Broken
I kept getting this one image in my head each time I’d read this chapter and that was the one of "The Karate Kid" rhythmically moving his hands to his teacher’s instruction of "wax on / wax off." The kid doesn’t have a clue why he’s doing it. In fact, he’s pretty pissed off about having to paint the master’s fence and put the wax on the master’s car only to take the wax back off. He doesn’t yet see the big picture his esteemed teacher is trying to teach him…
And so it was with Jesus and his disciples.
They never seemed to quite get a grip on what He kept aluding to. He even came right out and stated the obvious on occasion and still they all stood there – looking at Him – wondering why He was talking such "crazy talk." He was going away soon? One of them was going to betray him? They were all going to abandon him? What???
Wax on.
Wax off.
And no matter what denomination you personally follow and no matter what your personal beliefs about what the bread and the wine mean – that really doesn’t matter to me. As long as you know WHOSE blood and WHOSE body and WHY you are joining Christ at that table – I refuse to get lost in the semantics of the most beautiful part of our religion. I never feel a more intimate connection to Christ than I do when I am about to join Him at that table. The emotion of it all overtakes me every single time. I’m either moved to tears or left smiling ear to ear – and I never know which it’s going to be. I just open my heart and let his body and blood rush through me and let whatever comes up, come up.
Personally though, I think He just really wants us all at that table, acknowledging He is our Lord and Savior and admitting (and remembering) the sacrifice He made for us - that it was He who died upon the cross so we would be redeemed in the eyes of our Almighty God.
But back then – at the first Last Supper – He was sitting with a group of protégés who still didn’t really understand why they had spent the past three years learning how to "wax on / wax off." But like that young boy in the movie, "Karate Kid," everything was about to click into place and their lives would be forever altered. All the parables, all the accusations, all the meals with sinners, all the hushed healings and quiet, back street meetings - they were all about to figure out just what all this learning was about.
Wax on.
Wax off.
Amen.
And so it was with Jesus and his disciples.
They never seemed to quite get a grip on what He kept aluding to. He even came right out and stated the obvious on occasion and still they all stood there – looking at Him – wondering why He was talking such "crazy talk." He was going away soon? One of them was going to betray him? They were all going to abandon him? What???
Wax on.
Wax off.
And no matter what denomination you personally follow and no matter what your personal beliefs about what the bread and the wine mean – that really doesn’t matter to me. As long as you know WHOSE blood and WHOSE body and WHY you are joining Christ at that table – I refuse to get lost in the semantics of the most beautiful part of our religion. I never feel a more intimate connection to Christ than I do when I am about to join Him at that table. The emotion of it all overtakes me every single time. I’m either moved to tears or left smiling ear to ear – and I never know which it’s going to be. I just open my heart and let his body and blood rush through me and let whatever comes up, come up.
Personally though, I think He just really wants us all at that table, acknowledging He is our Lord and Savior and admitting (and remembering) the sacrifice He made for us - that it was He who died upon the cross so we would be redeemed in the eyes of our Almighty God.
But back then – at the first Last Supper – He was sitting with a group of protégés who still didn’t really understand why they had spent the past three years learning how to "wax on / wax off." But like that young boy in the movie, "Karate Kid," everything was about to click into place and their lives would be forever altered. All the parables, all the accusations, all the meals with sinners, all the hushed healings and quiet, back street meetings - they were all about to figure out just what all this learning was about.
Wax on.
Wax off.
Amen.
posted by HeyJules at
10:04 PM
1 Comments:
Great analogy, Jules, with the "wax on, wax off". I'm like you, as long as you have the right Jesus and the biblical why, I'm sitting right there at the same table.
The predominate religion in my area use water and I have observed their suppers, never participating since it isn't the Christ of the Bible. There isn't any fellowshipping there.
By
Pilot Mom, at 11:38 PM
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