Breaking Bread in the World with Guest Dr. Mark Glanville

It is my great pleasure to invite up our guest preacher today. Dr. Mark Glanville is the director of the Center of Missional Leadership at St. Andrews Hall. He has passed for 14 years in both Canada and Australia. He is a voracious speaker and he has authored five books and he's an incredible jazz musician and I think we'll also get a little bit of a treat of that today so let's welcome up Mark. Thanks Jillian, get a, my microphone is walking away from me back to East Vancouver. It's a grab a coffee on commercial drive or something. Well, good to see everyone, it's good to be back. I think I must have been preaching here for a good five years or something, a couple of times each year which is delightful and I knew Josh when I was teaching at Regent College and we became friends and even colleagues and actually I adopted him as my chef cooking coach, Josh so I invited him around to my house a couple of times. As his professor and he taught me how to cook pad Thai and other things and there's nothing like learning from an expert from time to time to take a step up in the kitchen. I'm the main cook at our house so it's good to find someone who can you know, lift your game a little you know. So it's good to be back, thanks for having me. The text that which I've chosen is Acts chapter 27 and I've called this sermon breaking bread in the world and it really is quite a remarkable passage, quite unique in the Bible. It's eucharistic, it's the Lord's supper is the symbolism but it's not in the church. The apostle Paul who's the great apostle to the Gentiles and the New Testament, he's on a boat in the middle of a sea journey and there's a storm and as everyone thinks their life is right on the line Paul stands up and breaks bread on the boat. In this eucharistic gesture sort of in the world, breaking bread the body of Christ in the world, it's really interesting and unique and I do think that this image of Paul breaking bread in the world, it's like a it's a window into how to live for Jesus in our neighborhood, in our Monday to Friday places of study and caregiving and work. Like most of us spend the majority of our time in the world so to speak, right? Like not in the sanctuary here in the church but in the world, I don't know all the vocations here but I know that there is a bus driver and a numerous teachers who teach my kids at Vancouver Christian and other schools no doubt but no doubt there's a lawyer here somewhere and a social worker, a caregiver, no doubt there are a whole variety, it's probably an accountant and you might think to yourself where in the Bible who's the accountant, is there an accountant? Oh, there's an accountant, yeah, I had a feeling there was an accountant but you might think to yourself, where in the Bible does it talk about, my day to day work in the world? Since that's such an important part of life in God's world, well a part of the answer is right here in Acts 27, the second last chapter of the book of Acts where Paul breaks bread in the world because we're in the world, right? We are in the world and we belong to Christ so we break bread in the world so to speak. We're immersed up to the help in our workplaces, brokenness and joy in the lives of our colleagues, in our caregiving, in the lives of our neighbors on the block where we live and this passage is just telling us we can offer a eucharistic blessing, eucharistic meaning the thanksgiving of the Lord's Supper. In a sense in our mind we can be breaking bread in these places that got us sent us to live and to work. It's kind of a beautiful thought isn't it, so the title of what we're going to be talking about now, Acts 27, "Breaking Bread in the World". So it's a very interesting passage, there's a sea journey, there's a terrible storm, a bit like last night driving through Abbotsford, there was even a tree fell down on the highway as we were driving on Highway 1. There was a storm, they're throwing cargo overboard, there's a shipwreck and we're going to meet some people, there's the Apostle Paul and his crew, but there's Julius Ascension, there's the captain of the boat will meet skillful sailors and a lot of attention you'll see is going to be given to the relationship the Apostle Paul had with the other people on the boat. And the story is going to give us wisdom for how we can relate to other people, us as Christ followers, how we can connect with other people in our place of work. And in one sense, Acts 27 is astonishing, it's not every day you're on a boat and about to have a shipwreck, but in another sense it's kind of routine. In the sense that this is just the people of God in the world and I think it's a vision for our lives, Monday to Saturday. So I thought I would start by playing, before we dive into the passage now, a tune on the piano that's about Monday to Friday work. And it's quite a fun one actually, it's by, remember that song by the chicks, Calvay take me away. And sometimes I don't usually listen to lyrics of songs, but it's actually about, they're stuck in the office, and she's just daydreaming of