Reflections on the Table, Part 4 (written May 21)

"Today is Ascension Day, and that means that it is a day of great joy for all who can believe that Christ rules the world and our lives."

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

"And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God." -Luke 24:50-53

"He was lifted up on clouds of glory in order to go to His Father for the purpose of His coronation as our King - as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He ascended into heaven to fulfill His role as our Great High Priest, interceding for His people daily. So as He sits at the right hand of the Father, exercising His lordship over the whole world and His intercession before the Father on behalf of His people, He improves our condition dramatically. Not only this, but before Pentecost could come and the Holy Spirit could be poured out upon the church, empowering the church for its missionary enterprise to the whole world, it was necessary for Christ to ascend so that together with the Father He might dispatch from heaven the Holy Spirit in all of His power." -R.C. Sproul

"For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet." 

-1 Cor. 15:25

"On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people
      a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
      of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

And he will swallow up  on this mountain
      the covering that is cast over all peoples,
      the veil that is spread over all nations.
      He will swallow up death forever;
and  the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

      and  the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
      for the Lord has spoken."       -Isaiah 25:6-8

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." -John 14:3

"And the angel said to me, 'Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." -Revelation 19:9

Dear Grace Vancouver Family,

At the centre of any home with any sense of health, joy, togetherness, belonging and family. . . is a Table. . . . and today is Ascension Day!!!

My heart is about to explode as I write this fourth part in our Reflections on the Table series. Today is exactly forty days from Easter Sunday, in the Scriptures signifying the day Jesus raises into the heavens and is coronated at the right hand of God the Father as King of kings and Lord of lords. From that place of Kingship, Jesus is orchestrating all the events of human history to culminate in His children from among the nations gathering to a great Table of feasting, in fact a Table that is called the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb" near the end of the Bible in Rev. 19.

Mom had just been diagnosed with an aggressive stage 4 cancer back in late November of last year. I was meeting with my spiritual director every few weeks,... and I had begun traveling to Seattle on a weekly basis to help out mom as well as the family. I confided in Mark (my spiritual director) that I had been praying for my mom to give her life to Jesus for almost 30 years now, and so often for so many years those prayers seemed to fall on hard soil and to produce little fruit. I had developed a really great relationship with my mom for the last 20 years; ever since I became an emerging adult, mom and I had become good friends, and in many ways I had become her confidant as she would often run things by me.... yet she seemed to be so far and distant from the Lord as the years would pass one after another. And now she had received a terminal diagnosis and the weight of her eternal soul came down on me like a one ton steel beam where it seemed that neither I nor a hundred men could lift. If my efforts had seemed so often fruitless in bringing her to Christ over 30 years, what if she only had 30 days? What was I going to do now? 

About a week before that conversation with my spiritual director Mark, mom had said something amazing to me, using words that I had never heard come out of her mouth in my 48-yr relationship with her. She said regarding her cancer diagnosis, "Michael, this cancer is so much bigger than me; I feel like the Lord has been in my heart for some time now and that He is humbling me." I shared those words with Mark, but then I immediately jumped into sharing how much pressure I felt to "close the deal," to bring my mom to Jesus, given the limited time she had left.

Mark mostly listened to my great fears and anxieties for about twenty minutes. And then he said, "Mike, you've been a pastor for a long time and you know the Bible well, so you go ahead and test what I'm about to say with the Scriptures." 

I leaned in. 

Mark continued, "Salvation is the work of God, not us humans. God is gathering His children to His table; it's His work, not yours. What we get to do as His Beloved children is witness what He is doing and participate with Him in His work." 

My heart was beating fast with fear, joy, hope, anxiety, yearning, awe and worship all at the same time. I was completely locked in. 

Mark continued, "When your mom said that the Lord has been in her heart for some time now and that He is humbling her, where do you think those words came from? Again, test what I am saying, but her words are enough for me. Shouldn't they be enough for you to know that God is gathering your mom to His Table? He seems pleased to include you in His story of salvation, but the writing of the story is His work, not yours."

Mark wasn't speaking; it was the Holy Spirit. I had no words, only tears. I began to weep uncontrollably. A one ton steel beam had just been removed from my shoulders.

Throughout our Eastertide series, we have heard powerful and wonderful messages from Professors Ross Hastings and Jonathan Wilson, as well as our staff Tunyi and Rolland. This Sunday we get to hear from Tony Lee. A couple of weeks ago, our pastoral intern Rolland got us to think about Christ as Prophet, Priest and King and what a terrific message Rolland gave.

I want to add to Rolland's message today, that it is from that place of Jesus' enthronement as the Risen and Ascended King that Jesus continues to serve as Prophet, Priest and King. Whether it is through His priestly work of intercession or Kingly work of reigning, Jesus does this work as the Incarnated Son of God, from His exalted throne in the heavens at the right hand of God the Father. And it is a work that is immutable we might say; unlike the work of human hands. His work as a part of the Triune Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, cannot be frustrated or thwarted. To return to Mark's statement, "Salvation is God's work, not ours." 

It's a home, a Table that the Lord is bringing His children to, as He reigns and as His Kingdom comes. 

I cannot wait to participate in the Eucharist, the Table of thanksgiving, with you again. We wait for our ability to regather as His Church again before we participate together again, but in the meantime we open our eyes to seeing the Power of the Table at work all around us and in our lives, the lives of our loved ones and family members, friends and neighbours, especially among those who mourn, thirst and hunger. Let us not neglect the gathering/communion of the Saints when the doors of Grace Van reopen again (Hebrews 10:24,25), but let us also reject the belief that somehow God's power or mission is limited because we are so severely limited. God is gathering His children to His Table; it is indeed His work, not ours. Might we participate with Him in that work, regardless of our limitations, seeing that the work of His Table is powerfully at work all around us in the small moments of life, in our relationships and in our world. 

And might we rejoice in all of it because today is Ascension Day, "Today is Ascension Day, and that means that it is a day of great joy for all who can believe that Christ rules the world and our lives."

Blessings dear friends,

Pastor Mike

Next Message in this Series: Who Comes to the Banquet Feast (and Who Refuses It?)