For Oct 5, Worldwide Communion Sunday

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There are several holy days, or holidays, in the Christian calendar, celebrating Jesus’ activities during His earthly ministry, such as Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter.  We celebrate these events as witnesses and meditate on what they mean for us. At Easter, for example, we witness the empty tomb, like the disciples, and reflect on the meaning of the tomb being empty as evidence of His Resurrection. Communion, however, is a participation celebration.  It’s special meaning is not by watching others take Communion, but rather by participating, remembering what Jesus did for us as we eat the symbolic bread and drink the juice 

 

But today, is an even more special Communion celebration.  It’s the one day of the year when participating Protestant denominations, as one body, share in a worldwide Communion.  Because of the time differences, it wouldn’t be practical for all of us to share in Communion in the same hour, but it’s still powerful to think of the progressive moments of celebration as the earth revolves to welcome the sun (s-u-n), and as Christians welcome Jesus, the Son (S-O-N). 

 

The early church, after the Pentecost birth of the Church, initially met in the Temple, then, as the Church grew, spread to home churches in Israel, then to areas beyond Israel as evangelists, like Paul, and the Apostles took the Gospel message to other countries.  Eventually, the one Church took on the name of catholic, meaning universal, as it spread throughout at least the known world.  At one point, there were even two rivaling popes, in France and Rome, claiming leadership of the universal, or Catholic Church.  As the Reformation movement gained strength, various denominations broke away from the Catholic Church, forming the body of the Protestant Church. While the Catholic Church was no longer the universal church, Christianity itself was becoming more universal as it continued to expand to other nations.

 

Worldwide Communion Sunday was initiated by Presbyterian pastor Hugh Thomson Kerr in the 1930s and promoted by Protestant ecumenical bodies in the U.S., such as the Federal Council of Churches to encourage unity among Christians of different denominations, and to highlight the universal nature of Communion. The Catholic practice of restricting communion to only those in full communion with the Catholic Church would not be consistent with the intent of a worldwide communion and therefore they do not participate in this special Sunday observance.

Although this almost 100 year worldwide observance may seem a relatively new concept, it has its basis in the OT, in the parables of Jesus, and even in the Book of Revelation. 

 

Our OT lesson from Isaiah 25 praises God for His perfect faithfulness in doing wonderful things, things planned long ago.  The planned, wonderful things found in God’s prophecies of a Son given to us at Christmas, who would even later return as the Prince of Peace.  And Jesus as the Suffering Servant in the Easter prophecies. We see the prophecies of the Messiah, and even John the Baptist, as His messenger making straight the way of the Messiah.  Throughout the Bible, in the Old and New Testament, are foreshadowings of a worldwide Communion.  Wonderful things, planned hundreds of years before their actual occurrence. 

 

In our lesson from chapter 25, verse 6, Isaiah talks about the Lord Almighty preparing a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of the best of meats and the finest of wines for all people. The representative banquet takes place on Zion, the mountain of God, a symbolic place often seen as the spiritual center of God's kingdom and a place where God reveals His presence. In Isaiah's time. Mount Zion was the site of the Temple, symbolizing God's dwelling among His people, rather than a specific location.  It was a type of the heavenly Jerusalem, where believers are seen coming to Mount Zion, the city of the living God. There he would destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations, and He will swallow up death forever, wiping away tears from all faces and remove the people’s disgrace from all the earth. 

 

A feast of the best meat and the finest of wine, prepared by God for all peoples, would surely point to Communion.  His body and His blood are the absolute finest of meat and wine, for all nations.  By His body and blood, He would destroy the shroud, symbolic of death, and the sheet covering all nations, or sin, representing the separation of humankind from God, thereby swallowing up death forever.  Isaiah’s prophecy further states that “the Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces and remove the disgrace [sin] from all the earth” Isaiah punctuates this prophecy by then saying “The Lord has spoken.”

 

This passage, describing the banquet feast of fine meat and wine, prepared for all nations seems, where sin is removed, and death is swallowed up becomes a strong basis for a worldwide Communion.  Communion here on earth, and one day in heaven with all the saints of all nations. 

 

In fact, Communion in heaven with the saints of all nations, is described in the futuristic Revelation 19, where John describes the believers in heaven, the saints, having been invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, Jesus and His Holy Bride, His Church. John hears what sounds like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and loud peals of thunder shouting, “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen was given her to wear.”   The fine linen of the Bride, His Church, is symbolic of the righteous acts of God’s holy people. Then the angel said to John, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” adding, also as punctuating the angel’s words, “These are the true words of God.”