escaping the office with a cowboy who rides her away, because she wants to get out of the office where she's working. So it's kind of a fun song, it's about work. So I thought I would play this just to get us thinking about a Monday to Friday, a Monday to Saturday, and then we'll immerse in the text. We're just going to remember how I've been played it for a couple of years. We're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, we're just going to, he's going to, he's going to, he's going to, he's going to, he's going to, he's going to, he's going to, he's going to, he's going to, he's going to, he's going I think we must reflect that, please, this is somehow out of here. Sorry, everyone. Thank you. So he says to Governor Festus, "I appeal to Caesar." Now Caesar rules in Rome that you can see top left on the map. The capital of the Roman Empire. And so Paul is headed for Rome. So under the guard of a centurion, Julius Paul boards a boat headed for Rome. Now Paul, stay there with your eyes, still on Jerusalem and Caesar via Maritime. Paul has a crew of companions. There's Luke, who is the author of Acts, the author of this story. Luke is with him. So this is important. Luke writes we. We boarded a boat. And at this point in the story, when Luke says we, he's referring to the Paul, little group around Paul, a group of seven or eight people. We, he says, and just hold that thought because it'll come important. We boarded a ship from Adrymitium, in verse two. Feel free to call it up on your phone. It's a really fun passage. And you'll see, I'm going to give you a lot of detail, but there's even more detail. It's a pretty juicy story. Acts twenty-seven. So Luke the author mentions that the journey pauses at Sidon. Can you see Sidon on the map? Not far north of Jerusalem. Why? Well Paul, sorry, Luke wants us to notice the developing friendship between Paul and Julius, the Roman centurion. So it says in verse three, the next day we put in at Sidon and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to be cared for. So Julius shows kindness to Paul. Paul's earned Julius' trust. And this relationship between Paul and Julius matures as this story continues. And you can see that this passage does contain kind of wisdom for our day-to-day relationships. Okay, so we're going to go from verse four if you've got it up on your phone. Over the next few verses, we get the impression that all is not well. So it says in verse four, the winds were against us. So they passed to the Lee of Cyprus. Now can you see the island of Cyprus to the right of the map? And you probably know what the word Lee means. Lee means the side of the island that's protected from the wind. So they provide, they passed to the Lee of the island of Cyprus. Keep your eye on that. And then in verse seven now, if you're following, it says from mirror, we made a slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving of snitters. So at this point, we're following the southern coast of Turkey. Can you see that? And can you see snitters just to the north of the island called Rhodes? Give me a nod if you can see it. They're just off snitters. Thank you for that encouraging nod, Gillian. And then halfway through verse seven, it says, when the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the Lee of Crete opposite Salmone. So the ship was forced south away from the Turkish coastline. Can you see there where it's forced south down to the island of Crete? See that? And then it says in verse eight, I mean, this is a very unusual text for the Bible, isn't it? Isn't it unusual? You may know detail. It's so fun. Verse eight, it says, we moved along the coast with difficulty and came to, this is the coast of Crete and came to a place called Fair Haven, near the town of Lassia. Now, I can't even see Fair Havens there, on the southern side of Crete. And the name Fair Havens is meant to be ironic, because it's anything but a haven and anything but fair. Because by this time, the voyage is becoming dangerous, the season for safe sailing, which is a summer, is coming to an end. And the question is whether to stay in Fair Havens for the winter, or to risk sailing to a better, safer harbor. And they were inclined to risk sailing. So do we stay in Fair Haven, which is not a very good harbor, but at least it's a harbor, or do we risk sailing to a really good harbor, even though we're entering in the winter period. Do you know what I mean? And the sailors are saying, "Let's take a risk." Paul speaks up, and this is sort of the first time Paul has spoken. And he says, "Man, I can see our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and our lives also." This is verse 10. And this is now, it's a test of the relationship between Paul and Julius. Julius may have treated Paul well earlier, but he hasn't learned to trust Paul's judgment and fair enough. The guy is a Jewish scribe, not a sea, not a mariner. So Julius agrees with the pilot and the owner of the ship. So it says in verse 12, "Since the harbor of Fair Havens was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix, see Phoenix on the left hand side