Sermon - "When you have received Communion, Have you ever cried?", October 7, 2009, by Raymond A. Foss, Suncook United Methodist Church

Message 10/7/09
Raymond A. Foss
Worship service after Our Family’s Table

When you have received Communion, Have you ever cried?
The familiar words of scripture, the words of Paul, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, from The Message:

. . .

Pastor Huntley used this scripture for his sermon on Sunday for World Communion Sunday. The universality of Communion, starting in that small upper room, as Pastor Ruth reminded us on Sunday, moving to the ends of the earth, for all these many generations.

How many times have you come to His table? Have you ever come crying?
Paul went on to say in 1 Corinthians 11:27-32,

. . .

How is your heart as you come to this service, as we come to the table tonight. Have you ever come crying?

Have you ever felt that sense of awe, or maybe not feeling worthy, or that moment when you faced Christ at the rail, in the person handing you the bread and the cup?

I remember one time, when Peter Hey at Wesley caught me with the words, the way he lived communion in the service in November 2006:

More than Bread
He brought tears to my eyes,
so quickly this time, because he paused
caught me with the pacing, the cadence
of his words, so rich with meaning,
meaning I treasure, relish, long to understand
“This is More than Bread” he said, holding up
the loaf of fresh-baked bread; “and this is
far more than just grape juice”
He broke the loaf and raised the goblet
intoning our hope in the mystery, the retelling
of the ancient sharing of the sacrifice
of the Christ, God with us, in the flesh
Again, with hushed words, dripping with emotion

And another time, this April, on a Walk to Emmaus weekend, when the grape juice and the bread were on my hands in prayer:

The Smell of His Blood
Raising the bread from the chalice
the wine splashing
running down my hand
the smell of his blood
as I sat in prayer
after the sharing the
bread and the cup
Tangible, real memory
washing over me,
as the tears ran down my face
The sacrifice of the savior
made real once again,
in the smell of his blood
lingering on my trembling hands.

April 25, 2009
Luke 24:13-35
Walk to Emmaus

I pray that Communion will be as real, as powerful, as present as has been for me.