Wednesday, April 5th | The Necessity of Somberness in Communion

Welcome back, everyone. Today is Wednesday, April the 5th. I'm Ryan Hill.

I'm John Galantis. And you're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at ClearviewTodayShow.com. If you have any questions for Dr. Shah or suggestions for new topics, send us a text to 252-582-5028. You can also email us at contact at ClearviewTodayShow.com.

That's right. You guys can help us keep this conversation in the airwaves by supporting this podcast, sharing it online, leaving us a good review on iTunes or Spotify, anywhere you get your podcasting content from. We're going to leave a link in the description of this podcast so you can do just that. I just caught a view of the frame, by the way. This episode is sponsored by Smart Water. The logo was so perfectly placed.

We are 100% not sponsored by Smart Water, but I feel like we should be. If you would like to sponsor us, I will put this in every frame. I have four of them up here. Let us know. You want to read the verse of the day? Sure.

I'd be happy to. The verse of the day today comes from Colossians 3, verse 12. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering. These are attributes of God. God is merciful. God is kindness. God is humble.

We saw that in the coming of Christ. As the elect of God, as the children of God, these are what you ought to look like. You ought to reflect your Heavenly Father above. This is the family resemblance. People tell you, you look like your mom, you look like your dad, you look like your great aunt, Susan.

This is the family resemblance. If you're a child of God, you ought to look like him. That's right. This is how you do that.

That's right. That's a good reminder for us as we go forward, because a lot of times I don't look like that. A lot of times I do not resemble God. That's what Paul had the boldness to say. Imitate me as I imitate Christ. I want to have that boldness. That's not a proud thing to say. That's a very encouraging thing to say.

I'm so confident and I'm so, what's the word I'm looking for, unified with Christ that I feel comfortable enough to say, hey, you should be more like me. That's awesome. I had a question come in this morning that I thought was really fun that I could kind of banter about.

Jonathan R. wants to know, and I know I'm going to ask this to Dr. Shot at the end of the episode too, what game have you sunk the most hours into? Oh, like video game? Board game?

I think either one. He just said, what game? If it's a board game, I can go ahead and tell you what it is. Well, a board game for us is Settlers of Catan. Really? I do love Settlers. They just released, well, that's going to turn into a rant.

I think video game, it's either going to be Pokemon Soul Silver where I'm sitting at a whopping 400 hours. Goodness. Yeah. That was like an entire school year and an entire summer for me. Wow.

Yeah, that's a lot. I went buck wild. Or it would be Mario 64 because that was just my entire childhood. That was the game I had.

If I had to pinpoint them, there's been several that are up there. If I had to pinpoint them, I would say either, it'd probably be one of the Pokemon games. Probably Leaf Green. I played a lot of Leaf Green.

Pokemon has a great, I mean, Pokemon's one of those games that really keeps you playing. You can really sink hours into this game and not know. Or World of Warcraft.

Ooh, really? I didn't know that you played World of Warcraft. I did. I played for several years. Wow.

Yeah, like going on raids, the whole thing. Wow. Would not have known that. I did.

I played, I started in high school and I played up into college. Okay. Yeah.

That's pretty cool. We should play. I should renew my subscription. Oh, snap. I would jump back on.

I've got small children now, so I don't know if that's going to happen. But talking about Catan, you know, Settle is a Catan, if you've never played it, it's one of the most addictive board games I've ever played in my life. Very fun. It's by design always new. You can't get used to it. You can't get good at it because the map kind of controls everything. So recently, I think in the last month, they've put out, maybe even the last couple of weeks.

No, it was, it was in February, but late, late February, they released it for Xbox and for console. Oh, that's fun. And my wife has been playing it nonstop. Now let me tell you something. When I say nonstop, I don't mean like just when she can get some free time and it's like a fun little hobby.

I mean, nonstop. I'm going to bed. She's playing Settle is a Catan. I wake up, she's playing Settle is a Catan in the bed next to me.

I hear like the little, the little sound effects going off. I come home at night. She's got Settle is a Catan up.