there of Crete on the map, and winter there." And Phoenix was a good harbor increase, in Crete, facing both southeast, southwest, and northwest. Phoenix was a good harbor, so they took the risk. So the sailors are enticed, they're tempted by a gentle south wind, and as they sail along the shore, they think there is good as home. But then a wind of hurricane force sweeps down, called a North Easter. It comes from the North East. If you can picture it, the top right hand side of the map, it sweeps down, and it forces them west and south. Hang on, we need some storm music. You can't have a storm and not play some storm music. Where's our strobe lights? So now Luke the author, he pays attention to the skill of these sailors in this storm. And it says, Luke says that the Lee of a small island, and we can't see this small island on the map, but the Lee of some small island allows the skilled sea man to hoist up the lifeboat, right to get it up out of the water, and also to pass ropes under the ship to strengthen it. And I'm just going to read from verse 16, if you want to follow along. It's fascinating and very unusual detail for the Bible. Running under the Lee of a small island called Kaura, we manage with difficulty to secure the ship's boat. After hoisting it up, they use supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the surface, they lowered the gear, and thus they would driven along. And then a few days later, this skill of the sea man, it continues in Luke's narrative. In the middle of the night, they sense during the night that land is approaching. They begin to take soundings to measure the depth of the water. And just to say, this is unusual for biblical writing, right? By giving us such detail, Luke, I think, is acknowledging the sailor's skill. And Luke wants us to see the various vocations working together for one another's benefit. I think so. The sailors, the soldiers, in a moment you'll see them. The captain, the Centurion, and Paul, all on the same ship working together. And this is glorifying to God in his worthy of a chapter in the Bible. And I think Acts 27 is teaching us that our work matters to God. That the skills we've developed over years of practice matter to God. That our ability to relate to people and collaborate with others brings glory to God. And maybe, you know, our ability as a carpenter, or as a teacher, or a doctor, or a bus driver, or an accountant, a caregiver. This is very significant. And this theme, I think, does tend to be underplayed in Christian circles. I come from Australia, as you may know. You may find that unbelievable, but I do. I do. And I remember I was at a large men's convention in Sydney, Australia. A huge, huge convention hall, 2,000 men, all from Sydney. And the MC of the convention, the host, he interviewed a man who had the vocation of a carpenter. And here he is, if you can picture it, 2,000 men. and I was there too, and this carpenter was interviewed. And he was sharing with these 2000 men how he was funding it difficult to find satisfaction in his work. He didn't feel like he was doing the Lord's work, he didn't feel like it was meaningful. And I thought, wow, what's going on here? We've got 2000 men, most of whom, are working in non-church-related vocations. And what's been communicated here is he shares that he didn't feel satisfaction in his work. And then he said to us, he started to lead Bible studies. And then he felt like he was doing what he needed to be doing under God, and he started to fill this satisfaction. Well, I was trying to process that. And I thought to myself, I mean, I'm thrilled this guy is leading a Bible study, and that's valuable, of course. But I think that the root of this man's discontent, at the root of this carpenter's discontent, wasn't that he was doing the wrong activity as a carpenter, but that he actually had the wrong understanding. He, and frankly, the conference organizers had undersold the value of work in God's world. I think they failed to realize that this man's primary witness to God in the world is in his work as a carpenter. Just like the seaman on the boat, as this man works skillfully with wood, making joints, and splitting the pencil line with a saw cut. What do I give to split a pencil line with a saw cut? I enjoy working with wood. I'm crap. I always miss the pencil line completely. But as he splits the pencil line with a saw cut, he calls attention to Christ's work as creator. And I wonder what skills you have and what skills you will use tomorrow that God genuinely delights in. You know, like Paul, your disc carpenter, and you, we advertise Christ's love as we enter friendships and partnerships as we collaborate with people in God's world. In the workplace, we're breaking bread in God's world, offering a Eucharistic blessing. You know, the point is that the bus driver, if I may, drives around in God's space, right? And the accountant works with God's numbers. You know, the accountant's didn't invent numbers. God invented numbers. And teachers are teaching about God's world. And lawyers are dealing with right and wrong within God's moral ethical