Rev. Jennifer Whipple
Congregational Church of Brookfield - UCC
Wide
Open
Luke 24:13-35
Prayer:
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our minds and hearts gathered
here this day be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Strength and our
Redeemer. Amen.
If you ever turn the TV on, you have probably seen a million previews for
different movies that are coming out as we head toward the summer.
Summer movies are like summer clothes – you start with the previews in
February, and then they arrive at the end of April/beginning of May.
Well this morning I have a preview for you.
It is not a preview of a movie, but a preview of something that is
amazing and wonderful in its own rite. Later
this morning you will receive an official invitation, which I hope you will
accept. But for now I’d like to
share with you some of the things that I’ve come to know and love about this
table that is spread before us this morning.
Now, as an ordained pastor in the United Church of Christ, you might
imagine that I learned all there is to know about our two sacraments, Communion
and Baptism, from listening to a knowledgeable theologian or reading an
important textbook. The truth of the
matter, though, is that I learned the most important things about the Sacrament
of Communion from my Dad – first by watching him receive communion for most of
my life and finally by asking him what it is that makes him the way he is when
he takes communion – because it is like he is transported to another place –
a place where just he and Jesus are spending time with one another. So what have
I learned from my Dad? There are
three things.
First, Communion is about community. My Dad has never officially been a
Deacon, but my Mom calls him one of the best Deacons she has ever seen –
always willing to talk to people about faith, to share his beliefs, to pray for
people, and to help in any way possible – right down to things like holding
the trays for the people next to him while communion is being passed in the
pews, much like he is when he is at the dinner table for a family gathering.
Which is what we are called to in the sacrament of communion.
We are called into a family meal, perhaps not with the family that we
have known and loved all of our lives – but with the family that God has
invited us to be a part of here at the Congregational Church of Brookfield –
and with all those who have gone before us in the Christian faith as well.
Despite our differences, we are able to find common ground as we gather
at the table as Christ is made known to us once again in the breaking of bread.
We are invited to truly be in community with one another, sharing with
one another, doing what Jesus and his disciples did together on that last night
before he was betrayed – and when he had the opportunity to join with them
again after his resurrection. He
joined them in table fellowship, as he joins us this day through the breaking of
the bread and pouring out of the cup.
Second, communion is a transformational gift.
It is a gift that is freely given, that reminds us of those who have gone
before us, and offers us grace and forgiveness – and through those, also
offers us peace. For years I have
watched my Dad take his time while receiving communion.
It is so much more than going through motions for him.
He gets “in the zone” – truly taking a few precious moments to
speak to God and to seek Christ’s presence in this simple meal and in his own
heart.
As a little girl I would watch my Dad.
He would take the bread in his hand and spend some time kneading it
between his fingers until just the right time when he would put it in his mouth,
savoring the bread of life. And the
same with the cup – taking his time, head bowed with his eyes closed, deep in
prayer, waiting until he was truly ready to accept the cup of blessing.
[And much like in this church, I grew up in a church where we would hold
on to one of the elements until all were served, partaking of it together, to
symbolize our communal relationship with God – as we do with the bread.
And the other element, here it is the cup, we would take as soon as we
were ready to symbolize our personal relationship with God.
Because God does call us into relationship both as individual beloved
children and as community.]
So I finally asked him what it was that he was doing in those moments
before he ate the bread and drank the cup – figuring that it was more than
going over his to-do list for the week or his football game predictions.
And sure enough, the answer that he came back to me with was this (used
with his permission, of course!):
What I believe is that I'm not
worthy of sitting at the table with my LORD and SAVIOR unless I first ask that
HE come into my heart, soul, & mind and clean them, then I'll take the
BREAD, After I receive the CUP I PRAY that I may be a better CHRISTIAN and a
better follower of CHRIST. I should have stated this by saying the
following. I think you know I try to do the right things but
SATAN is very powerful [ALTHOUGH NOT AS POWERFUL AS CHRIST] so it takes a
very strong person to resist most of his temptations and that is why I have to
ask what I ask for before I take the BREAD & CUP. I guess I
just think my heart, soul, and mind should be cleaner.
I hope this helps you understand where I'm coming from.
LOVE, DAD
So Communion, as a gift freely given, offers us reconciliation to one
another and to Christ. We invite God
into our lives and our hearts in Jesus, in order to reclaim our identity as
God’s beloved – even despite the wrong decisions we’ve made, the hurts
we’ve caused, and the sins we’ve committed.
And through these simple gifts, the grain of the earth and the fruit of
the vine, God offers us grace and forgiveness – we and all of our hurts and
wants are transformed, much like those of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus
– to joy and fulfillment.
Finally, Dad taught me that the Sacrament of Communion is also a call to
action. Jesus met the disciples on
the Road to Emmaus and spent time teaching and equipping them for the job he
would later commission them to. He
reminded them of all the prophets who had gone before, what they had said about
who he was and what would happen to him. Around
this table we are called, not only to serve one another, but we are equipped to
go out and serve the world from a place of remembrance and tradition.
We are given nourishment in body, mind, and spirit and are asked to go
out and do the right things. Jesus
says, “Do this in remembrance of me.” And
I would argue not just in remembrance of Jesus, the person who walked the earth,
but of Jesus, the man of wonder and miracle who based his decisions and actions,
not on what was easy, but on the will of God.
We are called away from this table to fight the injustices that keep
people from feeling welcome at our family gathering in this place.
We are called away from this table to go out and offer hope in a world
that, if you have spent any time watching the news this weekend, seems broken
and hopeless. We are called away
from this table to share the most amazing story in the world – a story that we
know in our hearts to be true and that offers us such tremendous gifts in
abundance.
So my challenge to you this day, my brothers and sisters in Christ, is to
allow this meal and yourselves to be wide open -- to see these things in the
simple gifts that are set before us today as we are invited once again to our
family gathering around Christ’s table – to see community, reconciliation,
transformation, grace, and a call to action.
[My challenge to you is perhaps as simple as holding the plates for the
people next to you, connecting with them through this sacrament, offering them
the bread of life and the cup of blessing.]
My challenge to you is to see Jesus in the bread broken for each and
everyone of us. Most especially, my
challenge to you is to join me at this table, whether you are hurting or are
joyful – whether you feel worthy or not -- because no matter who you are or
where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome around this table of grace.
Thanks be to God for this good news!
Amen.
