We Are All Connected 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

The word "communion" refers to the celebration of the Lord's Supper. But it can also mean a sharing of something with others. It can refer to intimate discourse with others. I t can mean a body of Christians who share a common faith. We are a communion, a community of faith.

If there is one word that expresses the impact of communion it is the word "connected." This celebration points to our connectedness.

I have recently read two very different books that reminded me of the essential connectedness that we have in life. One is a biography of John Muir, Rediscovering America, by Frederick Turner. Actually, what Muir said came to me first in a slide show that I saw at our church not long ago. The photographer, who presented some outstanding slides of wild animals nature scenes, prefaced a section of his slides with a quote by Muir. That very evening as I read the biography in bed I came across the same statement: When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it hitched to the rest of the world. Everything is connected.

The other book is Mitch Albom's latest, Have a Little Faith. The book grew out of a request by his Rabbi for Albom to deliver the Reb's eulogy after his death. One as they visited the Rabbi began talking about the community he experienced when he was growing up in the Bronx. "Our apartment building was like a family. We watched out for one another," he said.

"I remember once, as a boy, I was so hungry, and there was a fruit and vegetable truck parked by our building. I tried to bump against it, so an apple would fall into my hands. That way it wouldn't feel like stealing. Suddenly, I heard a voice from above yelling at me in Yiddish, 'Albert, it is forbidden!' I jumped. I thought it was God."

Who was it? Albom asked. "A lady who lived upstairs." Albom laughed. Not quite God. "No, but Mitch, we were part of each other's lives. If someone was about to slip, someone else could catch him" (p 62).

Paul describes the church in much the same terms when he says, There are many members, yet one body ... And if one member suffers, all the members suffer it it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it (1 Corinthians 12:20,26). As members of this one body we are connected.

Shortly before this, in chapter 10, Paul linked the Lord's Supper with this connectedness when he wrote: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread (10:16-17).

As we partake today I hope that you will let this observance speak to you of our connectedness.

Twin Oaks Christian Church
November 8, 2009

Preparing for Communion Luke 22:7-13

As I read these verses recently it struck me that there is a theme here that needs more attention -- the theme of preparation. Jesus knew that an extremely important event was coming and adequate preparation was needed.

During Jesus' final week in Jerusalem, after he cleansed the temple of money changers, Jesus knew that his life was in danger. Not wanting to go before he was ready, his usual routine was to spend the day among friendly crowds in the temple area and then move to safe lodging on the Mount of Olives.

"In view of that," Fred Craddock comments, "one could easily read Jesus' instructions to Peter and John in Luke 22 as intriguing prearrangement's, as shadowy moves in a mystery novel" (Interpretation, 254).

"A man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him," Jesus said (v.10). It was unusual for a man to carry water; that was woman's work, and he would be easily spotted. Apparently, Jesus knew of a house where they could safely meet and had arranged to use it. He had prepared for this moment.

Then he told his disciples to make preparations for the Passover meal. This required purchasing bread, wine, herbs and a lamb that had been approved by a priest as unblemished and properly slain. It was then roasted whole.

There was a lot of preparation and the amount of preparation signified the importance of the event. When something is important we prepare carefully. Recently I watched the University of Oregon play a football game. At times I would have sworn that the defense knew exactly what the other team was going to do. Later, one of the players was quoted in the newspaper as saying that they had watched so much film and prepared so thoroughly that they did, indeed, know what was coming.

In the case of Jesus and his disciples, as a result of their meeting in that upper room we have this act of communion and remembrance. Wouldn't it be good for us to think more about our preparation? I don't mean the mechanics of supplying and filling trays. I mean our preparation to participate.

Primarily this requires a certain mind-set, anticipation, focusing on our purpose for coming together. As we get ready at home we could say to ourselves, I am preparing to meet with my Lord at the table, and dress accordingly. As we meet and greet one another we could realize that we are expressing the basic theme of one body found in the Lord's Supper. As we sing and pray in worship we could see it leading us to the table. Every Sunday our pastor presents a well prepared sermon. Consequently, his message is meaningful to us. We too should come well prepared to meet with our Lord. It will make the Lord's Supper much more meaningful if we are well prepared.

FIRSTS OR SECONDS?

Let me ask a simple question: why do we eat? The equally simple answer is that we eat to live. We eat because we get hungry and we need the food to live. There are many places in the Bible where God feeds hungry people. Jesus did this several times. There were a lot of hungry people in his land and he had compassion for them. They needed, literally, the bread of life.