frame, hopefully. You know what I'm saying? That our work matters to God. And Lucas telling us that. Lucas sending us out to be offered a Eucharistic blessing in the places that God has given us to belong. So let's continue with a story. And we'll come back to that in a tick. So the wind drives the ship on. And the ship is lighted in two stages. One day, the cargo is thrown overboard. And you know what that means. They're fearing for their life. And the next day, they throw overboard the ship's tackle. And that's the stuff they need to sail the ship. And then Paul stands up a second time, and he encourages the people on the boat. And this is what he says. Verse 23, if you want to check it out. He says, I urge you to keep your carriage. For this very night, there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong. And to whom I worship. And he said, do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you. I mean, I'll just pause and say, what a word. Like what are a remarkable thing to do in a non-church setting, to stand up on a boat and offer this word of hope? I find that just really, really curious. You know, a really interesting. I mean, Erin's, my wife's main kind of sphere is a university. She's lead pastor, artisan church, but in and out of university. For me, I'm a jazz musician. My main kind of place outside the church is the jazz scene. But this prophetic word, you know, is just so interesting. What would it be to offer a word of hope in the place where God's sending you tomorrow? And Paul says, every person will be saved. And what I love about that is that Paul is for these people. He's for them, you know? You might perhaps expect God's concern. God's concern, and Paul's concern, to be with Paul's mission exclusively. But Paul is concerned for and acts for every person on the ship. It's cool. So to me, this ship is like an ancient model of your workplace and every workplace. God cares about your workplace. Paul cares about his ship. And you care about your workplace. You're for the people in your workplace because God is for them. So now there's a relational problem in the story. There's always a relational problem, isn't there? Raise your hand if you've never had a relational problem at work. People's hands are down. So here's what happens. And this is really something. The sailors take soundings and realize that land is approaching. So watch this. The sailors must have been convinced that they would be dashed to pieces on the rocks. Right, the sailors know. They know what's going on. And so the sailors pretending to be lowering some anchors from the bow, instead they're deliberately lower the lifeboat. And they're intending to rot ashore by themselves. And the sailors know that the storm is deadly, right? They know. So they're running for their lives. And they're sleek, sneakily lowering the lifeboats. And then Paul, the little snitch, he alerts Julius soldiers who cut the ropes to the lifeboat. And it just falls away. So now there's no more lifeboat. The soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat so that the sailors can't escape. But because they did that, now there's no more lifeboats. And I mean, I'll just say as an aside, I just think it's funny that the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat. It's like all the soldiers know how to do is use their sword, you know, the idiots, you know, if there couldn't be some more creative way to stop the sailors from getting away on the lifeboat. No, they just cut things. That's all the soldiers know how to do. So those on board, they haven't eaten for 14 days. I guess from anxiety. But this early morning, this early morning with the sun just peeking above the horizon, Paul urges them to eat, encouraging them. And here's another prophetic word. "Now, one of you will lose a single hair from his head." I mean, again, what a word, right? I'm just curious about what that could mean for you and I in our places of engagement in the world. So at this point, right, when Paul stands up and he says, "Now, one of you will lose a single hair from his head." He's almost taken a position of comfort, of pastor, if you like, or of leadership on this boat. And I'm just curious, what is going on in Paul's inner world? Like, here's in the storm, too, right? I mean, let's pretend, right? You know, Paul, maybe you could say Paul in his inner world was in the eye of the storm. You know, there's a calm in the eye of the storm, isn't there? It's storming all around. But maybe this is Paul's inner world. The calm of the eye of the storm. And I'm just curious as Christ followers who are full of the spirit, what it would be like for you to have that poise, to have that calm in your workplace when there's a storm. Those of you who are teachers, what is it like to be poised in the classroom when there's a real difficulty and a real challenge to your honor as a teacher, or what is it like when there's a conflict in your workplace, or a crisis in your workplace, whatever that might be, what does it mean to be anchored in Jesus and to be that person of hope, you know? So I'm going to play a tune now, and