Lisa Notes: The Community of Celebration

~ From Chapter 10 of The Cross of Christ

All quotes by John R. W. Stott

[Christ’s] self-giving on the cross was not just to save isolated individuals, and so perpetuate their loneliness, but to create a new community whose members would belong to him, love one another, and eagerly serve the world.

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The community of Christ is the community of the cross.

Having been brought into being by the cross, it continues to live by and under the cross. Our perspective and our behavior are now governed by the cross. All our relationships have been radically transformed by it.

The cross is not just a badge to identify us and the banner under which we march; it is also the compass that gives us our bearings in a disorientated world.

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Boldness, love and joy [marks of those who have been redeemed by the cross] are not to be thought of as purely private and interior experiences, however; they are to distinguish our public worship.

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So the community of the cross is a community of celebration, a eucharistic community, ceaselessly offering to God through Christ the sacrifice of our praise and thanksgiving.

The Christian life is an unending festival.

And the festival we keep, now that our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed for us, is a joyful celebration of his sacrifice, together with a spiritual feasting upon it.

In this celebratory feast we are all participants.

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And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
Revelation 5:13

All chapter summaries

Read more on Chapter 10 at Challie’s site

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barbarah 65p · 699 weeks ago

These weekly meditations on the cross have been rich, You know, I've heard people say Christians shouldn't wear crosses because it would be like wearing little electric chairs. But it has such rich meaning, I don't have a problem with it. Though of course the major issue is not wearing a piece of jewelry but of reflecting on what it meant for Christ to die on the cross for us.
My recent post Love notes….

1 reply · active 699 weeks ago

Lisa notes 103p · 699 weeks ago

I’ve also heard people say that about wearing cross jewelry, but I like it myself. It’s a reminder of who I am to be living for, which, like you said, is the main thing—reflecting on Christ, not the jewelry.

This book has been a difficult read, honestly. When it’s good, it’s very good. But in each chapter Stott also delves into explaining WRONG theologies with prolific quotes from these other people. Those parts aren’t really helpful to me, but I’m guessing they probably are to lots of other folks.

So overall, I’m very thankful to be reading it for the rich sections. I always need to spend more time at the cross, and this book definitely puts me there.