“The Table: What the Heck?” Round 3- Spoils of War
Sunday, May 2nd
Church is not a spectator sport.
If you think that you can watch others on the field from your the couch with the popcorn, then you’re probably under one of these misconceptions ( and most of us are ):
1. Problems? What problems? There is nothing wrong with me, you, or the world in general. It’s all peachy keen.
2. The problems of the world can only be fixed by superheroes.
Church is not for spectators or superheroes.
Paul wrote a challenging (yet kind) letter to the church in Ephesus. Taking cues from this letter, Andy also challenged us kindly this past Sunday at Table Launch team. We have been looking at the core values of The Table and church (hence: The Table- What the Heck?)
Wake up and smell the asphalt: our world is a mess.
We are in a war. You can see this war reflected in everything from the movies we watch, to natural disasters, to the way kids play on the jungle gym. There is this cosmic and historical battle going on between good and evil. This story is in us. The hero will beat insurmountable odds, will fight a terrifying enemy, come within a hair of defeat and when it seems all is lost, the hero with triumph. Good will be restored to the world and we shall all ride off into the sunset. That’s how it goes, right?
So are we still waiting for rescue from a superhero? The great thing is that as Christians we are in on the biggest secret in history: The War Has Already Been Won. Death and evil were defeated when a Jewish carpenter was executed on a cross. It seemed all hope was lost, but death couldn’t hold this hero down.
If the war was already won, then why are we still here in this mess? We are still waiting for rescue. Scripture says “the whole of creation groans for rescue”. It’s not just humanity that is waiting.
When God made the earth he said everything was good. But there was only one thing he chose on earth to bear his image. And that was us. (Question: how many humans does it take to reveal the Image of God?* )
Paul suggests that all of creation, all of the cosmos, is waiting for something. “For the sons and daughters of God to be revealed.”
This is where the spoils of war come in. We got something when the war was won. The battle continues but we have been given the ability to become sons and daughters of God. We were all adopted into this big crazy family. This was the inheritance we lost in the garden, but have now regained. We were all given different abilities and gifts , or “superpowers”. Like any hero or anti-hero, you can use those powers for good or evil. It’s your choice.
There’s no Plan B. No one is getting off this earth alive. The choice you have is whether to fight or spectate. This dream we are fighting for truly is impossible, by our own strength. Humanity is a story of failure after failure, often because we have tried to strike out like the lone ranger and tried to prove ourselves.
Jesus hasn’t come back for the final rescue yet because he’s waiting for us. The happy ending of this story is a wedding. Between the ‘bride’ of the unified church and her savior. But until she stands up to fight in unity, creation will keep waiting.
Sound hopeless? If we had to do this on our own strength, it truly would be. But there is a greater power working within us. Each part of the church community is not just benefitial, its essential.
*Answer to earlier question: It take every person on earth to reveal God’s image. One day God will be revealed to all of creation through us, the sons and daughters.