I just invite you to reflect on that. What would it be like to be in the calm of the eye of the storm and anchored in Christ in your workplace? I grew up with a beautiful song that has, it's from Psalm 41. I don't know how many of you grew up with it, so I'll just name it and give me a note if you know it, as the dear pants for the water, as the dear pants that we used to sing. Just raise your hand if you know it. A few of you, yeah, it's such a beautiful tune. And, you know, I'm going to play it because, like it's just longing for God and a drinking from God. And this water is, there's water all around. And to me, Paul is drinking from deep wells, even as the water rages. So just invite you to picture. See yourself in your workplaces, I play this. So Monday to Saturday, in that places of work and caregiving and study, so often we're in a storm and here's Paul in a storm and Paul is drinking from deep wells, speaking of water. Water is all around at storming but Paul is anchored in the Eucharist, in the body and blood and life of Jesus. The anchors are useless but Paul is anchored in Christ, speaking of anchors. And what about you tomorrow in the workplace or in your place of caregiving where you feel like you're running dry and yet there are deep wells for you? So let's see, what happens next in this amazing story? We'll check this out. So I'm going to read from verse 35 now, you can follow along and what does this remind you of? And when Paul had said these things, he took bread and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. Then they were all encouraged and ate some food for themselves. We were in all 276 persons on the ship and when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship throwing out all the wheat into the sea. What does that passage remind you of those verses there? Tell me if you want me to read it again. Of course, call her, you don't have to raise your hand. There's more than one answer, I think there's a few texts, intertexture. He broke bread, began to eat, when they were all encouraged, ate some food for themselves, we were in all 276 persons on the ship. When they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship throwing out the wheat into the sea. What's it remind you of? Call out, call out. Yeah, she's feeding the 5,000. What are the pieces in the story that resonate there? More than enough, there's left over. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, right, yeah, the baskets left over. The numbering of people. I mean, obviously the Lord Sapa on the note that Jesus was betrayed. Prayer before he broke. Yeah, the prayer before he broke, for sure, yeah, yeah. It's probably other resonances, any other resonances with biblical texts that you find there? I think it's probably others. Yeah, for sure, yeah, the manner in the world in us, definitely. Yeah, which is Eucharist with Downsuit as well, and fitting the 5,000. Thanks. So of course, I mean, the most obvious one is that as Paul break bread, breaks bread, he's signifying the Lord Sapa, which has been established by Jesus as his practice for Christ's followers. And you remember that story that on the night that Jesus betrayed, he breaks bread. And he says, "Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." It's an ongoing meal of remembrance of Jesus' death. And it's not just remembering, but sort of an invitation to embody Christ's death and suffering. But what is really unusual here is that Paul is doing this, not in the church, but in the world. That's what's unusual, you know? And that's what's so beautiful. Paul receives the bread from Christ. This is what I see. Paul receives the bread from Christ, and he offers the bread to the world as a sacrament. It's very beautiful. And when it comes to the Lord Sapa, there are many lenses into the meaning of the Lord Sapa. If I write, start to write them down, I find I come out with about 10 significances of the Lord Sapa. But this one is remarkable that the Lord Sapa is for the life of the world. And as I was really studying this passage in Acts chapter 27, I discovered that week an incredible verse in John 6, John's Gospel, 651, and it's ironed the bread of life. It's that chapter. And listen to this. This has become my favorite verse, honestly, in my life. Here it is. Jesus says, "The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world, for the life of the world. The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." I love that. Like it reveals Christ's deep compassion for every child, every woman, every person. The Eucharist is bread broken for the life of the world. Eucharist is for the people of God. We know that. And the Eucharist is broken for the life of the world. Now this may seem, in our context, as an unusual way to speak about the Lord Sapa. Interestingly, I also discovered it's very much there in the first Christian centuries. And in the many texts we have from the church fathers, this is the way they often speak about the Lord Sapa. Two examples. John Chrysostom who died in 407, so 300 years after Jesus, 350 years after Jesus. We have many of his sermons. John Chrysostom