1 Corinthians 10: 16-17; 11: 23-26
John 6:35, 41-51
A little over five years ago beloved and I visited an African American Baptist church on communion Sunday. We were definitely out of our element, being the only white people in the room and not knowing to expect in the context of the worship service. After the sermon which was 45 minutes long, the Pastor moved to the communion table and with his gloved deacons surrounding him, he gave the words of institution and then consecrated the elements behind a cloth that his deacons lifted up at the appropriate time. Indeed it felt like a mystical time as he called upon the Holy spirit to use bread and wine to make visible the presence of God in Christ. After the cloth was lowered, he offered the elements to the congregation stating, “Anyone who is baptized is welcome to join us for communion.”
Beloved and I were relieved because we were already baptized, but behind us was a little boy who asked his mom, “Can I have communion?”
“No baby,” the mom said “You can’t, you are not baptized yet.”
“Mama, what is communion?”
“Well honey,” she said reluctantly “It’s the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
To which the boy replied very loudly “Eeeeeewwwwwww, why do they do that?”
Good question, the sacrament of Communion is very hard to explain, to both children and adults. Throughout its history, Christians all over the world have participated in this ritual where we recall Jesus eating with disciples by breaking bread and share it with each other and pouring the fruit of the vine and drink it together as a remembrance of the crucified and risen Christ. In our denomination the United Church of Christ, we recognize two sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion. These rituals are an outward sign instituted by God to convey a spiritual grace. It’s pretty overwhelming if you think about it. Through our baptism, we are initiated into the Christian faith, whether we had water sprinkled on our heads or were fully immersed, we were marked by the grace of God and participated in the death and resurrection of Christ. Every time we celebrate the Lord’s supper we gather around Christ’s table and share bread and wine the same way Jesus did with his disciples at the last supper. The elements of bread and wine represent to us the crucified and risen Christ. It is through the broken bread that we participate in the body of Christ and through the cup that we participate in the new life that Christ brings.
In the Gospel we hear Jesus proclaim “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35) In a time where making bread was an all day laborious task this was a very bold statement. It is no surprise that some people scoffed at Jesus. But for others, the people who were cut off from the community, who were unable to worship in the temple because they were either a sinner, a Gentile, an outsider these were words of comfort. Even though they were not welcome to eat at the tables of those who considered themselves religiously pure, they were welcome to eat at Jesus’ table and they will be sustained by God’s grace which is freely given.
“Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (6:49-51)
The language that we use in communion is a bit disconcerting because it sounds so cannibalistic. However if we look at the context of when Jesus first said the words, “My body broken for you, my blood shed for you.” We remember that he said these words on the night before he died on the cross. He knew what was going to happen to him. He knew that his actual body would be broken on the cross and his actual blood would be shed, but he loved us so much that he was willing to lay his life down for us.
In the marriage ceremony a couple vows to each other to love, honor and cherish each other body and soul. And many of us who are married know that we would not hesitate to lay our lives down for our partners if their lives were in danger. Jesus is making that same vow to all of humanity to give himself whole-ly to his ministry and to bring about a new covenant to redeem all of creation and make all things new. In our UCC tradition we believe that “The broken bread and the poured wine represent-present anew-the crucified and risen Christ. The wheat gathered to bake one loaf and the grapes pressed to make one cup reminds [us] that we are one body in Christ, while the breaking and pouring announce the costliness of Christ’s sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin.” (1)
Today on this World Communion Sunday we remember that all over the world, our Christian sisters and brothers are at table sharing with the bread of life and the cup of liberation. From the prairies and pampas of the Americas, the dusty deserts of Africa and Asia, from the majestic mountains of Europe to the vast outback of Australia (2), we all come to the table humbly expecting the fruitful harvest that God has graciously enabled us to bring forth.
Today we break bread and drink of the fruit of the vine to celebrate Jesus…the bread of life who came to us both divine and human to share in our lot. We come to the communion table to connect with God and to know God through his son Jesus. We gather around this table knowing that Christ is the host, Christ set this table and Christ welcomes us all and following Christ’s example we invite those who feel disconnected from God to know God through our communities of faith. We invite people to know God the same way we do, through a man whom we know as the bread of life, whose ministry was about love and justice. And emboldened by the promise of new life that Jesus promises through the broken bread and cup of blessing, we can taste and see the presence of God in Christ.
May it be so.
Amen.
(1) Communion: Practices of Faith in the United
(2) Ana and Tod Gobledale, Come for the Meal is Ready! World Communion Liturgy. (
1 comment:
amen. taste and see the presence of God....
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