My wife is, she doesn't play games often, but when she does, when she gets hooked on something, that's it. That's it for a long time. I talked about it on the show before for a long time.

It was Minecraft. I said, Ellie, you got a little problem. We can, we can talk to somebody.

We can see about getting this. We can talk to somebody, but, and she was like, I don't have the problem. I'm good. You have a problem with me playing something. I can stop anytime I want to.

I don't want, I don't want to, and I'm not going to, and you're the one with the problem. If it was, if it was board games, I would say probably either Ticket to Ride or, or Dominion for us. Ticket to Ride is fun.

Ticket to Ride is a lot of fun. We have the 1910 expansions that adds a little bit of flavor in there. And Dominion, Dominion is also the same way. It's a deck building game, but we have the base game and then two other expansions and you pick, so there's different cards you can pick and the base game I think has like 25 different options. And then each expansion adds more options onto that, but you only pick 10 cards at a time.

So every time you play, it's completely different. Yeah. What was that, what was that Marvel deck building game you had? Legacy. Legendary. Legendary.

Yeah. I got a same concept. I got a story about legendary. It's way too long to tell right now, but maybe on a future podcast I'll tell it why I don't play legendary anymore. That's a fun one, but I remember that story and I, I agree with you. Yeah, but I'll, I'll lay it out one day cause it's, it's just, it's just kind of long and you really have to know the game.

So I'll, we'll maybe in another episode we'll explain the game and then we'll explain why I do not, I no longer play legendary. Very nice. Yeah.

We're going to bring Dr. Cheyenne and ask him, I'm interested to see what his, what his answer is. I'm going to guess Metal Gear Solid. That's what I was going to guess. I'm going to guess Metal Gear Solid. I know that he's a big Metal Gear Solid fan. Yeah, he's a big Metal Gear Solid fan. If it's a board game, I don't know.

What board games does your dad like, Nick? You don't know? Well, I don't know. Okay. I'm going to, I'm going to say his answer is going to be Metal Gear Solid.

Yeah. So on today's episode, we're continuing this discussion about Easter as we're headed into Passion Week. We're going further into Passion Week. We are talking about the resurrection. We're going to get Dr. Shaw in just a minute to facilitate this discussion and help us understand, you know, how we should think about the resurrection, how it should impact our lives.

But if you have any questions or suggestions for new topics, send us a text to 252-582-5028 or visit us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com. We'll be right back. Hey there, listeners. I'm Jon Galantis.

And I'm Ellie Galantis. And we just want to take a quick second and talk to you about Dr. Shaw's and Nicole's book, 30 Days to a New Beginning, daily devotions to help you move forward. You know, this is actually the second book in the 30 days series. And the whole point of this devotional is to help us get unstuck from the ruts of life. You know, when it comes to running the race of life, it matters how you start, but a bad start doesn't ultimately determine how you finish the race. You can have a good finish even with a bad start. And that's where this book comes in. No matter who you are or where you are in life, you're going to get stuck.

Instead of going out and buying some gadget or some planner, like I know I've done several times. I know that's right. 30 days encourages you to find your fresh start in God's word. Life doesn't have a reset button, but our God is a God who does new things.

His mercies are new every day, which means every day is a new chance for you to start over. You can grab 30 Days to a New Beginning on Amazon.com. We're going to leave a link in the description box below. And if you already have the book, let us know what you think about it.

That's right. Send us a text, 252-582-5028. Share what God has done in your life through this devotional. Hey, maybe we'll even read your story on the air. Ellie, you ready to get back to the show?

Let's do it. Welcome back to Clear View Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com. If you have any questions or suggestions for future episodes, send us a text to 252-582-5028.

That's right. If you're joining us for the first time today, we want to let you know who's talking to you. Dr. Abbadon Shah is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's episode. You can find all of his work on his website.

That's AbbadonShah.com. Dr. Shah, welcome to the studio today. I'm excited to be talking as we head further into Passion Week. Yes, this is a very special week as we recognize the somberness, I guess you can say, of the coming of Christ, his death, his burial, his resurrection. And so, yeah, we joke, we have a good time, but at the same time, this topic is heavy because this is where someone died.

