88 years long and lived so fully?

When I first began to think about what I would say this morning, I thought about telling you a particular story or two about Grandpa, maybe sharing with you the details of a vacation trip or conversation that I had enjoyed with him. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt that I should talk about the kind of man that he was, and the example that he was to us. So, I am not going to stand up here and talk about the facts of Grandpa’s life, the things that he did, or the jobs that he held. I know that many of you have special memories of Grandpa, and I encourage you to share those memories with each other, give us more insight into the life of this man that we all loved so much.

Grandpa was a family man, who taught us values and ethics, and he also taught us to love God. He was always there when you needed him, whether it was with timely advice, a word of encouragement, or just to lend a listening ear. Even if you hadn’t asked for it, he’d be glad to give you his opinion on how, or what you were doing. And you could always be sure that if you didn’t know who to vote for, he would provide a word of advice for that as well!

Grandpa was intelligent; in fact, he was one of the smartest men that I ever knew. He graduated High School while most of the kids his age were finishing junior high. He taught us to think things through, to study, and he encouraged us to learn and be informed about the things that were going on in the world and in our communities.

Grandpa was compassionate and caring. He loved people. He contributed to many charities and he spent time doing service work in order to make his community a better place to live. He worked with many civic and business organizations on fundraisers, raffles, and supported many of the local kids’ sports teams throughout the years.

Grandpa was a man of ethics and moral principals. While he was a councilman in Ecorse many years ago, there was a wave of corruption that surrounded the city government. Grandpa received death threats from some of his political opponents and the family even had to move out of the house for awhile. Everyone was under investigation, and many councilmen and other city officials were recalled or resigned, but Grandpa had done nothing illegal or improper. He was one of the few people in the city whose reputation wasn’t tainted by the scandal. He always believed in what he was doing and he believed in doing it with honesty and integrity.

Grandpa was a family man. He loved his family and he did everything he could to provide for and protect them. He worked long hours, especially when he was gone to Lansing during his time as a State Representative. But he never missed a game that my dad or my uncles played in, even if that meant driving from Lansing, watching the game, then turning right around and heading back to the state capitol. From family trips to holiday get togethers, Grandpa was always there. He took us to Florida, to Colorado and Arizona, to the Grand Canyon and so much more. He showed us what it truly meant to love your family, to honor and care for your spouse, and to believe in and support your children. He was the patriarch of the Petri family for nearly 70 years.

Grandpa was a man of God. He cared deeply about his commitment to his church, and he served the Lord here at St. Francis for many, many years. So, here we are, gathered together not to mourn the death of Al Petri, but to celebrate the life that he so richly lived. He was a man that we all loved, that we learned from, and that we cared deeply for. Let’s remember fondly the things about Grandpa that bring a smile to our faces, and look forward to the day when we are reunited with him in heaven.

In his poem entitled “Success”, Robert Louis Stevenson could have been speaking of Grandpa when he wrote:

He has achieved success who has lived well,
laughed often, and loved much;
who has enjoyed the trust of pure women,
the respect of intelligent men
and the love of little children;
who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
who has left the world better than he found it
whether by an improved poppy,
a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;
who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty
or failed to express it;
who has always looked for the best in others
and given them the best he had;
whose life was an inspiration;
whose memory, a benediction.

So, I say again, we couldn’t have done any better. Grandpa was as good as it gets. And I am so grateful for that day in July 1962, when Grandpa convinced my mom to change my name. I am honored to share the same name as Grandpa. I hope that one day I can grow up to be half the man that he was.
                    

Goodbye Grandpa

My grandfather, Al Petri, Sr. died today. I never spent enough time with him. It seems that life is too short and we never have enough time to spend with those we love. He was a good man, a first generation Hungarian American. He was a man of integrity, loyalty, and, most of all, faith. He taught us how to love and how to live. I am really going to miss him. He loved God and was active in his church. He attended St. Francis Xavier in Ecorse and served there for many years in many different ways.

I am his namesake. I was born July 9th, which was my grandparent's anniversary. When my dad left the hospital that day, he left assuming that my name was David. My grandfather stopped by after Dad left and tried to convince Mom that since I was born on his anniversary, I should be Al III instead. And if you knew my grandfather, you wouldn't be surprised that he was able to change his daughter in-law's mind. So I am, and have been ever since, Al Petri, III.

