Proper 13

Welcome Statement

Good morning Church. It looks like you guys are stuck with me this Sunday. When I was looking at the lectionary the scripture readings it gave me are going to feel a bit ironic for some, and I want to acknowledge that out loud that yes, this will be 3 months since we’ve had communion, that is not what I’m going to preach on, but know I recognize the frustration for those who take it very seriously, and it will get addressed.

Old Testament Reading - Isaiah 55:1-5

Isaiah 55:1–5 NRSV

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

Focusing on that which Truly Satisfies

Human hunger and thirst are real things. They have to be addressed. I saw a book the other day called Bread and Bibles, it was about D.L. Moody’s Concern to feed those around him first, so they could then hear the good word. A short quote from him: When I was at work in the City Relief Society, before the fire, I used to go to a poor sinner with the Bible in one hand and a loaf of bread in the other. –D. L. Moody

Isaiah is prophesying about a banquet of that which is much greater than any food or drink ever consumed, and that it will provide true and everlasting satisfaction in the process. This heavenly banquet with God presiding over the table, is an interesting one.

The Nations around you

Another thing is that it prophecies the gentiles rushing to Israel, to meet God, as God has glorified his chosen people, this hints at Pentecost in a lot of ways. The thematic fulfillment of this prophecy about the heavenly banquet is fulfilled in Jesus’s feeding of the 5000.

New Testament Reading - Matthew 14:13-21

Matthew 14:13–21 NRSV

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

words

Echoes of the Past

Isaiah speaks about the abundance of Food

Manna showed God’s faithfulness

Jesus’s breaking of the bread is an echo of Jewish customs of breaking bread with your guests.

words

The Communion Table

Before we go further, I recognize the horrible irony of me preaching on these texts, I had already written this up, ready to go, and then find out Saturday that communion hasn’t happened here for 3 months.

For that, I am sorry, the logistical constraints are not just, and I sympathize, John Wesley himself talked about how to take communion whenever you can, as it is a means of grace, it is not just a symbol to us, we see it as something more than just a rememberance, it is one of the closest and most sacred ways we connect to Jesus.

However, communion is more than clergy folks blessing bread and handing it out. It is a meal offered by Jesus, the pastor is merely the table waiter. I don’t believe currently our church reflects that attitude, because we require someone with full clergy status to bless the sacraments. I am not using this as a place to air personal complaints, but I want to be clear I do not agree with it, and it is something I’ve had to wrestle with since I started here. As a pastor I have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure there is coverage for these things, I am sorry that did not happen.

However, the Text invites us to answer a question.

What is Communion, Really?

The reality is, communion, at the end of the day, is the church breaking bread, with Jesus. That is why we say Jesus is physically present in and at the meal. Jesus doesn’t need someone with magically waving hands to come to this table we invite him too, because infact, it is his table he is letting us borrow. We simply are the waiters/waitresses at that table, offering the meal to others. It is why Open Communion is such an important part of our wesleyan heritage, it is not a question of whether you have been formally baptized yet, it is simply, are you feeling called to the table.

Notice Jesus’s disciples, they don’t have the means to provide to 5000, they wish to just send everyone home, and Jesus says, no, there is abundance, echoing the faithfulness of his father, through the manna. The reality is, Jesus is our manna, he is our bread and wine. He is that abundance that is with us whether we participate in sacraments or not. I do not see communion as optional, it is a meal we freely share from the abundance of the church, but it is also not a do or die thing, Jesus works with the brokenness within our churches, where we see lacking, he sees opportunity and abundance. The disciples scoffed at Jesus for seeing opportunity, and I wouldn’t be surprised if people scoffed at me talking about this, but I find this a welcome question, of how important communion really is. Breaking bread is something that is the most fundamental, basic thing a human can do. You don’t need an elder, to break bread with your neighbor, Jesus is already providing the abundance to you to do it, to visit your neighbor, check on them, and show them the word. The reality is, communion is more than just a formalized sacrament of the church as an institution, it is a meal that we all participate in with our families and neighbors, it is not just this one dot of bread and a tiny cup of juice, it is a feast with our neighbors. To us, the problem seems insurmountable, the logistical realities of UMC polity make it feel as if this will just keep cropping up, and if I have any say, it won’t, but even if it does again, the real truth is this, Jesus is the mediator, not a person, communion is a sacred act, and a sacred meal, and that cannot be denied in the church, that must be fixed, but communion is also greater than just what we do in the church, it is something we participate in daily with our neighbors, our coworkers, it is comradery, it is the wish for a better day for our fellow people. It is the desire that all would know God, and all would humble themselves to serve God. Know this, Jesus is still here, and present, as important as our traditions as a church are, it does not take a tradition for Jesus to work in us, our traditions are just a means of grace, meaning there are many means of grace, our sacraments are sacred, there is no doubt about that, but at the end of the day, we do not lose sight of Jesus because of an administrative blunder, in fact, thats when Jesus shows up, as Paul says:

Romans 5:20–21 NRSV

But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Law does not define our wellbeing, Jesus Christ Does. Let us Pray

Closing Statement

Lord, we thank you that each and everyday you break bread with us, even when we are looking away and not taking it, you still hand it to us willingly. Lord, help us to recognize when there is slip ups and failures, that your grace abounds even more, that you show up in our brokenness, our failures, you show up when others let us down. Lord, help us to turn back towards your kingdom, to be reminded of what is important, our personal relationships with you, and our communal comradery with our brothers and sisters of the body. Lord, forgive us of our struggles, help us, to forgive others, to not ignore problems, but to forgive so we can move past the problems. Lord it hurts, we feel the pain of not being able to share in this particular meal with you, but remind us, you still are present in the meals at our homes, and in our relationships with others. Amen.

Doxology / Benediction / Closing

I recognize the painfulness of today, and I refuse to gloss that over. Communion is an important part of our faith, but we must remind ourselves it is not the beginning and end of our faith, our faith is so much greater than that. At the same time, it is a sacred act we must not neglect, and this administrative failure needs addressed. But in all reality, either way, Jesus is with us, for it says:

Matthew 18:20 NRSV

For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

May you Have a Blessed Sunday, and rest of your Week! Amen!