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Communion Meditations (2022)

 

Flying Saucer

Originally scheduled for December 11

We may begin by looking at one of the strangest accounts in all of Scripture:
Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if one wheel were within another. Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without turning as they moved. As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about. Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. And whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also.
(Ezekiel 1:15-19 NASB)
 
If you want a place in Scripture where the commentators are hesitant and indecisive, disagreeing with each other completely, this is it. Interestingly enough, before the 20th century no one seems to have come up with the thought that Ezekiel was looking at a flying saucer. Opinions on this passage are given very tentatively, which is a sign that most of us have no clue what God is doing here. But we may take it from some of the modern wild-eyed commentators that God at least knows how to make a flying saucer. Whether this is one I leave to your judgment.
 
So, why didn’t Jesus just arrive in a flying saucer instead of being born in a manger? Think of the trouble it would’ve saved him. No complications from doing a virgin birth; no questions or suggestions about his childhood and of course recruiting disciples would’ve been much easier after he arrived.
But there are some reasons why he didn’t do it that way.
·        For one thing, his purpose in coming was to be the atonement for the sins of mankind. It’s a little incongruous to arrive in a high-tech saucer and then be sacrificed on the cross.
·        One of his main purposes was to make us his brothers and sisters under the fatherhood of God. How do you make someone the brother or the sister of a space alien?
Because of the Incarnation, Christ knows our suffering. He can therefore be our mediator, the link between us and God the Father. He knows our temptation; he knows our suffering — He has “been there, done that.”
 
If you going to do things the Right Way, God’s way, there is usually a price to pay. We remember the price that Christ paid when we take the bread, his body. It reminds us of his suffering at the cross for our sake. We take the cup, which represents his blood, we remember that life is in the blood and he gave his life for us. He came as a baby into our world, grew up, suffered and died for our sake. Therefore, as you participate this morning, take the time to examine yourself and then partake in a worthy manner.

 

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