When I was a young teenager, Grandpa would take me for summer vacation to the lake or the KOA Campground in Dundee. Once, we drove out west to Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, the Wild West! The time we spent at the Grand Canyon will forever be etched on my mind.

He and my grandmother cared about family. They started our bicycle shop as a family business 60 years ago this year. Grandpa would work at the factory during the day while Grandma would pack up the babies and bring them to the bike shop, waiting on customers, unpacking orders, doing the bookkeeping.  After finishing his work at the factory, Grandpa would come in while the shop was closed and do the service work. We have had 5 generations of Petri's work at the shop my grandparents founded, a true family legacy.

I know that you are no longer suffering, that God has truly healed you now, the way only He can. We will all miss you, and we love you. Goodbye, Grandpa.    

Heal the Children

We just received word that a boy in our congregation has been diagnosed with a spinal tumor. They are doing a surgery today to remove the part of the tumor that is impacting his spinal cord, and will discuss further treatment options afterwards. They haven't determined whether or not it is cancerous. We also know of a young girl whose father was raised in our church who was recently diagnosed with cancer and is currently battling this awful disease.

Debbie and I lost a son to cancer, so this is especially painful to us. We know what it is like to go through these treatments, this time of uncertainty and pain. It is so difficult to watch our children getting poked, getting radiation & chemo, becoming ill. We do know, however, that God is with them all, holding their hands and hugging them, giving the comfort and support that only He can give.We are asking for your prayers that both Jake & Cassie will be healed and that their families will be strengthened by God through this ordeal.    

Nooma

Well, several of us from church got together and started a new small group this past Sunday. We are using Rob Bell's Nooma videos as a discussion starter, but our aim isn't to just have another group that talks about things, we want to make a difference in the Kingdom of God. Our goal is to learn how to be real followers of Jesus, not just believers in Him. As Rob Bell puts it in one of the videos, we want to be covered by the dust of our Rabbi, Jesus Christ. It seems that too many of us get worked up about what you're supposed to believe when you become a Christian, and not enough of us take the time to discover how to really live as Christians.

In Mark 10, the rich young man asks Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life. I used to believe that he meant "How do I get into heaven"? But go re-read that passage, and it's parallels in Matthew & Luke. Look closely at Jesus' answer to him. If his question meant "How do I get into heaven?", then I would expect Jesus to say "Repent and believe in Me".

But that's not what Jesus tells him. He says "Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." I wonder if what Jesus was really telling him is how to live in God's Kingdom here and now. Jesus concern is so often for the poor, the widows, the orphans. How can we claim to be like our Rabbi and not show the same concern for the marginalized in our world? When Jesus says to us "Come, Follow Me" are we prepared to obey Him?          

A friend in Finland

I received an email from a good friend of mine who is currently serving the Lord as a missionary in Finland. Be sure to check out the portrait Jim did, which is shown below. Jim, I can't wait to see you in October, we all miss you, my brother!

I don't think he would mind if I shared some of his last e-mail with you:

Hi Al, I read your blog, but didn't read the other blogs yet. I will get to it someday soon. I just finished "The Case for a Creator" by Lee Strobel. Anyone who reads that book cannot have any good excuse to believe in materialism or Darwinism, even many atheistic scientists admit Darwinism is just not feasible but they can't bring themselves to believe in a Designer. Strobel talks about "irreducible complexity", which is the idea that a biological function like the cilia which is actually a very complex biological motor, could not have happened unless all the parts of the machine came together exactly as they are to function as a motor, there is no way it could have evolved from a simpler design. There are literally millions of examples of these in nature. And he also talks about how the cambrian explosion of phyla, happened all at once, there is no gradual evolution in the fossil record. How did all that dna information get programmed at one time? Even Darwinists call themselves Neo-Darwinists now because they can't stomach Darwin's theories.

Anyway, having about 18 lessons a week which run from 1 to 2 hours each. I gave two guitar lessons today (Saturday). Also finished a portrait (I have to show somebody! - it's of a kid that was killed last year - friend of a friend).

