The Parable of the Cinnamon Rolls

For the longest time, I have been burning the bottom of cinnamon rolls. Then one day last week, I cooked them a little differently than usual.  I oiled the pan  first.  Then, instead of keeping the rolls spaced out (which I normally did), I put them in a group together.  I let them cook in the oven and checked on them periodically.  After a short while, I looked in on them and the tops had cooked as normal.  So now was the major test. I checked the bottom... and they were perfect!!!   What I noticed was that the more rolls were in the pan, the less heat there was on each one.  The rolls absorb the heat from one another and keep them all from being burnt.  

The cinnamon rolls represent people.  The oil represents the presence of God. (Leviticus 21:12)  The heat represents the trials of life.  By going through hard times in life together, we protect one another from being scarred and unusable.  We also allow one another to expand and become the best we can be.  God's presence is with us, but it is not the only thing we've been given to sustain us.  There are other rolls in the pan too!

For the last three years, our family has been in the oven of seminary.  By God's grace, we've been through the fire and made it out.   Today is the moment of icing - Graduation Day!!!

"It is not good for rolls to be alone"

We've learned many things about God and ourselves.  The biggest lesson has not been a theory or powerful explanation.  It has been the power and strength of community.  It has come in the form of friends and family who have gathered around us to protect us from the heat.  Phone calls, letters, study groups, cards, text messages, prayers, gifts, and visits just to say, let me come next to you while you face this.  

God puts us in each other's lives to keep the heat off one another.  The closer we become, the better we can withstand the fire.  When you are facing heat in your life, don't separate from others, get closer! I honor my wife, Ashley, who has remained in the oven with me through this season.  I love you and am so grateful for your presence in my life.  I also thank God for each of my classmates, who have become dear rolls to me.   :)  

Finally, to each person who said or did ANYthing to come alongside us during this season, may God richly bless you.  You have taught us the most important part of being God's creation - we were made to go through life together.  We are forever grateful for your relationship and Godly example.  Well, it's breakfast time now - let's go get this icing!!!

Thank you Lord for allowing us the blessing of friends and family. Thank you for our parents. Thank you for our co-workers. Thank you for our teachers and mentors. Thank you for our pastors. Thank you for each new person we met during our time in Durham. Thank you for Your presence with us here. Please help us never to forget the strength in doing life close together. Why you love us, we'll never fully know. But thank You for choosing us to go through the heat and come out better. We love You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Cooling,
j.a.g.

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Leviticus 21:12 - nor leave the sanctuary of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.

Can We Take Holy Communion Online?: Pt. 3 (Mystery)

This is the third of three posts answering the question posed in the title.  The other posts deal with community and history.  

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MYSTERY   mysterium (or sacramentum)

“What I have written is but a fleeting intimation of the outside of what one man sees ...No one shares the secret of a life; no one enters into the heart of the mystery.” - Howard Thurman

In any Christian church, Catholic or Protestant, conservative or liberal, Reformed or Evangelical, there are at least two sacraments or ordinances: they are Baptism and Holy Communion.  In fact, the word sacramentum (from which the word sacrament comes) in the Greek comes from the word mysterion or mystery.  The very definition reminds us that we don't completely understand what is happening when we participate in Holy Communion.  

Holy Communion/The Lord's Supper/Eucharist is a divine cliffhanger - it's a time we  remember and anticipate the Lord's return.  My Baptist theology teacher, Curtis Freeman, has some really poignant thoughts about the Lord's Supper.  He says that when it is happening, "There is more going on ...than meets the eye."  He also says "this can't be something that we do, but it has to be something that God does."  Others throughout the Christian tradition have remarked about the "Holy Mystery" of communion.

So, what is the final answer???



Yes we can.  I have to say that my initial uncertainty has been eased by God's habit of using things we think aren't worthy to reach us.  If God can use a donkey, a fish, a book, bread, wine, and even a rock, surely He can use a camera, a computer, and an internet signal.  In fact, a small community of believers have agreed to trust God and gather for a "virtual communion" this Sunday.  We're excited about what God has in store for us as we steward this mystery. (I Cor. 4:1)

The gospel was never meant to be a novelty or flavor of the month.  It will outlast YouTube, Skype, and Google; it's power and influence will not implode like the .com bubble...  

But it was never meant to be a relic either.  It is alive, energized by the words of Jesus Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit to be relevant in the world yesterday, today, and forever.

Please pray with us as we remember Christ through Holy Communion.  When God's people come together with Him as the focus, anything can happen.

God, you are able to do exceeding, abundantly, above all we can think, ask, or imagine.  Your Words are elusive, but they are real.  Let this bread and cup knit us together as it did Your followers.  Let it heal our illnesses, shape our character, and strengthen our faith.  We long to live for You beyond what we've seen.  Help us to keep looking to the hills from where our help comes.  We will be mindful to give you the praise.  Always.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.



Open,
j.a.g.



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I Corinthians 4:1
This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.