 

Having seen the heavenly marriage banquet in heaven, let’s now compare it to Jesus’ teaching about the heavenly banquet in our Gospel Lesson from Luke 14. Jesus is telling people that they shouldn’t just invite their families, friends, and rich neighbors to their special meals. Those who in turn would return the invitation and invite them to their special meals.  But rather invite those who can’t repay them – the poor, the handicapped, those that cannot repay the invitation. Such an invitation would be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. 

 

Hearing that, one listener exclaims that it will be a blessing to eat at the feast in the kingdom of God. Jesus then tells the parable of the great feast to further teach about the feast in the kingdom of heaven.  A parable of earthly life with a heavenly meaning.  In Matthew’s Gospel, the host of a fine banquet is a king throwing a wedding feast in honor of his son. Matthew’s use of a king and his son is an obvious parallel to God the Father, and Jesus the Son, at the wedding of Jesus and His Bride, the Church, which we saw in Revelation 19. There are several other teachings in Matthew’s narrative, like the women who weren’t prepared for the Bridegroom’s arrival and were not admitted to the Banquet Hall.  But in Luke’s Gospel, the host is just a man preparing a banquet for his many friends, allowing us to focus our attention solely on the responses of the invited guests. Jesus was talking to a Jewish audience, so it’s fair to assume that, as Israelites, descendants of Abraham, they were the chosen, invited guests. So, when it was time for the banquet, the host sent his servants to the invited guests, telling them to come, that the feast was ready.  But these chosen, invited guests, instead of welcoming the invitation to the promised feast, show their lack of gratitude and loyalty to their friend by offering excuses for not coming.  Poor excuses at that.  Gotta check out a piece of property I bought. Need to try out a team of oxen I just bought.  Just got married.  Really? these things took priority over a sumptuous banquet thrown by your friend?   

 

The angry host tells his servant to go, bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame, those that would appreciate a fine banquet meal.  The host tells the servants to go out even into the countryside, and invite enough people to fill his house, implying there would be enough room and enough food for everyone.  As a final angry judgement, the host declares that not one of those who were invited would even get a taste of his banquet.  

 

Jesus’ Jewish audience knew who He was talking about.  Knew He was identifying them as the ones rejecting God’s invitation to salvation through Jesus, and took offense.  But despite seeing His miracles, His compassion, fulfillment of prophecies, they found excuses not to accept Jesus as the Messiah, God’s Son. He was born in a manger, a carpenter, the son of a carpenter, from Nazareth, born out of wedlock, eats with sinners and tax collectors.  But the poor, those miraculously healed of their handicaps, even incurable leprosy, were being welcomed into the kingdom. Their belief was that prosperity showed God’s favor, so these marginal people must be God punishing them for their sin. But these were the very people who would appreciate God’s banquet, and welcome their invitation.

 

To make this parable personal, you and I are one of those sinner guests who don’t deserve God’s invitation to His Heavenly Banquet.  Sinners who by our disobedience reject His Holiness.  But He sent His Son to invite us to His banquet.  An invitation given by his body broken for us, and His blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins. So, we must not take His invitation lightly. Yet, merely coming to His Communion Table and having a piece of bread and a cup of juice without confessing our sins, and earnestly repenting of those sins, does just that.  Jesus knows even our darkest secrets, those that may make us uncomfortable to even admit to ourselves. Our invitation, as sinners, is to come, confess our sins that Jesus died for, so He could forgive those sins, and restore us to full relationship with Him and be made whole again.

 

We used the Prayer of Confession from the Book of Common Prayer as an aid to confessing our sin. It’s used often, by various churches, as a confessional prayer. It’s a recognition that, by God’s mercy, He forgives those who confess their sins, and restores those who repent of their sins and try to live a godly and righteous life. 

 

When we come away from His Table this morning, we’re cleansed through the Sacrament, or sacred moment, of Communion.  That, as a church family, we share in this moment with our brothers and sisters here, assured of His forgiveness, healing from our sin, and restored on His path of Sanctification.  Knowing we are preparing for His Great Banquet prepared for us in heaven one day, with all His saints. 

 

But this morning, we have the added joy that we have been a part of this day where we, as His worldwide church of brothers and sisters, people from all over the world, have come together, in unity, accepting His banquet invitation. Some will have had Communion in grand cathedrals, other in grass shacks. Some secretly in homes where it is against the law, or in open spaces because they have no church building, Some will have remembered his body broken for us with fresh bread, others with a meager crumb.  Some will have remember His blood shed for forgiveness by wine, or grape juice, or water from a distant, dirty well.

 

But all of us, though coming from different denominations and traditions, have gathered in heart and mind, as one, eager to be fed.  For even this one day, we will know His inclusive Love, and that it is good and pleasant to worship as God’s people in unity, as Jesus invites us to.  A day of hope for the day of His return, when we, as His Church, one universal body of believers, will sit at His Heavenly Banquet, prepared for us by our Lord, Jesus Christ.   Amen