So That the World May Know
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“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
1 Corinthians
But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
So That the World May Know
So That the World May Know
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
:
The gospels tell us that the purpose of the disciples - the church - all the people who choose to follow Jesus - is to spread the news of Jesus’ love to all people. It’s our job as a faith community to make sure everyone out there knows that forgiveness is for them too. says that we are supposed to be feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, visiting the sick and imprisoned, clothing the naked,
But in , Paul writes to the church that their gatherings are not only not improving the lives of everyone and providing spiritual edification, they are making everything WORSE!
Can you imagine if one of the big shots of the church were to walk into this church this morning and tell us we’re not being a very good church, and in fact, we’re making things worse for people?! Ouch!
In , Paul writes to the church that their gatherings are not only not improving the lives of everyone and providing spiritual edification, they are making everything WORSE!
The first problem Paul specifically points out is that there are divisions in the church. Paul doesn’t expect everyone to agree on everything all the time, but he does expect them to be open, honest, and kind to one another in their interactions. The problem he is seeing is that there are some people in the church who are eating and drinking and fully participating in the meals while others are left out. They have dragged in the worldly sins of division and injustice and inequality and ignoring the hungry and brought them into church.
Possibly, the sin of economic injustice wasn’t the only thing Paul was worried about. It’s also been suggested that the Christian meals were taking on some of the darker traditions of Greco-Roman life. At many a roman home, around the table, the feasters would bring in and make fun of people who were disabled, deformed, obese, or different in any variety of ways. They would make them perform as they jeered.
Even if this weren’t the case, it’s clear that the Christian community in Corinth was not behaving in Christian ways. They were not caring for “the least of these” as Jesus calls the church to do in .
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Matthew 25:40
Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
Paul says, “Do you want me to be proud of you for this behavior? No way!” He refuses to pat them on the back for acting in ways that are contrary to the Gospel of love Jesus commanded the disciples to carry out to all people. He’s not letting them off the hook because they call themselves Christians and gather for church.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
matthew 28:18-20
The church at Corinth was not going out to all people, they were staying in with the people they were comfortable with - the ones that looked and acted and shopped like them. They were even keeping separate from other Christians who had less or were of a different social status. And they were not teaching others to observe the compassionate teachings of Jesus to care for the hungry, the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the prisoner. ()
Matthew 25:
He reminds them that all people are offering Communion by Jesus.
Divisions in the church, even at Communion
This almost certainly meant some people were being left out because of their social class.
I know many people who don’t come to church because they feel as if the church is making things worse, not better. They see Westboro baptist church picketing funerals and shouting out hate speech. They see the cliques that many churches develop, making it next to impossible for someone new to really become part of the church. They hear “You’re going to Hell” out of the mouths of so-called Christians far more often than “You are loved.” They see people who piously go to church every Sunday, then come home and act like the rest of the mean, messed up world Monday-Saturday. They hear Christians judging other people for their behavior and not doing much of anything to clean up their own act.
You probably know a few people who feel that way too. In fact, if you can’t think of anyone in your life who feels that way, it’s probably because the people in your life who feel that way just don’t feel comfortable admitting it to you. Or you’ve isolated yourself with other Christians and need to get out more. The gospel can’t spread if we don’t have anyone to share it with. It’s inherently unchristian to only spend time with other Christians.
It’s easy to isolate ourselves, though and to ignore those who have a bad taste in their mouth when it comes to church or to religion in general. It’s more comfortable to be with people who don’t challenge us. It’s safer to stay only with people who want to see us grow in our faith rather than those who want to argue against it or question its validity.
I’m not saying that we should be combative or go out and argue with every non-Christian on the street, but we should be willing and open to having conversations with people about what this (Christian faith) really is. Because if we’re not talking about the great things that God has done for us, all others are hearing are the negative things.
Sometimes - strike that - usually, I really hate the question, “So what do you do for a living?” because it means I cannot avoid having a conversation about faith. It’s just built into my job title like how doctors get asked everyone’s medical questions. The second I say, “I’m a pastor.” the floodgates are open. If I’m lucky, they will only be curious how a woman could possibly be a pastor. (Our tradition, and others, have been ordaining women for decades, but it’s still a news flash in some circles.)
Often, it turns into an ad hoc spiritual direction session or a conversation about how the church or someone claiming to be Christian has hurt the other person. Other times, the other party will let loose a lament about all the terrible things that have been done in the name of religion.
Almost always, I feel like I’m immediately forced to be on defense. And those kinds of conversations are exhausting. Even if they are friendly and not combative.
I’m not saying that we should be combative or go out and argue with every non-Christian on the street, but we should be willing and open to having conversations with people about what this (Christian faith) really is. Because if we’re not talking about the great things that God has done for us, all others are hearing are the negative things. If we aren’t out there loudly proclaiming the love of Jesus to all people, all people are going to hear is hate and fear because hate and fear are very loud and they are rarely shy.
But we take the easy road. We forget what God has done for us or we wrap it up in a tiny little package and set it up on a safe shelf, out of the reach of others. Sure, we “count our blessings” from time to time, but we forget the radical nature of this gift we are given. We forget how Jesus didn’t come just so we could feel a little less sad or lonely in our day to day lives. He didn’t come to leave a few quotes behind that we can embroider on some throw pillows.
