The Lord has prepared a table for us here, in the presence of our enemies. This means that we dine while they rage. The Lord has taken us into His pavilion, while outside is the strife of tongues. There was this thing called the strife of tongues, even before the Internet. The strife of tongues is like a monkey scribbling with a crayon, and all the Internet did was give the monkey superpower speeds. But still the Lord is with His people. The Lord has accompanied us in the boat, even though a great storm rages outside the boat. We do not need to worry because we seek to be where Jesus is.
And where “Jesus is” can be found, according to His promise, in the Word and sacrament. He is presented to us in the declaration of His gospel, and He is presented to us in and through the bread and wine, according to His covenant. Where Christ is, everything is secure, settled, permanent, grounded. To borrow the words of the poet, He is the still point of the turning world.
Away from Christ is tumult. Away from Christ is necessary tumult. The roil of unbelief does not know how to trust, how to rest, how to settle. True faith, evangelical faith, rests in Him. He is present—as He has promised—here. If He is present, and if you approach Him in faith, you understand that presence. You feel it. You grasp it. You are alive in it.
No wonder you are alive in it. It is your life. Here is your life.
So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.
Matt. 11:
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
(Then take the time to stop and smell the “monkeys”,
it makes them that much more amusing, and,
worthy as objects of sympathy.)
I saw the title and thought “oh no, he’s been reading my blog.” But then I felt better because I remembered that no one reads my blog.
That’s because no one can read your blog. The domain is expired. :)
So fire that blog back up, I’d read it, as you appear to be some kind of good “helper monkey”! ; – )
Ya might find it on Wayback Machine or some such web archive. (You can find my lohr84.com there.)
“… a table for us here, in the presence of our enemies”
Paul dissed the Corinthians for discluding some of “us” — grabbing all the goodies on that table before a lot of the folk could make it in.
There are some groups today (RC / PCA and others) that take pride in a different discludation method: Erect a fence against acknowledged believers that aren’t part of your recognized faction.
Can you blame the shunned for figuring they are considered enemies in whose presence the chosen eat?