Today’s household object is the dining table and the passage is Genesis 22:9-14, the story of Abraham and Isaac and how God provided the lamb so that Isaac was not slain on the altar.

Most churches have a table in the foyer or back of the hall for leaflets, hymn books, offering dishes and other paraphernalia associated with church life. There is also a table at the front of the hall where the bread and wine are placed when Holy Communion is shared. One table seems merely functional; the other is given special meaning because of the ritual that is represented by the bread and wine. In many churches, it is called the altar table, reminding us of the Jewish rituals of sacrifice which Christ’s death on the cross brought to an end.

The call to Abraham to sacrifice his son of promise resonates loudly with Christ’s sacrifice, the Lamb of God who by His own blood redeemed the world. Just as God spares Isaac by providing a lamb to sacrifice instead of his own son, so Christ steps in to be sacrificed so that we do not have to face God’s wrath for our sin.

Yet the Lord’s Supper was not inaugurated at a special altar, but at an ordinary dining table, reminding us that the fellowship which Christ’s death has procured for us is often sanctified through ordinary meals. It’s why we have spent time eating together as well as studying God’s word this Lent. It’s why our Good Friday service begins with a fellowship meal. As we sit, eat and chat together at a dining table, we are reminded that Easter has restored relationships to the world: our relationship with God, and our relationship with each other.

Today’s household object is the very ordinary salt shaker and our passage is Matthew 5:1-13.

Salt flavours and preserves; somehow the chemical reaction between sodium and chlorine produces sodium chloride or common salt. Jesus said that His followers are the salt of the world, but warned that the if the salt has lost its taste, how can saltiness be restored? The salt in our cupboards has to be used; if it gets damp in the pot, it solidifies and is no use to us.

Salt has to be ‘shaken’ (or ground) to be useful. It’s no use hiding away from the world in order to remain spiritually pure; Jesus prayed ‘not that You take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.’ (John 17:15) We remain in the world whilst not being the same as the world because of God’s Spirit in us; we are called to bring out the God-flavours of the world and to be tastily different!

Today’s household object are curtains and the Bible passage is Mark 15:33-39.

In the book of Exodus, we find some of the earliest instructions for making and hanging curtains. When Moses is given instructions for building the Tabernacle, these include two curtains of fine twisted linen and blue, purple, and crimson yarns (Exodus 26). Each curtain was about 42 feet long by 6 feet wide (my tall Victorian house has rooms that are over 10 feet high, which is not easy when it comes to decorating!) The curtains had to be joined together with blue loops and gold and brass clasps, making two sets of five. Another special curtain was made to separate the most holy place; this curtain had cherubim embroidered on it and were attached to four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold, which had hooks of gold and rested on four pieces of silver. These curtains were for concealment, to hide the most holy place from prying, unworthy eyes. (See ‘At Home In Lent,’ P 141)

To this day, we use curtains for privacy and to protect ourselves from the outside world, but at Easter, we read that the curtain in the Most Holy Place was torn from top to bottom. Given its size and height, this was no ordinary act, but a divine one, demonstrating that the barriers to God’s presence were removed and that now ‘we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain (that is, through His body.’ (Heb 10:19-20) The curtain has been torn; now we can enter God’s presence, cleansed through the sacrifice of Christ.

Today’s household object is the piano and our Bible passage is Matthew 28:16-20.

A piano is not necessarily found in all homes, but I was privileged to grow up in a house with a piano and later to inherit that piano so that it lives in my home now. I never actually learned to play the piano very well myself, but my son had piano lessons and so the piano was well used; my grandchildren are now enjoying the instrument and its use continues to this day. I am fascinated by how the piano is made and used to love it when the piano tuner came and took off all the exterior pieces so that I could see the hammers as well as the keys.

One reason I love the piano is that you can play more than one note at the same time, and can play chords (combinations of notes which sound harmonious when played together.) A chord is usually made up of 3 separate notes, and this reminds us of the mystery of the Trinity: one God in three persons, Father, Son and Spirit. This doctrine is a mystery, but is key to our understanding of God as a being of relationship manifested in the inseparability of the Father-creator, the Son-Christ and the Holy Spirit, ever-present among us. (‘At Home In Lent’, P 136) Relationships matter, because God Himself is a being of relationship! The author urges us to ‘play a triad chord’ on the piano, ‘listening to the blend of three-in-one, contemplate the mystery of God, our creator, our redeemer and the sustainer of faith and life.’ (ibid., P 137)

Submission is a theme which occurs frequently in the Bible; we see the question of submission within the Godhead and submission to secular and church authorities; the subject also comes up in the discussion on marriage. This evening, Garry focussed on the question of our submission to God.

Submitting to God is a necessary part of life. God created everything and therefore everything belongs to Him (Ps 50:1, 10-12); He has the right to demand our submission, but instead asks us (see Matt 23:37, Mark 3:1-5). He calls us to submit, giving us a choice.He longs for us to be in a right relationship with Him, but He will not force us. In Rev 3:20 we see Christ knocking at the door of our hearts; submission comes from love, not because we are forced. Often, the picture is of a lover wooing his beloved (see Job 36:15-16) To submit to Him leads us from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of a table laden with choice food. God wants the best for us, and submission to Him is not because He is a spoil-sport who wants to dominate, but stems from His love for us since He knows what is best for us.

Submission out of love in the context of a loving relationship sets the scene for every other kind of submission, which will be looked at later.

This morning we looked at Romans 8:29 and what it means to live according to God’s purpose. Purpose is extremely important in life. To live without a sense of purpose or meaning is to live with a sense of boredom and frustration. There is far more to life than the going-to-work-and-coming-home-to-bed life which many of us seem to settle for. God has good plans for each one of us (Jer 29:11) and good works for us to do (Eph 2:10), but it is important to realise that His purposes involve service and sacrifice, not just our gratification.

Without God, we live in a me-centred world which sees purpose as fulfilling ourselves (often at the expense of other people.) God wants to be at the centre of our world and for us to fulfil His purpose in life. This will look different for each one of us, for He calls us to different roles and tasks in life, but at the heart of life is the unifying purpose that we are to be conformed to the image of His Son.

We are called to reflect God’s nature to the world, to be salt and light in our communities (Matt 5:13-16). Ongoing transformation and personal change in God’s service are the purpose of life (2 Cor 3:18). Our purpose, our ‘chief end’, according to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, is to ‘glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’ God wants to shape our lives along the same lines as the life of His Son, which means a life of service and sacrifice, not selfishness.

The greatest commandments according to Jesus were to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and to love others as ourselves. (Mark 12:30-31) This means denying ourselves, losing our lives in order to find them (see Mark 8:34), serving others as Jesus did as He washed the disciples’ feet. (John 13:14-17) Service and sacrifice are at the heart of living according to God’s ways and at the heart of finding God’s purpose in our lives.