Someone died so that we could live. Well, I like that we made a point to point that out, especially last week, or maybe it was the week before where we talked about the communion, and we talked about this is something that we—and when I say we, I mean like churches—typically just kind of tack on. This is something that we're going to— Oh, yeah, we've got to do this, too. Yeah, we're going to do it because it's the fifth Sunday or it's whatever. We're going to put this on, and then where we would normally go into invitation, we'll find a clever way to kind of spin it around.

But Paul had this intention in mind that we're going to remember what Jesus did for us. That's right. You know, I often think back to the time when you and I actually went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Do you remember that?

2016 or something like that. Something like that, yeah. It was wild, but yeah, I do remember. I had never been before that.

Right. And it was just amazing that that trip was quite amazing. We went to film there at the Arlington National Cemetery for a program that we did on July the fourth weekend.

And it was just an amazing patriotic program. But what I really was touched by that visit is how when you are walking on the grounds of that cemetery, you feel that you're walking on hallowed ground. It's not just a normal place. You know, I know there are sometimes tourists and children just having a good time, whatever, and I get it. But at the same time, there's a sense of sobriety. There's a sense of, you know, honor and dignity and respect. And what I noticed was on the western panel of the tomb are the words, Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.

And of course, you know, the honor guard keeps watch over the tomb 24-7. It doesn't matter what kind of weather it is. They're out there. There's a storm out there. They're walking back and forth.

And it's just amazing to see that. Well, I think the thing that struck me was that it's not always a natural thing because some people come in and they're not thinking about how somber of a moment this is. They're not thinking about what it was. They're laughing, falling all over the place, kids crawling up, you know, things, normal things. And it's amazing how the soldiers will stop everything and they will step off the mat and they will call them out. Do you remember what they would say? I can't remember exactly what the words were.

It is requested that all visitors maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times. And they're for real. That's the thing is like that somberness is not a natural thing.

It's intentional. It was an atmosphere that was intentionally maintained by the guards. I remember that. Yeah, people were like, I think it was kids or people were like, Hey, get down.

If I get, if you, if I talk to you again and it was like, it is requested. I was like, Oh, they're for real. Let me just kind of melt into the background. Even if you, mom and daddy are doing your thing, don't do it that loud. This is a special place. And so when we think about the cross, when we think about Good Friday, when we think about that Passion Week, we should have the, not just the same sense of somberness, it should be magnified a billion times.

Cause it's a reminder of, yeah, it's a reminder of the price that Christ paid for us. And it's a time for us to reflect on it. Yeah.

Yeah. And that's why I'm so, I'm so thankful for these episodes. I'm so thankful to be having these conversations with you, Dr. Shah, as we're going into Passion Week, it's helping us. It's helping me kind of get our minds focused with Easter, especially if you're in a church setting, you can get like, just kind of caught up in, okay, this event, this event, busyness happening and all of it's good.

I mean, egg hunts and this and that, but we need to have those moments of seriousness. We need to have those somber moments where we can pause and reflect with, with respect and reverence and what Christ is. That's right.

That's right. You know, you think about Paul's letter to the Corinthians and we discussed this in a previous episode, not too long ago, about how the Corinthian believers had lost that sense of awe, especially regarding the fellowship meal, but also the communion. And they were just pushing and shoving each other, you know, the whole triclinium versus the lobby, you know, how they were, you know, getting there early so they can kick their feet up, rest and relax. The late comers had to crowd out, you know, in a, in the atrium, which is like a foyer and sit there and watch these people take their time. That's so terrible. It's bad. Eating and drinking.

Yeah. Just lounging and relaxing, like getting all the stuff off their fingers and stuff. Like loading their plates up so everyone else is like, I'll just, I guess I'll have whatever's left if there's anything left. And Paul had to get onto them in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 20, he says, therefore, when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others. And one is hungry, another is drunk. Oh man, that's not a good look. In the church, no less.

In the church. It reminds me of like, like we're going through this now with Gavin, where like he will, he's our youngest son. He's two and he's going through this thing now where like he's having fun, but he can't make that switch in his head.

