"Without Flesh"

About 30 years ago, I was given a pamphlet on the Lord's Supper.  It was a trifold.  One side of the page had the Roman Catholic stances, the other side had the Protestant viewpoints.  In the middle of these positions, there were the relevant Bible verses on the Lord's Supper.

Like a good Bible student, I read through the pamphlet and looked up the verses.  My conclusion was, "The Roman Catholics are reading into and beyond the text; the Protestants are ignoring the text.  Why can't people just take Jesus for His Word and believe what He says?"

Take, eat; this is my body...Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  Matthew 26:26-28

At that moment, I embraced a position that I now know is similar to the Lutheran understanding of the Lord's Supper.

Our God, in the second person of the Trinity, Jesus, the Son, took on flesh, and He became one of us.  He walked and lived among us.  He lived a perfect life.  And in accordance with Old Testament prophecy, He died as a sacrifice for our sins and for our salvation.  And He overcame death and rose again, and He's still alive, seated at the right hand of power.  Because of that, when we die, we will pass from this life, to life with Him.  And we look forward to the physical restoration of our bodies.  Right now, He physically gives us faith, strength, and understanding through His Word, and in His sacraments. 

Lutheran Pastor Jonathan Fisk's new book is called Without Flesh:  Why the Church is Dying Even Though Jesus is Still Alive.  The title refers to many in today's church who are in a...

...constant state of decay and endless search for renewal.  Having a Word without flesh, they are Christians in churches who, by definition, do not believe that Jesus is among them.

The book is on the Lord's Supper.  But rather than writing an argument for the Lutheran teaching, Pastor Fisk, in various ways, explores the implications of Jesus coming in the flesh, and of our Lord continuing to come to us in a physical way.

Words matter.  That Jesus is alive and ascended to power - that matters.  That He promised to be present and with us - it matters.   

We often live like He's gone, like He's not here.  Why is that, when we read, we hear, and we know His promises?

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Psalm 46:1

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20

Whenever I read a book, I ask myself, "What parts of this book especially impact me and are parts that I will be considering and thinking on?" 

- Chapter 2 - Where Might Jesus Be?  
The chapter explores the impact of Jesus's ascension, and that it's "something far more marvelous than mere omnipresence."

- Chapter 3 - Where Has Jesus Been?   
Pastor Fisk gives a scientific picture of how our words and what we say to one another actually affect us.   He examines how physical words from one person can "touch" another person, and make "things" happen inside of them.

- Chapter 8 - What Did John Touch?
This chapter includes teachings on Greek words, grammar, and verb tenses. 

Without Flesh is a short book, but it's not a quick read.  It's a book that will challenge and impact one's Christian faith in a positive way.