Loneliness

In this coming week’s Epistle Reading, Paul tells Timothy, “At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me.” Many of us equate loneliness with desertion. Doesn’t anyone care about me? Don’t the Ministers care about how I feel? Why doesn’t my husband understand my grief? Where is God? As time goes on, one’s loneliness can begin to affect how one feels about oneself. Perhaps I really am worthless. Maybe everyone is right; it’s not fun to be around me. We’ll talk more about Paul’s letter this Sunday.

Loneliness is not an indicator of one’s negative value, as a matter of fact; loneliness can actually be a good sign. Most people who begin to go to deeper levels of spirituality experience a pervasive loneliness. As they grow closer to God, sometimes they may even feel that God is farther away. The examples in the Bible of this are generally referred to as "desert experiences"...Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by the devil...or on the cross when the Son of God cries out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Tough words aren't they? It is in the loneliness that God draws us away from every other source of strength...even away from ourselves, so that we rely only on him. The prophets in the OT always went into the desert to be with God and it would be weeks before God spoke to them...they would be hungry, thirsty, close to death and then God would send a raven with some food, our some rain to refresh and when the prophet was totally reliant on God, God would speak. Sometimes the “desertion” by your friends and family can be the best thing; to allow you the space to seek after God in your loneliness.

Too often we think the opposite of loneliness is to constantly be with others. Loneliness can even come in a crowd. Others view loneliness as the opposite of joy. Ultimately, our joy is our own responsibility, not that of others. In my own experiences, my focus on my own loneliness, to learn something in the silence, is what led to joy. Joy, not always happiness, but joy, is what leads me deeper in my relationship with Christ. Trust in the presence of God as affirmed by Holy Scripture. Experiences will often fail you, but God’s Word is always trustworthy. "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5 KJV). Lonely? Look, God is with you!

Why We Worship the Way we Do: Part Six

The highest point of worship is the celebration of the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion, also called The Great Thanksgiving. The word Eucharist (Matthew 26:27 et al) is the Greek word meaning “thanksgiving.” The New Testament most often refers to this as The Breaking of Bread (Acts 2:42 et al).

The early church celebrated this rite every week as they met together. The responsive reading of Lift up your hearts, etc., is an ancient prayer of Thanksgiving or sursum corda, meaning, “to turn your hearts.” Similar extemporaneous words from the celebrant were used as early as 155 A.D. and set as rule by the third century as a way to ensure the faithful did not receive the body and blood unworthily (I Cor. 11:27-29). Our Great Thanksgiving with the Elder’s Prayers captures both of these traditions as we prepare to receive the bread of heaven and cup of salvation. The Word’s of Institution are the very words of Christ as recorded by Holy Scripture when he instituted the Lord’s Supper. The early Church believed that it was the saying of these words that made the Lord Supper real. These prayers and words are structured to bring the church through a re-presentation of the drama of our salvation. We give thanks for our creation, preservation through the cross, and our walk of faith. More than just an ordinal or ordinance (something ordered that we do merely as an act of commemoration), Holy Communion is a sacrament whereby God meets us in a very intimate setting, and bestows upon us a means of grace. It reaffirms the seal he put upon us at our baptism. I personally believe Christ's own teaching and that of the early church in seeing communion as more than a memorial of a past event. In the prayer of consecration, bread and wine become our spiritual food – the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ…his Real Presence.

The Disciples of Christ celebrate an open table, which means that our communion is open to all baptized believers. Communion of young children is offered at the discretion of the parents. We believe this is one of the most intimate times of worship available to the believer, thus we encourage you to use this time to focus upon the Lord. Following Communion, we say the Lord’s Prayer; the order suggested by Chalice Worship (our denomination’s book of worship) and concludes with the Great Mystery of our faith or the Summation. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. Based on Colossians 3:3, these are the essentials of our faith in which we share as heirs with Christ (I Cor. 15:12-25; Rom. 10:9).

Finally we receive a benediction from the celebrant. Benediction means “the good word.” It is this point in the service that we are dismissed. More then just permission to leave, the word dismissal comes from the Latin missa est, meaning “Go, you have been sent.” This is why our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters call their service, the mass from the word missa. Our bulletin seeks to be very clear about our duty as we call this portion of our worship: Going Forth to Serve God. Worship has not ended as we leave, it simply continues in a different venue.

Why We Worship the Way we Do: Part Five

Following the Invitation to Discipleship, or the opportunity to receive Christ as Lord and Savior, we transition from the Service of the Word to the Service of the Table. This portion of the service occurs in two parts. It is a response back and forth with God. This week’s focus is the first part, or The Invitation to Stewardship. We bring God our gifts and God blesses them and returns them to us for the edification of the Church. The ancient Church brought not only their tithes and offerings, but bread, wine and oil. These gifts of bread and wine were blessed for Holy Communion and the oil blessed for anointing of the sick by the Elders.

With regard to the tithes and offerings, the Church believes that the tithe is the Lord’s. More than an Old Testament command, our Lord affirmed the tithe and the writer of Hebrews underscored its importance. The tithe is a spiritual principle of first fruits.

While all that we have belongs to God, this act is an expression of faith. Giving the first tenth of our substance is an act of faith declaring that God is first in all parts of our life. He releases the tithe into the church in order to release His ministry into the world. Through the tithe we also express our confidence that He will bless and sustain us through what remains.

When the offerings have been received, we join in the procession of the Tithes singing the Doxology or its official title, Old Hundreth, in that is a paraphrase of Psalm 100. It is one of the oldest hymns in the Protestant Church dating before the Reformation, although it has a counterpart in the Roman Church that is similar, entitled the Gloria in Excelsis.