Smell the Grace
Special occasions are often connected with food—Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, anniversaries, birthdays, etc. I remember often those days whenever we have a special occasion at our house. No matter where I’m at in the house I can smell the turkey or ham baking, and the corn pudding, and the pumpkin pie. And like Pavlov’s dog, it just sets the juices flowing, our stomachs growling and we can’t wait for dinner to be served.
I hope when you walked through the door this morning your olfactory senses were overwhelmed with the smell of the bread baking. And I hope that it set your juices flowing as you thought ahead of the meal in which we will be partaking of here in a short time.
Whenever there’s a special meal, we can’t wait to hear: “It’s time to eat! Come to the table.” This morning, Jesus has set the table and is inviting us, “Come to My Table.” But we must prepare ourselves before we “come to the table”…
We read in Psalm 26 that David asks for vindication for he has “led a blameless life” and has “trusted in the Lord without wavering”. Now we know that David is not sinless. We know from elsewhere in the Bible, including several other Psalms, that David couldn’t and didn’t make that claim. I think that all he is saying there is that he has genuinely sought to serve God.
David goes on to say in verse 6, “I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O Lord.”
Before we sit down to a meal, we need clean hands. You don’t work in the garden or change the oil in the car and then come inside, sit down, and eat dinner. You wash up first. This is why the Bible tells us to examine ourselves before we eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
We, as Presbyterians, believe that to participate in communion we must be baptized. We believe that communion is not a right, but a privilege. And in preparing to receive Christ in this Sacrament, the believer is to confess sin and brokenness, to seek reconciliation with God and neighbor, and to trust in Jesus Christ for cleansing and renewal. (BOO, W.2.4011a)
When you were a kid, did anyone ever have to go to bed without supper because you did something bad? When we come to Jesus seeking forgiveness, we find restoration, and an invitation to His table. Some people figure they’re too unworthy to participate, and they pass the bread and cup without partaking. None of us are worthy, but if we’ve trusted Christ, we are eligible. He invites and authorizes us to come to the table. And we need to be reminded of that.
We celebrate the Lord’s Supper once a month. Some celebrate it once a quarter. Some celebrate it every time they gather for worship, maybe 3-4 times a week. Today is World Communion Sunday. Maybe the only time all year that we, as Christians, gather to celebrate and remember what Jesus did for all of us on the same Sunday.
This is a special Sunday. Those who receive the bread and cup every week, and maybe even those of us who receive it just once a month may begin to take it for granted. Maybe we don’t really think about the implications of this act or the impact it has on our lives. So before we enter into communion with God and one another, let’s take a closer look at “The Lord’s Supper”.
Let’s begin by taking a look at the conversation that preceded the first Lord’s Supper. While reclining around the Passover table, Jesus said, "One of you will betray me." One by one, the disciples questioned the Lord, "Surely not I, Lord?" When it came Judas’ turn to ask, he said, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" Did you notice the subtle change in the question? The other disciples referred to Jesus as Lord, while Judas referred to Him as Rabbi. A disciple is less likely to betray his Lord than his teacher. Jesus is much more than a good teacher-He is Lord!
And, as Lord, Jesus is the only one worthy to say and do what comes next. Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and said this is my body. He likened his body to bread. I don’t know about you but I can just picture the disciples faces. The same puzzled look that they had at other things Jesus has told them.
Jesus is offering them the bread of heaven, but in their minds they picture bread as something baked fresh every day, something that would satisfy their hunger for a short time. How could this bread be His body?
We could ask the same question. How can this loaf of bread that you smelled baking as you entered this morning, this bread made from ordinary ingredients purchased at a store, this everyday commodity, be his body?
At the communion table when the loaf and cup is consecrated and blessed, it is no longer the bread and wine/juice from the store. The Spirit of God descends upon and enters these sacraments and they become holy and life giving. Then, when we partake in faith and humility, we are not just eating bread and drinking juice or wine but rather we are taking into ourselves the body and blood of Jesus.
I said at the beginning that special occasions are often connected with food. The passage we read in Matthew speaks of a special occasion with a memorable meal; specifically a supper. We call our evening meal supper. Now, it is strictly my opinion, but I believe that the common people refer to the evening meal as supper while the upper crust folks call it dinner.
To me, that connects me with Jesus because the meal he observed with his disciples was a supper. He must have been a common person. In fact, Scripture tells us that he came from an ordinary family that was common and not fancy.
The meal that we are here to observe today should do for us what other memorable meals have done for us. It should cause us to remember some things. Jesus told his disciples to partake of this supper and do so in remembrance of him.
The meal still has meaning for Christians today. It is a meal that only Christians are to partake of. It reminds us of his broken body as it hung on the cross and the blood that flowed from his body as he offered himself up as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
In closing I’d like to tell you a story from the book “Iowa Parables” by Jerry Schmalenberger.
In August of 1900 more than 250 hobos, tramps and freeloaders came by train to a little northwest Iowa town for their first annual National Hobo Convention. They ate free food, drank free beer, stayed in free accommodations, played games, drew up a political platform and nominated a candidate for the 1900 Presidential election. We are speaking about a tradition that is repeated even to this day-the Annual Hobo Days in Britt, Iowa.
The people of Britt have been inviting the hobos, bums, & free loaders to Britt each year, not because they deserve it, not because in some way they have earned it. They get their free food and drink, & this special treatment because they are hobos, nothing more.
All sorts of conventions happen in our country each day, but the annual Hobo Convention at Britt is different. They didn’t deserve it, ask for it or encourage it. It was given freely. Freely given to hobos who haven’t worked, many who are lazy, crude, dirty, dishonest, who have been arrested in freight yards, chased out of public parks, and rousted for vagrancy. But in Britt, for one weekend, the hobos are kings. For a brief time they are loved for who they are, fellow human beings who celebrate their humanity and its worthwhileness for one brief weekend.
Jesus says come and eat all is ready, come not because you deserve it, not because you have earned it, come because it is freely given. Yes, like it or not, we come to this supper as the hobos come to Britt. We come not deserving but accepting. We come to this grace banquet to celebrate God’s victory, not ours. We come to celebrate our humanity in Christ. ’Whose we are’ not how are we doing. We are invited by God through Christ to come and eat and drink not because we are great, but because of the great love God has for us. We come though we have been lazy in our calling to follow Jesus, are dirty with sin, and have been dishonest with God and each other. He still invites us, He still accepts us at His table, as we are.
We come as forgiven people, who are nourished, renewed and refreshed because of Christ. We come not as perfect people, but as forgiven people. Christ’s love and forgiveness is present here at this supper. He assures us of that when he says, “This is my body, this is my blood, given for you”.
This bread and this juice is a nonverbal sign, and reminder of God’s great love for us. As we leave communion, we take, inside of us, a reminder of God’s love, God’s grace, a piece of Jesus.
So Come. Come as people who are celebrating the grace of God through the body and blood of Christ.
“Come, for all things are now ready.”
