John 13:21-30
ESV Version
There are some Christian traditions that when it comes to communion, they view it in a way that they believe is how God would have them view it. They believe that you need to go through training in order to be “worthy” to receive the Lord’s Supper. They believe that you cannot understand the full meaning of communion unless you have this training and if you receive communion before you are “ready”…well let’s say they get a little upset with that person.
I remember one time…when I belonged to a denomination that had this view of communion…I was at church with my ex-husband and his daughter. Well…his daughter, Jackie, decided when it came time for communion she was going to partake in it. She saw everyone else doing it so she decided that she would too. After the service, one of the congregants (Who by the way loved to make waves) came up to me very upset. He told me that he was “appalled” at the fact that this child thought it was OK for her to partake in communion when she wasn’t even part of the church or baptized by this church and that it better not happen again. She was “unworthy” in his eyes. (Well...I think you guys know me well enough to guess what my reaction and answer to this person was. So…I don’t think I need to get into that part of the conversation).
When I heard the call of God calling me into full-time ministry in the capacity of being a minister…I knew right then and there that one of my greatest joys was going to be presiding at the table of grace. I was going to be able to “feed” sheep in the name of Jesus. This was (and still is) going to be the most exciting part of being a pastor. But…as I think about communion…I think to myself “what is communion really? What does it mean to receive communion? Who is truly worthy of communion? What decides who is “ready” to receive communion?” These questions are the same ones you might even be asking yourself in light of all that you may hear regarding communion.
We, as United Methodist, believe in an open table. ALL are welcome to the table of grace. John Wesley believed (and we as Methodist still believe today) it is through this Sacrament…this means of grace…we receive God’s grace. We believe that it is Christ that invites us to the table. All who love Him…all who repent of sin…all who want to live in peace with God and each other. The open table we believe in is because we don’t judge who is qualified or worthy. We believe that we all need the divine grace that is found in the sacrament of communion. The Wesleyan tradition has always seen communion as an occasion to God’s grace. Communion should not be a barrier but a pathway to the grace of God. But still…there are some who still fell unworthy.
Well…let me try to…give you some insight this morning about communion. (My prayer is that we all will have a new view of communion by the time I am done) The Scripture we read this morning from Luke this morning talks about the institution of the “Lords Supper”. All of the disciples were there and received “communion” from Jesus. After Jesus said that one of them would betray Him they all started to wonder who it was who was going to do this terrible thing! In John 13…we hear a little more about this conversation. It is found in verses 21-30, it reads (and I am reading from the English Standard Version this morning):
21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table close to Jesus, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, "Lord, who is it?" 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it." So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly." 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.
Now here is where my epiphany happened. A friend of mine (who shall remain nameless…Eric) pointed out something that I never really thought of before. I am going to share this insight with you this morning. Even though Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray Him…Judas took part of…was a recipient of…the institution of the Lord’s Supper. This person…who is probably the most unworthy person I could think of…received the bread and the wine, just as you and I do today when we partake in communion. Makes you really think about the thought that you are unworthy doesn’t it?
I was reading in the book “This Holy Mystery” while I was preparing this sermon. It is a book about communion and the meaning of it. In the book it sums up the means of grace wonderfully. It states that (and I’m paraphrasing) that anyone who answers the invitation to the table in faith is worthy through Jesus Christ to partake in this sacrament. We all come to the table with gratitude towards Christ for His mercy towards sinners. (Now this is the good part) We do not share communion because of our worthiness, we are all unworthy, we come out of the hunger to receive God’s gracious love, to receive forgiveness, and healing. (We are all unworthy but praise God for His mercy that makes us worthy…Amen?)
We are ALL invited to the table. It is by God’s mercy and grace that we are all made worthy to receive…to come to the table of love and feast on the goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ who, for our sake, has made God’s grace known to us by His death and resurrection. Praise God from who all blessings flow!
Amen!
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
sermon blog
meditation blog
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Suncook
United Methodist Church
Suncook,
NH
February 1, 2009
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