WELCOME & INTRODUCTION
- Speak on the goodness of our being together this morning
- This series called “We Are Better Together”
o Intentional in pointing our minds to unity as a church family and as part of the churches of Christ.
“I GOT THIS.”
In August of 2018, Therra Gwyn-Jaramillo was down on her luck. She was still reeling from having lost her husband to brain cancer. The British-born freelance writer was living in Atlanta, Georgia, and due to unpaid writing work and a broken water heater, she was nearly broke. “It’s just me who is responsible for taking care of everything now,” she explained in a long Facebook post, “the house, the property, four rescued dogs, two rescued cats, an elderly, blind chicken named Dixie, my disabled brother…and myself.”
On the verge of a nervous breakdown, Jaramillo got a lifeline from a friend in the form of a $250 gift certificate to Whole Foods—a place she can’t usually afford to shop.
Grateful but exhausted, Jaramillo drove herself to the store and did her shopping, but “my head hasn’t worked all month,” and only after she had put all of her groceries on the conveyer belt did she realize that the tab was going over the allotted $250. Then she panicked when she saw that her bags of dog food got mixed up with the groceries of the young man in line in front of her. She tried to tell the cashier not to ring those up, and as she was trying to remove some of the overage items, the man spoke up, “I might as well get it.”
Jaramillo politely declined, but the man insisted. “I said I got this. All of this. Don’t put anything back!” Then she realized he was talking about buying all of her groceries, not just the dog food. And he insisted. “I stared wide-eyed at this handsome young African-American man, this stranger, as if he’d just dropped through the ceiling like a black James Bond, like Batman.” (Did I mention she’s a writer?) “Then I started to cry.”
The man told Jaramillo that his name was Chris, and she hugged him and thanked him for footing the $375 bill. But “Who ARE you?” she asked again. “Just a person. Just a guy.” She kept thinking to herself, “Does he know he is an angel?”
Only later did she find out from the cashier that the man was better known as Ludacris—the Grammy-winning hip-hop artist known for hits like “Rollout (My Business)” as well as for his role as Tej in the Fast and the Furious movie franchise. Jaramillo described the rapper as “awesome run amok” and promised to pay it forward by telling her story. “He was just doing something kind for a disheveled, harried stranger. Showing the love in his soul. Shining a light in the world. What Ludacris had no way of knowing is that his quiet kindness and generous gesture came at a moment when my candle was out. He used his personal light to fire up my own.”
I tell this story because what Luda did for Jaramillo was to show the love we are all called to show in situations like this. Today we are going to talk about the meaning and purpose of Communion; the Lord’s Supper. When we gather for Communion, we should fire up each other’s candles.
Paul writes to the church in Corinth about their habits as a body and how they are not united behind the centrality of the Lord’s Supper, but there are divisions. Let’s read his message about Communion in First Corinthians.
READ 1 CORINTHIANS 11:17-34
17 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. 18 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, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.
20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 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.
23 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, 24 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.”
25 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.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27 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. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 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.
The people of Corinth had divided over the Lord’s Supper—not an outright declaration that they were not going to take communion with certain people. It formed because of a lack of self-control, a lack of patience, and because they were hungry.
Paul says in verse 19 that there “must be factions among you.” These factions were (1) those that were patient and willing to wait for others, (2) those that were hungry and unwilling to wait, and (3) those that were unable to be there in time to also eat. These were the poor and servants. The poor had to complete their work before they were allowed to come together to worship.
The wealthy and impatient were taking advantage of the opportunity to eat and drink while there was still plenty on the table. Paul brings to their minds why they are supposed to be coming together to begin with. And I want to bring our minds to the purpose of Communion and why we do this every week together.
1. We do this for each other.
Paul reminds them in verse 18 that they first come together as a church. We are called to be together. This word we use Communion, is just that: a time to commune with one another. Jesus with his disciples and the early church as well came together in the context of a meal. But Paul reminds them that the meal is only the beginning. It is the Lord’s Supper which is why you come together. You come and eat, but don’t forget the whole body.
Wait for one another. This is a time to include each other. Jesus ate with his disciples then took bread and broke it and gave it to the disciples. He passed this bread and this cup around to the men seated with him. We read this in Matthew 26 and in Luke 22:14-23 we read that Jesus desired to eat this Passover with them before he suffered.
He was thinking of his brothers. And we too must think of our brothers when we take this meal together. It’s about encouraging our brothers and sisters in the purpose of our faith—Jesus.
There is a special ministry in Portland, Oregon. It is vague about how they began because they don’t want it associated with one specific church or business. Many have come together to help with this ministry. Night Strike meets under the Burnside Bridge every Thursday evening to help those who are homeless or less fortunate. At this weekly event, people can have a meal, get a haircut, have their feet washed, and exchange their clothes for a new, fresh set: jeans, shirts, underwear, socks, shoes, coats, tents, and sleeping bags and toiletries.
Each week people volunteer to help with one of these things. No charge, just serving people because of the love of Christ. It is a wild evening. I have been to this event and have walked the streets of Portland at night to hand out food to those who are still unable or unwilling to go to the Burnside Bridge. Imagine with me though: washing someone’s feet you don’t know. It is a special and humbling treat for the washer and the washee. As Peter told Jesus, you won’t wash my feet. Jesus insisted that he must.