I plan to be home at the end of October to visit some relatives and then hopefully get a teaching job overseas in the Orient somewhere. It's too expensive for me to stay here without a job and I can't seem to get one. Lord bless you all,
Your brother Zeteoan (Zeteon? - sounds alien) and your brother in Christ,
Jim

Ok, So I Haven't Posted Anything In A While...

Yesterday (or the day before, I have lost all track of time), I got a note from Gem over at My So-Called Homeschool about BlogDay 2006 which is supposed to get bloggers around the world to check out new blogs and areas of interest that they may not have read about before. Well, I had never heard of Blog Day before Gem dropped me that note and was kind enough to include my lowly blog in her list of 5. Thanks Gem! This is what I was supposed to do before August 31st:

1. Find five new blogs that you find interesting.
2. Notify the five bloggers that you’re recommending them on BlogDay 2006.
3. Write a post today with a short description of each blog, and link back to it.
4. Link back to the Technorati BlogDay 2006 page.

I know, I know, I am late, don't punish me for it! So, I suggest these 5 blogs for your consideration. Actually, since I have already broken the rules and posted this 2 or 3 days late anyway, I may as well continue to be a non-conformist and post more than 5 blogs!

Here they are:
#1 Adversaria A theological blog by Alastair Roberts that often intrigues me and disrupts my complacency. It also causes me to wrestle with God, the Church, and my life. Check this blog out AS SOON as you are done reading this post!

#2 Starving Jesus - 40 Days of Nothing 2 pastors who are fasting for 40 days and traveling around the country trying to get people out of the church pews and into participating in God's Kingdom. What a concept!

#3 Patrick Mead Patrick is the preacher at the Rochester Church of Christ. He has tremendous insight and his voice needs to be heard!

#4 Josh Graves Josh is Patrick Mead's son in law and he really gets and holds my attention.

#5 Preacher Mike Mike Cope is the preacher at the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. He is a wonderful speaker and an insightful writer. He is also the Senior Editor of New Wineskins magazine.

#6 Larry James Urban Daily Larry is the CEO of Central Dallas Ministries, a ministry with a focus on economic and social justice in inner city Dallas, Texas. Here is a man with a heart for the poor, the homeless, the social outcasts. Kind of sounds like a man after Jesus' own heart, doesn't he?

#7 Meanderings Our own preacher at Trenton Church of Christ. Mark is a witty, intelligent, fun loving guy that gets the Gospel, and tries to help the rest of us get it as well.

#8 My So-Called Homeschool Gem is a member at our church and a frequent blogger. She is a homeschooling mom (bet you would have never guessed!) and has a good post to read most everyday.

#9 Rabbi Saul: Studies in Paul and Second Temple Judaism A blog dedicated to the study of Paul, his faith, and the way in which he integrated the Hebrew Scriptures into the writings that would become his Epistles. If you like N.T. Wright, you will be at home here.

#10 The Ashram This blog is a community of people living in God’s Kingdom here & now. “a humble attempt at authentic living, relying on community and conversation for holistic answers to fractured questions, trying to catch a glimpse of the kingdom coming, seeking the one who said "follow me"...”

That's it. Check ‘em all out, let me know what you think.    

What I am studying (besides the Bible)

Lately, I have been listening to lectures by a famous theologian and bishop of the Anglican Church in Durham, England.  N.T. (Tom) Wright. Bishop Wright is widely considered an expert on the letters of Paul and he is also on the Eames Commission, which is seeking to steer the Anglican Church through the difficult waters of dealing with the American ordination of gay priests and how the church as a whole will respond to that situation.

I am currently reading his recently released book, “Simply Christian, Why Christianity Makes Sense”.  In both his lectures and his book, Wright speaks about God “putting the world to rights”. He says “Resurrection doesn’t mean going to heaven when you die. It isn’t about life after death, it’s about life after ’life after death’”. He discusses the concept that the ultimate goal for a Christian isn’t getting to heaven, it’s about being in a relationship with God that announces to the world that the Kingdom of God is here, that through Jesus the powers that corrupt and bind the world have been conquered, and that by His Spirit and through His church, He will heal and restore it.

We are called to be agents of that purpose, and we are also called to model that healing to others, showing the world that through Christ we have been made whole. We are currently living in the darkness, but we are doing so by the light of Jesus. And we are called to be those change agents through community. We are a group of people who belong to each other because we belong to God in and through Jesus Christ.

