This coming Sunday, October 2, 2016 is World Communion Sunday. It is a special Sunday set aside for religions and denominations all around the world to come together to celebrate communion or the Lord’s Supper (depending on what each church calls it!). Some churches celebrate communion each Sabbath while others celebrate it once a month or once a quarter.
The important thing is understanding the significance of what we as Christians do when we celebrate communion. The Last Supper would have been the final Passover meal Jesus shared with his inner circle of Apostles. We know that the Passover Meal would have been on a Friday evening after sundown and by that time Jesus would have already died and he would have been in the tomb. The final meal he shared then would have been the preparation meal for Passover. Nevertheless, in that final meal he shared with his disciples, he instituted what today we practice as “communion.” The word itself indicates it is something we do together. While some denominations practice “closed” communion (meaning only members of their church participate) others practice communion which is open to any and all. The important part of communion is remembrance. We do this to remember Jesus – his birth, his life, his death on a cruel cross, his resurrection, his ascension and his waiting patiently for God to send him back to claim his children and that as home! Now, this Sunday, when you celebrate communion, remember Jesus and what he did for you and for me. Also, know that churches all over the world are doing the same thing as we remember this special day—and do this in remembrance of Jesus! Amen. In 1 Timothy 6:7 we read something that I believe we all too often forget. “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” Think about those words for just a minute! Someone once said that they had never seen a hearse with a luggage rack on it, neither have I and I used to work at a funeral home!
Does that mean that we should not be concerned about having a job or being a productive part of society? Well, no that is not what it means at all! Of course God expects us to work and support ourselves. In fact, in 1 Thessalonians 3:10 we find these words, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.”(NRSV) Notice it is directed at those who are unwilling not those who are unable! We are expected to work if we are able but we are not expected to make money the center of our lives. The point that Paul is making to Timothy (and to you and me today) is that the material things we gain here are not the most significant thing in our lives or at least they should not be. However, we do live in a material world. Back some time ago, Madonna recorded a song that lays this out so well. In her hit “Material Girl,” she says this about boys: “They can beg and they can plead but they can't see the light, that's right, that's right, 'Cause the boy with the cold hard cash is always Mister Right. 'Cause we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl.” I have news for her – the boy with the cold hard cash may very well NOT be mister right! Living in a right relationship with Jesus Christ is much more important than having cold hard cash, even in a material world. We fill our lives with so much “stuff” that often times we lose track of what is really important. Maybe that is the reason that, as Jesus was teaching his disciples how to pray he taught them to ask for daily bread and not enough bread for the week or month! Think about that. Just because we live in a material world does not mean we have to become material people. There is still room right here to be the spiritual beings God wants us to be. In fact, our very soul depends, not on how much money we have in the bank, but whether or not we have claimed Jesus as our personal savior and that we are in a right relationship with him. If you don’t know for sure where you stand, find out before it is too late! Remember, you can’t take it with you – not even one penny! Amen. The Lectionary text that I have chosen as my sermon text for this week is 1 Timothy 2:1-8. In this passage Paul goes back to the Shema which reads, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-6 NRSV)
Both of these passages were written to people who lived in a polytheistic culture (many gods) encouraging them to remain true to the One God. Today, things are no different. We too live in a polytheistic culture. The only difference is that our “gods” or idols are different. Today there are lots of things that take the place of God. Things like sports, TV, sleeping in on Sunday morning and so on. Still, there are many things which take the place of God. Paul encourages Timothy to hold fast to the teaching that there is only one God and one mediator between God and humanity – Jesus. It is Jesus who allows us to come into a close and personal relationship with God—a relationship that is without fear! Today, because of what Jesus did (his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension) we can come boldly to God with all our problems, no matter how big or how small. I believe the most important part of this passage is in verse 8 when Paul writes, “I desire then, that in every place the men (and women) should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.” That last phrase, without anger or argument is so important. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus places anger in the same category as murder! Now I will be the first to admit that I become angry sometimes—we all do. But we cannot allow our anger to consume us, to control our actions and our thoughts. In Christ we must come together, all in one mind and one body. God demands that we do just that! Amen. In Psalm 14 we read, “Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God. They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.” (vs. 1-3 NRSV) How many times today do we hear that, especially in the news!
As Christians, we certainly have a dim view of those who claim they believe there is no God. I, for one, cannot understand how any intelligent person could dispute the existence of a supreme being. The American Indians knew of such an existence long before Christian missionaries told them about God! They knew because they could see evidence of this being in nature, in the way the seasons changed, in the birth-life-death cycle of life, that evidence is clearly there. This incredible world in which we live was created by God, not by accident. The theory of evolution does not make sense either, macroevolution that is. Macroevolution is when one species evolves into a totally different species. To date, no fossil evidence of such evolution has been found. Microevolution on the other hand is very easy to understand. In the farming community, hybrid wheat and corn is a perfect example. Again, this did not happen just because! There was a higher power at work, even if we believe that the work took place in the minds of humans in a lab! The more troubling part of this verse is found in verse 2 where the author wonders if there is anyone wise in all of humanity. Being wise here means those who seek after God. Seeking after God is always a process of evolution. Today, we do not interpret the scriptures the way the people did in Jesus’ day. For example, men don’t all have beards and we don’t take our unruly children to the city gates to be stoned to death. “Prosperity Gospel” preachers tell everyone God wants them to be rich! God does want everyone to be rich spiritually. My hope is that as Christians we will take the same stand that our atheist counterparts are taking. As Christians, we must become more vocal telling the Jesus story. Then and only then will we actually be doing our part, the Christian’s part of possibly changing some minds! Amen. |
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This blog consists of reflections written by the minister each week for the Sunday bulletin. We hope that you enjoy the musings! Archives
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