Like when stuff starts to get serious, he's like, I'm going to still treat this like it's a game. You know what I mean? And I feel like, like Christians, they're so high on like this Jesus emotion. It's, it's sometimes difficult to bring the somberness back in and say, Hey, listen, remember what things were like? It's like, well, I don't want to go back to that place in my mind.

I just want to live in grace and mercy. Like, yeah. And you should, but there's a place for remembering where you came from. Right. And respect. Yeah, that's right.

Exactly. And they were not. And so, yeah, of course, grace and mercy is there. We are free in Christ. There is victory in Jesus, but they were eating ahead of others and just drinking up on the, let me have one more sip, you know, and drinking up on the communion wine or whatever they had. And Paul said to them, what, what do you not have houses to eat and drink in?

Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I don't praise you in this. When Paul's getting onto you, man, that's, that's a bad feeling. I love that line too.

I mean, I may pull that on my kids. What shall I say? Shall I praise you in this? I don't praise you in this.

You want me to say good job, attaboy? I will not say that. Do you think, I can't remember if we talked about this on the show before, but do you think that the church at large has made things too comfortable for the congregation in some ways? I agree. Yeah. Yeah. It just feels like we, we want to create this atmosphere that invites people in, but then, and I know I'm guilty of this. We're so scared of things being awkward or having a lull or having a moment of silence or, or too formal or too formal or too formalness that I it's like, I had that a lot when I first started, like all the transitions during worship, like gotta be something all the time, like, like a pad or a speaking part or something, which I think is good, but at the same time, it's, it's not coming from a place of, does the service need this? It's coming from a place of I'm scared of this silence. Yeah.

You know, I'm scared of this discomfort. Uh, yeah. I, I, I, I agree with what you're saying. I think that, um, you know, a lot of times what we see is pendulum swings. Like if something is one way and we want to change it, we're going to go the complete opposite end of the spectrum to get as far away from this undesirable thing as possible. When realistically, most of the time we overshoot the ideal, we overshoot the, the middle way, the, the, the middle ground where that's really where we ought to live. That's the sweet spot.

That's right. And Paul is giving them the pattern. I mean, he's like, okay, so this is, this is a mess. Your worship services are a mess. Your communion services are terrible. And what a horrible testimony to the watching world. So then he, in verse 23, he gives them the instructions that were passed down to him.

It says, for I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed, he took bread. So, uh, you know, he is in a sense taking them back, not just to 2000 years ago, but also, um, to that Passover night when the death angel was passing over the homes of all people in Egypt and only those who had the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their house or the lintels of their houses, um, were safe. So think for a moment, you know, how terrible that night must have been and how somber that night must have been.

Somebody is going to die. Yeah. I mean, death is here and you know, they grew up around the Egyptians. They knew people.

It's not like they were like so segregated that they didn't know who their other people are. Yeah. We tend to think of it like Downton Abbey, like y'all live upstairs.

We live downstairs. Never the twain shall meet. Completely separate.

And that wasn't the case. Yeah. So knowing that some people are going to die and relationships will never go back to normal.

This is a bad night, but this night has to happen. I love that connection because it, it brings such, not that it needs it, but it brings such a weightiness to communion because it connects it. It's not just an event in service. It's not just we sang and now here's the message and now here's communion.

And then we're going to hear like hear the announcements and then the offering. It's not just another thing to cross off. It's this rich history that connects us with the church that has gone before us. Well, I think you Dr. Shaw have done a pretty magnificent job of making the communion have weight. And I think that's, that is the best word for it because it's not necessarily that we want you to feel sad or awkward or uncomfortable, but there's a weight that, man, someone gave their life for me. Even like you said, like with the, with the Passover, someone's going to die.

Like let's, let's not pretend that this is like a, I mean it's a good night in that it's a net good because the Lord did it, but it's, this is not a feel good night. There's something you always say too, where it's like, there's also urgency. Like you got to be ready to go. And when I say run, I mean run for your life. This is not like, Hey, just follow me across the Red Sea. Like just go on ahead and just make your way across. It's like you, when it comes time to go, when I say go, you better go.