Wright says that the two primary reasons the church exists are to worship God and to work for His Kingdom in the world. But we can’t do it alone, we need the community and the fellowship of the church in order to build one another up, teach one another, pray with and for each other, and to set examples for one another.  To live the Christian life means dying with Jesus to the old way of living, rising again with Him, and  following Him into His new world, the world that God is now in the process of  “putting to rights”.

There is much here to consider. How are we supposed to live as citizens of God’s Kingdom? What is God calling us to do? How do we preach the “Good News” to a lost and lonely world? I don’t believe that it is enough for us just to consider ourselves saved from our sin through Jesus and His sacrifice, we also need to go out into the world and live our lives as examples of that Good News. We need to be Christ to the world.

N.T. Wright will be speaking at the January Series of Calvin College event in Grand Rapids this January, for more information on that event click here.

To read more from and about N.T. Wright, or to download mp3 files of his lectures, visit the unofficial N.T. Wright webpage on the internet by clicking here.    

My Heroes

Our church, the Trenton Church of Christ, has several folks involved in missions throughout the world. A mission team just returned from building and encouraging the church in Honduras while another team from our congregation just came back from working with kids and teens in Finland. Another of our members, Beth Tunick, is spending a couple of years in Uganda working as a schoolteacher to the children of several missionaries there. She is also spending most of her spare time spreading the Word and love of Jesus to the people there. You can read about her missionary work on her blog at: http://bethinuganda.blogspot.com/

About 8 months ago, a good friend of mine decided to quit his job and go to Finland to bring the Gospel of Jesus to the post-Christian people of that country. Because of the way the laws in Finland work, Jim can only stay a few months and then he has to leave the country for a few months, then he gets to come back again for a few months. So off he went to Budapest to train for and earn his CELTA certificate (CELTA is a certificate for teaching the English language to others in Europe) which allows him to hopefully get a job in Finland enabling him to stay for a more extended period of time. He graduated the CELTA program, and will be headed back to Finland soon in search of work there. He will be joining Leanne, who will be in Finland for a few more weeks when he returns to Finland. You can read more about the work in Finland at: http://fmtampere.com/default.aspx

Jim, Beth, Leanne, and all of the others that go and work outside the safety and security of our country are an inpiration to me; their dedication to the Lord, the caring way that they treat people, and the love they have for those around them show the world so well that the power of the Spirit is working through them.

Jim, if you read this, your brothers from the Thursday night Zeteo group want you to know that we love you, we miss you, and we are proud of the work you our doing over there. May God bless you richly for your devotion to His Word! We are keeping you in our prayers daily.

Praise You In This Storm

Recently we lost a very close friend to pancreatic cancer. In the days leading up to the funeral many of those who were close to her couldn't understand why this had to happen. They wanted to know why God allows these kinds of things to happen.

I had those same kinds of thoughts myself when my son David passed away in 1982. I questioned God, got angry with Him, and eventually I abandoned Him. It took many, many years for me to learn to trust God again. Life is full of so many mountaintops and valleys, it's never been a smooth ride. But in the years since David died the one thing I've learned to trust, to lean on, is that no matter what is going on in my life, God is always there with me, holding my hand, hugging me, giving me the strength to make it through my many storms.

"Praise You In This Storm" is a song by the Christian group Casting Crowns that helps lift me up when I am struggling with the storms in my life. This song is from their Lifesong cd; if you don't have it...GET IT! It's one of the best cd's I've heard.

Here are the words to "Praise You In This Storm":
I was sure by now
God, You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth

Though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm.

Pagan? What's that?

My wife and I run a bicycle shop in the metro Detroit area, which is a seasonal business. We usually are fairly busy during the spring and summer months, but we slow down quite a bit during the fall and winter. This cycle (I like the chance to throw in that word!) usually requires us to hire seasonal help in order to get through this busy season, and this year hasn’t been any different. Or so I thought.
     
I am usually busy during this time of the year in our workroom, doing repairs on bikes, assembling new bikes, and frequently serving our customers. Because I spend so much time in the workroom, I try to use that time to maximize my Biblical studies. I am usually listening to mp3 recordings of sermons, Christian talk radio, worship music, or the Bible on compact disc.

