October 1: "Keeping It Simple" (World Communion Sunday)

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL   Luke 22:14-20

When the time came, Jesus took his place at the table, and the apostles joined him. He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. I tell you, I won’t eat it until it is fulfilled in God’s kingdom.” After taking a cup and giving thanks, he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. I tell you that from now on I won’t drink from the fruit of the vine until God’s kingdom has come.” After taking the bread and giving thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup after the meal and said, “This cup is the new covenant by my blood, which is poured out for you.

MESSAGE     “Keeping It Simple”

So today is World Communion Sunday. Not all Christian denominations recognize this day, but we United Methodists set this day apart to remember that we are connected to millions of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world through our faith and through this sacrament, this holy meal, this table.

When you think about it, the celebration of Holy Communion is one thing that distinguishes the Christian Church from other faith traditions. Other faiths worship God. Other faiths have holy scriptures that guide their practice of faith. But Christians alone celebrate the presence of Jesus Christ in the sacrament of communion.

But communion isn’t just something that we do once a month or so. In Communion, something is also done to us. In the acts of taking, breaking, and sharing some bread, and then drinking some grape juice or wine, we become the Church, the body of Christ, bound to God, and to each other, and to Christians around the world.

It sounds so simple, doesn’t it?

Well, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that we humans are really good at taking something that’s simple – or something that should be simple – and making it complicated. We are good at taking a clear and simple statement and then heaping piles of theories, doctrines, and explanations on top of it, until that simple statement becomes so complex that it leads to disagreement, conflict, and separation.

When Jesus was sharing a final meal with his 12 closest friends on the night before he knew he was going to die, he did something remarkable, something unprecedented, something momentous. He took a loaf of bread, blessed it, broke it, gave it to the disciples. That in itself wasn’t momentous. But, then he said, “This is my body.”

Such a profound yet simple statement. “This is my body,” he said. “Eat it, and remember me.”

In the 2,000 years since Jesus uttered those words, the Christian Church has analyzed them, dissected them, argued about them, and created intricate theological theories and doctrines about them. The very thing that Jesus intended to bind his followers together in faith and ministry became, instead, the very thing that created divisions between his followers.

There is evidence that in the first few decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the early Christian communities celebrated communion as a full meal during which people would remember Jesus’ life and ministry, and would recommit themselves to be a faithful community of disciples. So simple.

But it didn’t take long for that to change. Theologians started debating what, exactly, Jesus meant when he called a loaf of bread his body, and more importantly, how, exactly, Jesus was present in the bread at each celebration of communion.

By the second century, some Christians were referring to the bread of communion as the body of Christ, but it wasn’t until the 11th century that the Church developed the doctrine of transubstantiation. This doctrine teaches that when the bread is consecrated or blessed by the priest, it changes in a mysterious way to become the actual body of Christ.

By the 16th century, some of the Protestant Reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin rejected this idea that Christ’s body was actually and physically present in the consecrated bread. The reformers believed that Jesus was present in the bread in some way, but they didn’t agree on how. Since that time, different groups of Christians developed different ideas and doctrines about how Jesus was present in communion. And now, in the 21st century, there’s a surprisingly wide variety of interpretations of those simple words of Jesus, “This is my body.”

Today, some Christians believe in the traditional teaching, that the bread changes in some way to become Jesus’ actual body. Other Christians believe that Jesus is physically present in communion, although the bread does not change in any way to become his body. Still other Christians understand the bread and cup as symbols that represent Christ’s presence among his followers. And some see communion primarily as a public and communal renewal of the pledge to love God and love each other.

So where do we United Methodists fall in this variety of interpretations of holy communion? We accept a sort of middle of the road view: we believe in the real presence of Christ in this meal. We don’t believe that the bread becomes Christ’s actual body, but neither do we believe that the bread is just a symbol. We believe that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is present in a special way in communion.

Of course, we believe that Jesus doesn’t make an appearance only when we celebrate communion! We believe that he is always with us, just as he promised when he told the disciples, “I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”

But in holy communion, we believe Jesus is present in a special way and for a special purpose. We don’t celebrate this meal just so we can remember Jesus or worship him or honor him. We share the bread and cup so that we can take into ourselves the fullness of all that Jesus was and is. In the UMC, we call communion a “means of grace.” That is, communion provides a special opportunity for us to receive the grace of God.

If you were here last week, you’ll remember that I talked about God’s grace, and how it is always freely flowing around us, and how we can receive it at any time. But I also said that grace is given to us for a purpose. And in communion, grace is offered to us for a very particular purpose. And that is: to become, all of us together, one Body of Christ.

The Apostle Paul, who we could say was one of the first theologians of the Christian Church, seems to have understood that the real significance of holy communion isn’t found in the details of how or in what manner Jesus is present in the bread and cup. Rather, Paul seems to argue that the significance of communion lies is in what God accomplishes in the community of disciples who gather to share the meal.

Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth and called them to task because he had heard some unflattering news about what they were doing when they celebrated communion. He had heard that the more prestigious and prosperous members of the community would dig right in to the food so that when the less fortunate members arrived later (probably because they were busy working), there wasn’t much left for them to share. Paul wrote: “Those who eat and drink without correctly understanding the body are eating and drinking their own judgment.”

Now, Paul wasn’t saying that the people in Corinth had to have a correct understanding of how the bread becomes the body of Christ. No, he was saying that the people needed to understand that the community itself is the body. The people gathered together are re-created into the body of Christ each and every time they celebrate communion.

And in the body of Christ, there are no divisions between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” Rather, in the true body of Christ, there is always mutual sharing, mutual compassion, and mutual respect and love. According to Paul, it is our failure to understand these things that bring judgment on us when we celebrate communion.

Every time we celebrate this meal, we are recognizing that when we share this bread, this body of Christ, we are breaking down the barriers that keep us separated from God and from one another. We are looking beyond the differences in doctrine, theology, and practice that keep us separated from Christians around the world. We are becoming one body.

Sometimes, it really doesn’t seem like we’re one worldwide body of Christ. We can’t see it or perceive it. But then again, we can’t see or perceive the presence of Christ in this bread, either. It is only through faith in God’s grace and power that we can trust that Christ is with us, and it is only through faith that we can understand that God is transforming us from countless individuals and countless communities of faith into a true global body, united in ministry and love.

We can’t force or argue or work ourselves into being one body. There are too many differences, too many divisions, too much disagreement for us to overcome by ourselves. But . . . we can share this bread in faith and hope, and allow God’s grace to help us learn to understand and celebrate the true body: all of our Christian brothers and sisters, united in Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “This is my body.” (bread)

Jesus said, “This is my body.” (our community)

Jesus said, “This is my body.” (the world)

It really is that simple. Amen.