Other important reasons exist of course and one of these has to do with celebrations. Marie Callendar Restaurants recognize this and make it easy to celebrate in one of their places by sending out special offers when birthdays or anniversaries come - if you are on their list. My wife and I are on their list so we get discounts, if we want them, in July, August and September.

Also, in the Bible, there are times when food is not used simply to assuage hunger, but rather for celebration and to remind people of God's blessings. One of these times is in the prophet Joel where we read of threshing floors filled with grain, wine and oil vats overflowing, and the people eating not just to survive but also to enjoy, to celebrate and be satisfied. As Joel 2 puts it, "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you." Even when times were tough and food was scarce the people of God always held feasts and festivals of celebration.

Sometimes an ordinary meal has both aspects of nourishment and celebration. Do you remember when you were small, how you learned to ask for seconds? Maybe you still say, "May I have seconds?" If so, I'll bet you are not asking for spinach or broccoli but for something you really like -- turkey, potatoes and gravy, or a special dessert. And that's OK. We eat "firsts" for hunger's sake or for nutrition and "seconds" as a kind of celebration of that which we really like.

Communion is like that. Sometimes we come for "firsts", we come because we really need it -- we are hungry and need spiritual nourishment. But sometimes we come for "seconds" just because we like it here -- the fellowship, the atmosphere, the familiarity, and the assurance we find here. It's a good place to come, and I suspect there is a little of both "firsts" and "seconds" for us here each Sunday -- both spiritual nourishment and celebration.

Here, we have the bread of life ... broken for us ... nourishment for our souls. And here we have the "cup of blessing" ... a celebration of all that his shed blood means for us. Both nourishment and celebration, and for this we give thanks.

Strength In Unity

I have heard it said that the church is like a chain, having many individuals linked together. I don't like this image of the church because of its implications. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. What happens in the church when the weakest link breaks? Are the rest able to continue their work? I don't like this image because it negates the strength of the other links. Elton Trueblood suggested a better image would be that of a cable, consisting of many wires. If one wire becomes frayed or weakened in some way, and even if it should snap, the other wires with their combined strength would still carry on their work.

Actually, each strand is weak in itself, just as individual members of the body have their weaknesses. But, as Ecclesiastes says, "two are better than one ... and a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (4:9-12). The cable, with many strands making it stronger than any one strand, is a more scriptural image of the church. It speaks of the unity of the church, of each member supporting the others, and of the church banding together to accomplish God's will.

An example of this can be seen in Galatians 6:1-2 -- "Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ."

The Lord's Supper symbolizes this nature of the church as it pictures unity -- the oneness in which we support each other. The Apostle Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 -- "Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread."

The very manner in which we observe the feast can speak of this unity. Today lets do it as some churches do, taking the bread and the cup and holding it and waiting until the signal is given to partake. Before doing that we will say our confession of faith in unison as another expression of our unity in faith.

(The elements are distributed and then the leader gives the signal to partake): "The body of Christ, given for you." (Silence) ... "The blood of Christ shed for you." (Silence) -- followed by a closing prayer.

A MOTHER'S DAY MEDITATION

At our church last Sunday, on Mother's Day, Judy, a mother herself, shared the following meditation at the Lord's Table.

Probably all of us at some time in our lives have dropped a stone into a clear pool of water and watched the ripples spread out, growing larger and larger and larger. But have you thought about what happens when the stone is dropped and then we turn away to do something else? The ripples still spread, even though we may not even notice them.

My Mom's life was like that. She made many ripples during her life and touched many lives in positive ways, ways that she didn't even know. Raising several foster children, for example, was to me one of the most important things she did. Each of those children, those ripples, have now gone on to touch other lives in positive ways, and so on and on it goes.

A good friend of mine recently passed away and she too cast many stones into the lake of life. She and her husband raised 23 foster BOYS! Talk about ripples!! Who knows what each of those kids contributed in the world and in all of the other lives they touched.

Even the smallest act of kindness can start the ripples; it doesn't have to be something as big as raising a child. Isaiah 54:10 says, "And the Lord said, 'For the mountains shall depart and the hills be moved, but My kindness shall not depart from you." So may we all remember that every small kindness we perform for someone else starts the ripples and sets things in motion for good.