This season I hired someone to help out with the mechanical duties, and it turns out that he is a pagan. “What does that mean?” you might ask. Well, at first I kind of thought he was kidding, you know, someone who doesn’t really believe in God, an agnostic or an atheist just making a joke, teasing the Christian guy at work. Turns out, though, he really is a pagan, a worshipper of nature, believing in many Gods, and ultimately, believing in a “balanced” god system, a divine male and female. His wife is a wiccan, as are both of his teenage daughters.

Paul (not his real name) has been working for me now for about 2 months, and he is a great guy in just about every respect. He loves his kids, is heavily involved in all of their activities, and he is always willing to help whenever needed around the shop. We get along very well, and we constantly discuss theological issues. He is quite open to just about anything I want to share with him, and he often shares his past experiences with me.

Paul used to be a Christian. He and his wife lived in Texas and were members of a fairly legalistic fundamental church there. They had some bad experiences at that church, and ultimately left the faith. He often tells me how bad Christians behave, and I frequently have to agree with him. In fact, I keep telling him that unfortunately for Jesus, the worst advertising for Christianity is often the Christians!

Lately Paul has told me that if anyone can convert him back to Christianity, it would be me. At first, I thought he was teasing me again, but he was serious. He told me that he hadn’t met a Christian like me before, someone that didn’t judge him, but just listened to what he had to say, interacted with him, and didn’t condemn him to hell and the devil. I wish that weren’t true, I feel bad for Paul, that he and his wife haven’t been able to experience the love and grace that God has shown us through Jesus.

He said the same thing again the other day, so I asked him if he was serious or if he was simply challenging me. He said it wasn’t really possible for him to convert back to Christianity, there was no way he’d ever worship Hey Zeus (his phrase for Jesus) again. The funny thing is that I know God has been working on Paul’s heart ever since he left the faith, He is putting questions into Paul’s mind that I don’t think he ever considered, and it is causing him to think about new and interesting issues in his life.  

I pray that God gives me the answers that Paul needs to hear. If anyone reading this blog has any experience dealing with and talking about these issues with pagan/wiccan believers, I would certainly appreciate any advice you can offer.

I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Romans 15:30

    

Homeless in Hart Plaza

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'  (Matthew 25:34-36)

These words, spoken by our Lord, have really made a difference in how I look at the world today. My wife Debbie and I are involved in ministering to folks who are homeless. What a homeless friend of mine calls “housing challenged”.

Our church participates in an area-wide homeless housing program called ChristNet, which essentially feeds and houses those in need through the fall, winter, and spring months in Detroit’s Downriver area. Each week from September through May a different church will host ChristNet, allowing up to 30 guests each night to eat and sleep in a safe, warm, friendly environment.

Debbie has always had a heart for the homeless, but I have to admit, until we first participated in the ChristNet program, I hadn’t given homelessness much thought. Sure, I would see the occasional homeless person walking down the street, but it would never even enter my mind to stop and engage that person in conversation. Wow! How things have changed! Jesus has really worked through Debbie to touch the lives of people that in the past I never would have given a second thought about.

Last month we decided to head to downtown Detroit to talk to some homeless people, to listen to their stories, to feed them, and to let them know that Jesus loves them. It was truly uplifting to see how much trust many of them have in God in spite of their circumstances. We came back excited and refreshed, and most of all, I think we made a difference to them, even if only for a day.

After relating our experience to Shawn, the youth minister at our church, he decided that a youth group service project was in order. A few Friday evenings later we made about 50 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, loaded up 2 cases of water and 120 bags of potato chips and headed to Hart Plaza with several adults and a group of our teens.

We handed out all of our food and water that night, talked to many homeless folks, and prayed with them. They loved it! It meant so much to them to know that God was there with them working through us, feeding them, giving them a listening ear, treating them the way anyone would want to (and should be) be treated. I think our teens learned a valuable lesson that night, and my prayer is that they will remember that night every time they come across someone in need.

In Matthew 25:40, Jesus said
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Let’s keep in mind those priceless words from our King!    

The Body of Christ

I have been pondering a question about the bread and fruit of the vine and whether or not it truly is the body and blood of Christ in a literal sense.