I’m not saying that we should be combative or go out and argue with every non-Christian on the street, but we should be willing and open to having conversations with people about what this (Christian faith) really is. Because if we’re not talking about the great things that God has done for us, all others are hearing are the negative things.
Jesus came so that our lives might be turned completely upside down by the wild, exciting life that God intended us to lead.
We forget what God has done for us. We forget the radical nature of this gift we are given. We have tamed our Communion table.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Jesus came so that we might all truly know God and experience the love of the One who created us all.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
As we see in , even when knowingly facing his own violent death, Jesus offers peace. Not vengeance, not self-reliance, not some “you have the strength to do this”, he offers peace. No peace that is forced, but peace that is real. Not peace that lasts just a short time, but eternal peace. This peace is not a gift that is given one day and taken back or diminished the next.
And he left for us an important remembrance of that. A way to celebrate the crazy, wild, loving, wonderful, world-shaking thing that God did for us: this table at which we are all called to gather as equals and celebrate his gift to us and our unity to one another.
We have tamed our Communion table.
In keeping to ourselves and protecting our safe, familiar ways, we tame our Communion table.
Like the Israelites wandering in the desert who kept forgetting what they had just been rescued from in Egypt, we wander around in mundane everyday life forgetting what we have been rescued from by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
The danger of “not keeping his commandments and his ordinances and his statutes” (v 11) is real and constant. When we “have eaten and are sated,” have built ourselves comfortable homes (v 12), and experience material blessings (v 13) in abundance, the human condition is to “forget” (v 14). We tend to see those good things as the product of our own efforts and abilities.
Grace in the Text
Grace in the Text
To the church in Corinth, Paul says, “remember.”
“Remember what Jesus did for you! Built into the life of the church is this way of remembering what he did for us! Invite everyone you know to join in at this table!”
When someone begins to show signs of memory loss, the very first thing doctors will tell them after addressing the medical issues is to keep as mentally active as possible. The less you try to remember, the less you will remember. They will also tell you to be in community - don’t isolate yourself. Community is so very important to the human memory and identity. Routine is also very important to remembering. It’s easier to remember things we remember in the same way all the time. Keeping physically active and healthy is also important to combatting memory loss. Our physical bodies are connected to our brains and the two affect one another.
And the solution we as a church are given to our chronic memory loss, our forgetfulness of our identity and our core message, is to keep trying to remember. Celebrate Communion! Celebrate it in community! Celebrate it regularly! Remember that in the physical act of eating bread and drinking from the cup, we are triggering something deeper than just our digestive system.
Communion transcends all divisions: even that of life and death.
Those “forty years” were a time of testing, “to know what is in your heart” (v 2).
Even facing his own violent death, Jesus offers peace. Not vengeance, not self-reliance, not some “you have the strength to do this”, he offers peace.
Even facing his own violent death, Jesus offers peace. Not vengeance, not self-reliance, not some “you have the strength to do this”, he offers peace.
Communion transcends all divisions: even that of life and death.
I know many people who don’t come to church because they feel as if the church is making things worse, not better. You probably know a few people who think that too. In fact, if you can’t think of anyone in your life who feels that way, it’s probably because the people in your life who feel that way just don’t feel comfortable admitting it to you. We forget what God has done for us. We forget the radical nature of this gift we are given. We have tamed our Communion table.
When we all come together on the same day - World Communion Sunday - we make a statement to those around us that all people are deserving of God’s love and all people are deserving of OUR love. We reaffirm the gospel of Jesus and are sent out to share it with others.
The danger of “not keeping his commandments and his ordinances and his statutes” (v 11) is real and constant. When we “have eaten and are sated,” have built ourselves comfortable homes (v 12), and experience material blessings (v 13) in abundance, the human condition is to “forget” (v 14). We tend to see those good things as the product of our own efforts and abilities.
Grace in the World
Grace in the World
Jon Berquist says: “In wine and grape juice, in wafer and tablet and loaf, in prayer rail and brass tray, in all the variations we find our many differences given concrete form. . . These differences divide us, but the fact that we all continue together around communion tables. . . is an important expression of who we are - the one church of God. . . Communion has the power to bring us back together at the one table of Jesus, even against our petty struggling for the positions that define our own righteousness.” Jon L. Berquist, Ancient Wine, New Wineskins: The Lord’s Supper in the old Testament Perspective (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1991), 2-3.
When we all come together on the same day - World Communion Sunday - we make a statement to those around us that all people are deserving of God’s love and all people are deserving of OUR love. We reaffirm the gospel of Jesus and are sent out to share it with others.
“As we gather worldwide around all manner of “tables”, let us reaffirm that Jesus loved God and showed us how to love God and one another. Nothing is more important.” Joseph R Jeter Jr., Preaching God’s Transforming Justice, Year B, 435
The gospel is reaffirmed through community and communal actions.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
8
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
John
but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
Today, let us follow the example of Jesus. Today, let us remember what he did for us and then let us rise up and go from here, sharing that great news with the whole world.
