How do
we recognize Jesus Christ in our midst? Is it in the pages of Scripture? Is it
through the events in our lives? Is it in the love that others give us? While
those are certainly things that can point to the risen Christ, the New
Testament is very clear that one of the best ways to recognize Christ is
through Holy Communion. On Easter evening, for example, in the story from Luke
that you just heard (Luke 24:13-31), the two traveling disciples didn’t
recognize Jesus when he joined them on the road to Emmaus. Their conversation
with him about the recent events in Jerusalem didn’t open their eyes; and
neither did his explanation about how scripture was fulfilled in his death and
resurrection. It was only when he broke bread and gave it to them that they
recognized the stranger who had accompanied them all day as the risen Lord.
But it
is a sad irony that the things that should unite us are often the very things
that drive us apart; and Holy Communion is a glaring example of that truth.
Like a wedge jammed into the middle of Christian communities, communion has
divided more people than it has united. In the early days of the Reformation,
for example, church reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin sat down at the
dinner table to see if they might be able to work together. They agreed on
almost everything: church leadership, church government, and even baptism. But
when they got to communion, everything fell apart like Humpty Dumpty; and all
the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t get them back together again.
They parted friends, but not colleagues. Luther’s legacy is the Lutheran
Church, while Calvin’s is the Presbyterian Church. Two denominations resulted
instead of one, because the sacrament that should have united Luther and Calvin
drove them apart.
Communion
is still a force for division. Even today, as we sit down at the table of
Christ together with millions of others around the world, some people will be
suspicious of Christians who don’t celebrate Holy Communion exactly the same
way that they do. The folks who come to the communion table and kneel to
receive the bread and cup will wonder about the piety of the folks who remain
in their pews and pass plates of bread and cups. Those who drink wine will sneer
at those who drink grape juice and wonder why they aren’t being “scriptural.” And
those who receive communion every week, like our brothers and sisters in the
Disciples of Christ, will look on the ones who receive communion only
infrequently and wonder about the strength of their commitment to Jesus. How
sad. That isn’t what Jesus had in mind at all!
I
recently read a memoir that was written by Rev. David J. Huegel, a member of
the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). His thoughts go to the heart of the
division that we Christians have created around the Lord’s Table. I will let
him speak for himself as I read a portion of that memoir.
In my last week serving as a Volunteer
under Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ, I attended the annual
communion service at the cathedral church of the Pentecostal Church of Chile in
a small city there. It was a memorable experience for me. The problem was
that they did several things wrong.
There is no doubt that the service, held
on August 18, the national holiday of St. Peter and St. Paul, is a big
deal. When we arrived more than an hour early, parking spaces were filling
up with charter buses bringing people in from small churches of the entire
countryside around the city. Extra seats had been set up in the warehouse
that serves as a church way out into the open patio that normally serves as a
parking area. By the time the service began, it was standing room only. But
something in me rebels at the idea of a communion service being such a big
deal. Just the idea of an annual communion service is unpalatable to
this old Disciples minister who wants his Lord’s Supper every week. [Note:
the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) celebrate Holy Communion every
Sunday.] You shouldn’t have to charter a
bus to receive communion.
After everybody got settled and the choir
warmed us up, the first major order of business was baptisms. The Pentecostal
Church of Chile baptizes children in its regular weekly services. If
adults wish to be baptized, however, that is not only allowed but encouraged at
the annual communion service. The problem is that almost all of them had been
baptized before! For Pentecostals, this is no big deal. You can be
baptized whenever you have a significant spiritual experience. But to this
good Disciples of Christ pastor who believes in one baptism per lifetime, all
that rebaptism just seemed to be – well, if not wrong, then at least very much
out of order!
When we finally arrived at Communion, the
Bishop gave the words of institution, and then every ordained and lay leader
was assigned to serve the elements at the nine communion tables all around the
building. The lay leader who was with me gave bread to everybody, no
questions asked; so I, too, gave the cup to everyone. And that was another
problem. The table was TOO open, in my opinion; because the cup is literally
shared. Everyone drinks from the same cup, regardless of age, appearance,
or medical condition. Only my wipe of the cup with a constantly changing succession
of fresh napkins provided any kind of barrier to whatever germs might be
lurking. “Lord, I will drink this cup,” I thought, “just keep me healthy!”
And then, when the adults and children been served, all the babies and toddlers
were brought forward to be blessed—using the communion elements! Some
children had to be coaxed to taste the wine; and babies were spoon fed wine
with tiny baby spoons.
Things weren’t done the way they were
supposed to be done – at least, not in my opinion. I was sure that they were
not done the way the Lord Jesus would have done them if he had been there,
either. Surely, he would have insisted that everyone use those little,
sanitized, prepackaged communion cups with the wafer attached. But people were
so moved! I have never seen such weeping and radiant joy at communion! “This
is crazy!” I thought. And I felt from somewhere God’s reply, “And I love
it!”
Before I had begun to participate in
worship that day, I had prayed that the Spirit would examine me. The Spirit
used the people to do just that. The Spirit broke my own critical spirit
with the passionate outpouring of love for the Lord that I witnessed in each
face to whom I said, “This cup is the new covenant in Jesus’s blood . . .” Yup,
all of us are sinners. We all do things the wrong way. And we are all forgiven
by the extravagant love of God. May we all love just as extravagantly!
In
just a moment, Jesus will invite you to join him at his table. You will recognize
him in the breaking of the bread. And millions of other Christians will
recognize him, too, whatever their particular communion traditions might be. Common
cup or individual cups; bread from a common loaf or pre-cubed for your
convenience; sitting in a pew or kneeling at an altar rail – Christ is present
with all of us. Thanks be to God!
Note: I have shortened and edited Rev.
Huegel’s story for use in this sermon. You can read his full account at
http://www.globalministries.org/communion_in_chile_10_10_2014_1357
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