I grew up in the Catholic tradition, and transubstantiation is a doctrine that was considered tantamount to being Catholic, if you didn't believe in transubstantiation, you were considered a heretic and technically no longer a Catholic. At least that's how it was taught to me.

This post is meant mainly to address the Catholic idea of transubstantiation, and how I feel about it, but I think that much of it could also be applied to the Lutheran concept of consubstantiation as well. I don't know as much about the Lutheran doctrine, but I think it is somewhat similar to the Catholic idea, with only slight differences.

I can't claim that these are all my own ideas, because they aren't. I have been studying the Lord's Supper over the summer, and have drawn this out of many resources, most importantly, the Bible.

Another resource that I have used extensively (aside from the internet, and you know, if it's on the internet it has to be true, right?), is John Mark Hicks book, "Revisioning the Lord's Supper". If you haven't read it, I would highly recommend it to you. He gets deep into the idea of Old Testament fellowship at table and how it should carry over to the table today.

One of the major problems I have with transubstantiation is the idea that at every mass, Christ is crucified all over again, His body is broken and His blood is spilled during the rite spoken by the priest. This is an integral part of the transubstantiation doctrine, that Christ is re-sacrificed at every mass. But in Hebrews 7:27 it says "Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself." It doesn't say that Jesus keeps dying over and over again, week after week, at churches all over the world.

Another key difficulty with transubstantiation for me is that Jesus constantly uses symbolism to describe spiritual ideas. In John 6, which is probably the book/chapter that most Catholics would point to in order to justify transubstantiation, Jesus uses many different metaphors to speak of spiritual truths. In fact, before He speaks about eating His flesh, Jesus has already told the unbelievers four times that they must BELIEVE in Him in order to have life.

Jesus tells them in John 6:51 "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." If we interpret the verses that you must literally eat Jesus' body and blood, we run into problems.

This verse claims that you must eat His body and drink His blood in order to have eternal life. Over and over again in this chapter, Jesus made it clear that eternal life came from believing in Him. We "eat" Jesus only in a spiritual sense. Eating isn't a spiritual act, but believing in Him is. If we take this verse literally, we see that the thief on the cross didn't eat Jesus' body or drink His blood, so Jesus would have to have been lying when He told him that he would be with Him in heaven that very day.

In John 6, Jesus was illustrating spiritual truths with earthly examples. Eternal life comes from belief in Christ, not from eating the bread. Near the end of the chapter, in verse 63, Jesus tells the disciples that He was talking about spiritual truths: "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life."

Luke 22:10-20 says, "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." When you look at the context of the situation, I don't think that these words were meant to be taken literally. How could Jesus, who was still present in His own body, say that bread and wine were His body and blood? Jesus told them to commemorate His sacrifice and New Covenant by using the bread and wine as symbols of His body and blood.

Jesus also said that He was able to give "living water:" Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." John 4:10This is one of the best examples that Jesus may have been talking about the same thing in John 4 as in John 6. Both times, He uses the word "living." Jesus is the "living bread" and the "living water." I think he was referring not to a physical reality, but to spiritual truths. The way that bread is needed for physical life, water is also needed for physical life.

But Jesus gives us the living (spiritual) water that we need for eternal life:
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14    

God wants to Fellowship with us!

Good Morning! Reading Roland Bainton's biography of Martin Luther has given me a new understanding of the man who defied the pope and helped bring Germany, and ultimately the world, to discover God's grace. (If you get a chance to read this book, do it.)

Grace is such a difficult thing to grasp, even today. How could a sovereign holy God bring Himself down to our level? He doesn't! He brings us UP through the blood of His Son. But why does He do it? God wants to fellowship with us. He wants us to love Him for who He is. He doesn't need or want robots that are compelled or forced to worship Him, but loving children in adoration of their wonderful Father.

What a hard thing to understand sometimes, but it is all so easy. He made us, He loves us, He wants us to be His children, and He was willing to sacrifice His Son in order to have this fellowship with us.

So, what is Grace? Our pulpit minister tells us it is a "gift we don't deserve", and he’s right. But it is so much more than that. It is God's remarkable, wonderful loving-kindness made real and whole. It is Jesus on the cross saying "Forgive them, for they know not what they do". It's Jesus kissing Judas on his cheek, knowing even then what he had done, still loving and caring for him. It is the Resurrection. In the end, it is pure, holy, selfless LOVE! How do YOU define Grace?    