And that's, I don't know. There's like a, there's like a primal sense of, of urgency and like desperation attached to it. On that night, I mean, think back, I'm not just talking about 2000 years ago in the upper room, but I'm talking about 4,000 years almost, almost, or 3,500 if you want to be exact. You know, they were leaving Egypt, they were leaving the land of slavery and with a Pharaoh who wanted to kill them.

And so it was tense, you know, we know through the years of observing the ritual or hearing about this ritual, we've lost sight of the reality. You know, think about some of the things that happened in Europe against the Jewish people, how they had to escape. They're escaping. These people are escaping for their lives.

It's not fun and games. It's, it's a, that's a good, that's a good illustration because there are moments where, like we went to, in Israel, we went to the Holocaust museum and that place really has a really, really tense atmosphere. But I don't know if you remember the, the, the room where they have all the shoes and that girl like taking selfies and smiling and giving the peace sign and the duck lips. And it's like, something is tonally off here. Like it makes you uncomfortable, make you a little angry, but you know that something is tonally right. So I can imagine Paul thinking back on the Passover and then seeing like little kids playing or, and there's like, hey, parents like, hey, now is not the time. Seeing that reflected in all those Corinthians in the triclinium must've been, I mean, I can see now why it's not just, hey, these people are waiting in the lobby.

It's also like, you are not grasping the weight of what's happening here. So how do we transfer that into our lives in today's world, especially during Passion week during Good Friday? I hope, I hope you celebrate Good Friday service at Clearview at our church. We do have Good Friday service and it's usually about 45 to 50 minutes because we want to honor the time of the people who are leaving their workplaces.

They don't have Friday off, so they're leaving the workplaces to come to the Good Friday service. So we want to keep their confidence. So we make sure it's no more than 45 to 50 minutes, but it's a wonderful time. They come, we sing. I speak and I will say, you know, right now I'm doing the series on the last words of Jesus from the cross.

So I talk about one of his statements, like it is finished or you know, son, here's your mother or mother, here's your son or, or I thirst, you know, whatever. So I talk about that and then we have communion. It's a very somber time and service. So for Passion week, definitely have that sense of something special is going on.

But every single day, every part of your life should be marked by the somberness of Jesus's death on the cross. Someone came and died for you. Someone gave his life. 2000 years ago, this really happened. This is not a myth. This is not a story. This is not some fiction, some Hollywood production, some Disney world production. This is a real deal where someone was killed, right? He gave his life.

Of course, we know that, but you know, lawless hands took him and nailed him to the cross. So how would you respond if someone had died right now? I mean, you would have a sense of awe about it, right?

So never lose that. Yeah. Yeah. A hushed reverence, I guess.

Yeah. And I mean, you think about like even Jesus setting that up for them in the upper room saying, listen, this is about to happen. And going forward, I want you guys to do this. I want you to keep the communion in remembrance of me. And it's not just remember the good times we had or remember what I'm about to do, but remember to always be grateful for what I'm about to get for you. Remember your identity is, is, you know, found in what I'm about to do. I think even for me, just remember how guilty you are. Like I am not good personally at recognizing and understanding the weight of my own sin. That's something I just don't want to think about, but Jesus is saying, that's the point of what we're doing here is that without the cross, without what I'm about to do, you have no hope.

Yeah. Well, I appreciate it the way that you have set it up, Dr. Shire, and the way that you described it, even on today's episode, it's not, it's not a sadness. It's not a, you know, we're not like mourning in the corner, but it's a, it's a somberness.

It's a seriousness, which isn't bad. It's a weight that we feel because we understand number one, what's been done for us. And just like you said, John, there's a sense of gratitude. They're like, Lord, I'm so thankful for what you've done for me, who does not deserve any of this.

Thank you for what you've done. It's like, Dr. Shaw, you've always said this, and this is fundamental. I know I've said this on the show before, but it's fundamentally shifted how I see Christianity is that the cross, the empty tomb was always going to happen.