When we come together, Communion is for each other, not me. Out of Love for each other.
2. The Body of Christ
Paul reminds them of what Jesus did on the night he was betrayed and he used this phrase in every account: “This is my body.” He is using the bread to symbolize his body; broken as he was beaten…hung on the cross.
Jesus was clear that this meal was the living embodiment of him, his example of life and death. Every time going forward, these disciples would gather to eat and break bread with one another in homes, with friends, family, strangers, they would remember all that they had seen and heard. It would live in their hearts. The smell of bread baking would remind them of the teaching Jesus had done and help them remember their purpose to share the Gospel with everyone they meet. They would treat one another as brothers and sisters. Family.
Paul then fittingly goes on in the chapter 12 to talk about us being one body. He speaks of one body with many parts, how we all have a purpose and need one another…and I believe Paul is bringing us full circle today to what Jesus was also doing in breaking bread with his brothers.
As Jesus proclaims that this bread is his flesh and by eating it, we are making a bold declaration, it is a tribute to what we are actually doing together. Just as the bread is being broken in front of them and hearing that this is his body, Jesus looks across the table and proclaims—THIS is my body.
As the body of Christ, by breaking bread together and communing in his name, we are taking a bold step to proclaim Christ’s death until he comes again. When I take and eat, I think about how every barrier must fall as I eat together with my brothers and sisters. To eat this bread means I must love again as I have been loved by Christ. Past pain, issues, disagreements, and hatred must be no more. I am no longer mine alone, but I am now part of a chorus of voices proclaiming the one thing the world needs to hear. Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, our very Savior is alive! Believe! Follow him as I follow him!
THIS is my body. Take and eat.
This is our proclamation to the World! This world that is dividing over political issues, war, disease, economics, government, sexual orientations, marriage, even our children and how they are to be raised. Dividing over the truth of the Gospel of Jesus and God’s Word; His Scriptures and what they say and mean. We are called to love our brothers and sisters and show this world that this meal joins us as a body.
Paul talks about them taking communion in an unworthy manner in verse 27. What I believe he is saying is you are here for each other and to make this bold proclamation and you cannot even wait to eat. Examine yourselves.
If you can’t wait to eat once you’re here together, then eat at home before you come. This isn’t supposed to divide us but unite us. If we are going to divide over food, then our minds and hearts are not in the right place to Commune with one another.
Think about Jesus. He had Communion with the man who would betray him. Judas sat at the same table as the other 11 disciples and Jesus and they ate, drank, laughed, cried, prayed. If Jesus can eat and commune with Judas, I can do the same. This is a bigger message than what I want. My wants are not important if there is someone who doesn’t know Jesus. Who needs love of brother; who needs the proclamation of the Gospel.
COVID has divided us. Not necessarily us here at 29th, but I am speaking universally in our world and in the Churches of Christ. People have their own opinions about the virus and how it works. What will protect us, what won’t. Who should take medicines to cure and why it doesn’t do that. The Christian Chronicle has done some stories where they have sought input from different opinions as they wrote articles on this from the beginning. I was in one of them. Honestly, I think they used me to show that some of us are just ignorant rubes who don’t understand “the science.” I won’t fully make that accusation. I would like to think better of our brothers and sisters on the editing board of that publication. I was happy to have my voice heard.
But that isn’t really what I mean about dividing. Deeper still, I believe we have hurt our practice of communing together. We went with the individual containers of a cracker and juice. We don’t physically break the bread; as we pass a tray to another, looking them in the eye as we hold the tray and give them the same bread in sharing this meal. As we pass the cups to one another. There is something special about our previous practice that many haven’t taken much thought about.
Now we have individual cups that we pick up before we begin. We quickly move from one element to the next and it becomes a time of individualism and my prayer between me and God and we are not truly communing as a body. I have heard churches brag about how quickly they get communion done and over with. I am thankful we do not brag about that.
I have other thoughts about our practice in the Churches of Christ but they are not here nor there with today’s message. My point in we are called to Communion—this Lord’s supper. This is how we proclaim the truths of the Gospel to the world. How we say out loud, we will never forget our purpose and commission.
We love each other as a body because of the body of Jesus Christ and will continue to make our proclamation to the world!
INVITATION
Maybe you have a brother or sister you are at odds with. Maybe they have been holding you back from truly communing with each other here. Maybe you need prayer for how you can be a better proclaimer of the message of the Gospel.
We want to pray with you this morning.
What are some needs you have? Do you need forgiveness for a past hurt? For the way you have divided with someone? Maybe you need the prayers of the church as you are going through a crisis right now. We want to pray with you.
Our Communion doesn’t end once we’ve swallowed these [HOLD UP CUP]. We Commune together as the Acts 2 church did. Day by Day. This time of prayer is a continuation of our Communion. I think we forget that and relegate it to just this. The world needs to see that it cannot divide us over this, COVID, or any other issue. We proclaim Christ Until. He. Comes!