is fascinating. In almost every sermon he speaks about his responsibility to the poor. And he saw in every encounter with those who are poor, the same reality that he saw in the Eucharist, the Lord's Sapa. He writes, "The altar," which means where we celebrate the Lord's Sapa, "the altar is everywhere on every street corner and in every town square." And he was saying, wherever there is someone who is suffering on the street, that's where we celebrate the Lord's Sapa. That's where we go and eat bread. That's the altar. By serving that person, by being loved by that person, by building a relationship with that person, it's Eucharistic. And then Irenaeus who is even earlier, get this, Irenaeus was born in 130 AD. Just 100 years after Jesus died, maybe 40 years after John wrote Revelation. Irenaeus so early, he calls for a Eucharistic conscience, quote unquote. He says, "I'm quoting Irenaeus now. At the Lord's table, we become aware that he, Jesus, he who needs nothing and who shares his gifts with us so that we may have something to give him, expects everything of us when we meet him in our brothers." And Irenaeus is saying, "Every time we serve someone in need, it's a Eucharistic conscience, a Eucharistic gesture." And here is the final thing I want to say about this passage. I told you about the way that Luke uses the word "we." At the beginning of the chapter, "we" means Paul's friendship group, which included Luke and Paul and a few others. But by the end of the chapter, we refers to everyone on the ship. Isn't that cool? You may have heard it as I was reading a couple of those verses, it was there. In other words, Paul and Luke identify themselves with the people that God has sent them to. Isn't that cool? And so we come along, really belong to these places that got us sent us to work and to care. So I just invite you now to close your eyes and imagine yourself where you're going to be tomorrow. you'll be learning in a classroom. Maybe you'll be teaching it. classroom. Maybe you'll be online. Maybe you'll be offering care. Maybe you'll be driving someone to the hospital. Take a minute imagining yourself in that place and now imagine yourself breaking bread in that place of work or caregiving or study or volunteering or just being. What is breaking bread? What is having a eucharistic conscience mean for you in your place tomorrow? What does it feel like to break bread in this place? The body of Christ that you inhabit so often. And then what happens when you refer to your place of study or work or caregiving as a wee tomorrow? This is your place. Is that natural for you to do that? I can't sit down until I finish the story because right now we're about to die in a storm. So real quick the sun rises. They see a glistening beach, a glistening beach that no one recognizes. And with deft skill the sailors cut loose the anchors. They untie the rudders and hoist the four sail to the wind making for the beach. But the ship they think they're as good as home but the ship strikes a sand bar and it's stuck fast and the surf is pounding from the storm coming from Australia I can picture that. The surf is pounding on the boat and it begins to break the boat to pieces. They're so close to safety but so dangerous. The soldiers then plan to kill the prisoners to prevent them from swimming away and escaping. Can you imagine? Now Julius and Paul's trusting relationship becomes crucial. In verse 43 it says, "But the centurion wishing to save Paul kept the soldiers from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land. Who can swim? Who would be jumping overboard?" And the rest of the people escaped on planks or on pieces of the ship and so it was that all were brought safely to land. Well how about that? Well we're going to come to the Lord's table now and as we do I invite you to break bread even as we're in the church to break bread in the world. And to have in mind that eucharistic conscience that you'll enter your place with tomorrow. And I invite you to hold onto that verse in John 651 the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. Amen. The bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. What a reminder of the coming together and sharing it in the table. This is the invitation. So I invite the worship team and the communion servers to come up as we move into our communion time. On the night Jesus was betrayed. He took bread, broke it, gave thanks and said, "This is my body broken for you." Remember me. And he took the cup lifting it and saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. I will not drink of this cup until I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom." With this bread and cup we proclaim the Lord's coming death, resurrection and reign on the throne. With this we proclaim He will return and we will eat and drink again face to face with Him. Until then, may we become what we eat. This is how we will be strengthened for the journey Christ in us. Church, I invite you to come up to receive Christ as a gift and to symbolize that with open palms. You may partake of the elements back at your seats whenever you are ready.