Jesus set something in motion when he instructed his disciples to continue preaching His word, even after he was gone. His word would "make the ripples" spread throughout the world. And of course they did. Also, when Jesus broke the bread and blessed the cup in the upper room and asked his disciples to do this in remembrance of him he set in motion an action which has continued until today -- like a pebble cast into the sea of time and its circles touching the shore of our lives today.

Let us pray: Lord, grant us the wisdom to always move through your world, doing your will the best we can, and using small kindnesses to make ripples of good in the world.

When Jesus Leaves, What then?

How would you feel and what would you do if you suddenly lost the most influential person in your life?  Suppose there was someone who was so strong and yet loving, so compassionate and yet convicting, so powerful and yet vulnerable that you felt you could not live without him -- and suddenly he is gone.  How would you feel?  What would you do?  This happens in Luke 24.

Two post-resurrection appearances of Jesus are seen in Luke 24.  In the first, two disciples on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus are joined by Jesus but they do not recognize him.  When they reach their home he acts like the host at a meal, takes the bread, blesses and breaks it, and gives it to them.  When he does this their eyes were opened and they recognized him, or it could be said that they experienced His presence.

Luke continues by saying that Jesus then vanished from their sight.  Immediately they hurried back to Jerusalem and told the eleven apostles and others how they recognized Jesus "in the breaking of the bread."  Luke adds, "While they were telling these things, He himself stood in their midst and said to them, 'Peace be to you.'"  It is not surprising when Luke comments that they were both startled and frightened.

Jesus urged them to not be afraid, to look at him, even touch him, see that he has flesh and bones -- they are not seeing a ghost.  Here he is in his resurrected body, a body appropriate to the environment, so much so that he says, "Have you anything here to eat?"  They gave him a piece of broiled fish and he ate it before them.

Then Jesus began to teach them, as he had the two disciples earlier.  As Luke says, "He opened their minds to understand the scriptures," telling them that the Messiah would suffer and rise again from the dead, and that "repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And I am sending forth the promise of my Father upon you ... and you will be clothed with power from on high."

When he had finished teaching Jesus led them out of Jerusalem as far as Bethany where he lifted up his hands to bless them -- and as he did so he was carried away into heaven.  Jesus was gone.  This man who had changed their lives, who opened their minds to God's word, who loved them with sacrificial love, was gone.

You might expect Luke to describe how sad they felt, but he doesn't.  In fact he says the opposite:  "they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God."  First they had a worship service and then went back to Jerusalem with great joy where their witnessing would begin.

I believe that Luke meant this to be a model for the church.  In any event, His disciples continue to this day, meeting to worship him, to experience his presence in the breaking of the bread, and then going out with joy to their place of witness.

JUST A TABLE?

Fred Craddock went to the same graduate school in Enid, Oklahoma that I did. He tells of the time when he went to a little rural church to speak. They had a real terrible rainstorm. They canceled the service, and everybody knew it because they had telephones. But he didn't have a telephone, and didn't know it. So he drove from Enid out to the little church, slipping and sliding on those roads -- dirt, mud, a little gravel. I know what he meant because I also drove out to a little rural church each Sunday. I know about sliding on those roads. Some were shale, which makes a good surface when dry, but when wet they are either like a sheet of ice or rutted so bad you can hardly drive. Anyway, two of the me had thought about the fact that the preacher wouldn't know that they were not having the service, so they went to the church to wait for him, to tell him there was no service. When he went in, they were seated at the table that had on the front of it, "In Remembrance of Me," and they were playing cards.

Fred said, "What in the world are you doing?
They said, "Well, we're just playing a little poker, waiting for you to come."
He said, "On that table?"
One of them said, "well, a table's a table's a table."
And Fred said, "No, it isn't!" Not for Fred. No, it isn't just a table.
(Craddock's Stories, 140)

Why did Fred think there was something sacred about that table? It surely wasn't anything about the table itself. In a way, the men were right -- a table is a table. Unless -- unless what? Unless it stands for something much greater than itself.

In the Old Testament God told the Hebrew priests to sanctify the cups and other vessels and utensils used in the temple. They were actually called "sanctified" vessels. Which means that they were set aside for a holy use, a holy purpose. It is exactly the term that's used in the New Testament about followers of Christ -- people who have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

And so it is that a sanctified people gather before a sanctified table -- one set aside for a holy purpose. And that purpose is not to be a platform for poker but a pulpit for proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:26, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."