It was always going to happen because of the cross, but without the cross, there would be no empty tomb. You know, we can celebrate victory. Sure. But there has to be that recognition of the price paid.

Right. And Paul says in verse 27, therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. So unworthy manner. Is there anything in your life that is unworthy? Is there any attitude behavior, selfishness, self-centeredness that is unworthy?

Well, seek God's forgiveness to repent, ask God for forgive you and cleanse you and help you to be what he wants you to be. Don't be unworthy because you're talking about the body and blood of Christ, our Lord. Amen. Absolutely. If you guys enjoyed today's topic or you have suggestions for future topics, send us a text at 252-582-5028. You can also visit us online at cleaviewtodayshow.com. And don't forget, you can support us financially on that same website. Click that button to donate and partner with us as we seek to impact the nations with the gospel of Christ. Amen. We had a question this morning come in from Jonathan R. Dr. Shah, what game have you sunk the most hours into? Oh, wow.

So there's a story behind that. Years ago, before I came to America, I was getting close to finishing up my high school. So my parents sent me off to this big city where they had special classes, like tutorial classes to prepare you to take the big exams.

I mean, this is like a GRE exam or SAT exam, but like on an even higher level. And so, yeah, my dad took me to this place, set me up, you know, and, but unfortunately I was living in a small town, small town with 200,000 people. So small town is not like small town, but like a thousand or 1500, but now 200,000 people.

Now it's about 500,000. Yeah. So he takes me there, sets me up, you know, place where I could eat, place where to sleep. It's part of this college, the students are away. So the dorm, the classrooms become dormitories and all that.

And we study in those classrooms. So after the first couple of days, I decided to explore the city, went around here and there, and I found an arcade. Okay. I like where this is going.

I like where this is going. Never seen an arcade in my life. Really? Okay.

Never. Maybe this is like 1989. Yeah.

It'd be fairly new, I guess. Yeah. I'm sorry. 1987. Okay. Yeah. Fairly new on the scene to the arcades. Yeah. Something like that.

87 or 88, somewhere there. Anyways. So I'm like, oh, let me go check it out. And some of my other friends who had also come to this special advanced level classes. So some of us decided to go in there and man, they had these arcade machines pinball machines, video games.

I was especially drawn to this one with that Kung Fu Master. What is that? Yeah. You told me about it before. I'll look it up.

I think it was called Kung Fu Master. Hang on one second. And so, yeah, I spent a lot of quarters on that. Oh, no. And did your dad, were you earning money at the time or was that money that your dad gave you? My dad gave me. Okay.

Just for some incidentals, if he need this, he can have that. Yup. Kung Fu Master. Here, I'll show it to you. Yeah.

I'll show you the details. Incidentally, I need to win Kung Fu Master. Oh, that's it. That's it?

Kung Fu Master? Yeah. Oh, man.

Wow. He just goes up and down. And then at the end of each level, he has to fight the big monster or big dude. Oh, yeah. So did you tell your dad that that's where the money went or did he- Oh, yeah. He figured it out. He figured it out. That is pretty funny. Oh, man. That's hilarious. Wow. Kung Fu Master. I would not have guessed it. Really? No, I would have said Metal Gear Solid.

That was our guess at the beginning. It was Metal Gear Solid. I knew you were a Metal Gear Solid fan. But just keep in mind, for those who are listening or viewing, these are games from like 20 years ago.

Yeah, that's true. So it's not like today I don't play video games. One reason is because I don't want to get hooked.

I don't want to be wasting my time. So I don't play. I watch Nicholas play. Yeah. Nice.

So he's over there doing all this thing and I'm just like watching him. They're set up now to just draw you in. Oh, yeah. That's what they're designed to do. Or you know it.

You're like, where did the day go? Well, the arcades were no different. It's just now they don't cost any money. That's true. Well, they do still.

If they had the things, the games they have today back when I was growing up, I would be doing nothing but playing video games. To this day. Yeah. Yeah. Very, very true. Too funny. We love you guys. We'll see you next time on Clear Beat Today.