Is it Friday or is it Sunday?

I recently read John Mark Hicks "Come to the Table; Revisioning the Lord's Supper". Having grown up in the Catholic tradition, I have always found myself focused on Jesus crucifixion. John Mark has helped me to find Sunday, and for that I thank him. Many of the thoughts I express in this post are directly from his book, so if you have read it, they may look familiar to you....

I have a question for you. Do you live on Friday or on Sunday? That might seem like a weird question, I’ll come back to that in a minute.

Jesus is with us when we break bread together at His table. He isn’t present in the sense that He is literally the bread that we eat, but He is present as the host of the supper. The cup doesn’t contain His spilled blood, but it does represent the cost that was paid by God in order for us to be forgiven.

Jesus hosts the meal for us so that we’re able to participate in communion with God. His death allows us to live forever; He sacrificed Himself so that we could be saved. But why? Who are we that God would allow Himself to be humiliated, beaten, and crucified just so we could live?

God pursues us. He wants to fellowship with us. When we come to the table, we are eating at the table of the living God. He isn’t just the host of the table, He is an active participant. He gives us a glimpse of the future at this table today. We’re able to get a little taste, even though it may just be a dry cracker and a thimble of juice, we get a taste of the heavenly banquet Christ is preparing for us.

John Calvin put it this way; he said “The Spirit lifts us up into the presence of Christ to sit at His table. Through the Spirit, by eating and drinking, we sit at the Heavenly Banquet Table of God.”

Until recently, I lived on Friday. What I mean by that is when I thought of Jesus, I focused on His crucifixion, His suffering, His pain, His death. Don’t misunderstand me, it’s good to think about those things, we should remember the sacrifice He made for us.

But it isn’t Friday anymore. Now, I am learning to live on Sunday. What day do you live on? Do you live on Friday, with a dead Jesus hanging on the cross, His body broken, His blood flowing down? Or do you live on Sunday, with Jesus resurrected, seated at the right hand of the Father, preparing a heavenly banquet to share with us? This isn’t a time of sorrow and pain, it’s a time to rejoice and be glad because Jesus isn’t dead, today is Sunday and He is ALIVE!

Tithing our Time

Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; Shout for joy to the LORD , all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the LORD - shout for joy before the LORD , the King. Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the LORD Psalm 98:1, 4-5, 7-9

In the Book of Numbers, we are told to be patient, to wait for God’s guidance and for His leading in our lives. But we are also taught to act on that leading once He makes His will known to us. We are taught to be committed to God.

Every Sunday morning we gather together and worship God. We praise Him for the marvelous things He has done, we burst into jubilant song before Him, and we shout for joy to our Lord, to our King.

God doesn’t want or need our money. What He really wants is our hearts. He wants us to be committed to following His leading in our lives. I heard Tim Woodroof say something like this in a sermon once, “There are 168 hours in each week. Most of us spend an average of about 56 of those hours sleeping. That leaves us with 112 hours of time spent awake most weeks. Do we tithe that time back to the Lord? Do we give God 11 hours each week?”

We spend a few hours at church each Sunday, another couple of hours on Wednesday night, but what about the other 6 or 7 hours that we owe to the Lord each week? Do you contribute your time back to God, either through prayer, in study, or in service to Him in some way?

I’m going to challenge us all to do just that. Try giving God at least His 11 hours this week and see what happens. I think we will discover that when we turn ours lives over to God, when we commit ourselves completely to His will for us, we will recognize that everything we have, everything we earn and everything we are has been given to us as a generous gift from God. What we give back to Him each week, both in time and money is an expression of our gratefulness to Him for all these wonderful blessings.

“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16    

Welcome to Zeteo!

I am new to blogging, so bear with me. The purpose of this blog is to seek out the Truth that God has in store for me, and to share that search with others. I don't know how often I will post to this blog, but I want to share any new thoughts or ideas that I come across through my daily reading, study of Scripture, and everyday life. I hope you enjoy this searcher's journey. I am in no way a professional writer of any kind, so please don't hold me to anything higher than your LOWEST standards. I will always welcome comments and discussion, so please feel free to join in whenever the Lord moves you to. Thanks for checking out my blog. Now let the journey begin.........Al

"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16