Come to the Table

Come, assured that you have a place at the table.  Whoever you are and wherever you’re from and whatever you believe, you are welcome at this table.  Whatever you have done or haven’t done, you are welcome at this table.  You don’t have to earn your place at the table.  It is a gift.  At this table you have nothing to prove, no price to pay.  You have only to receive what God has to give to you.

****

Brea Congregational United Church of Christ

October 7, 2018

Come to the Table

Eph. 4:1-6, 11-16   I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,  2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,  3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,  5one Lord, one faith, one baptism,  6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. 

            The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,  12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.  15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,  16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

On this World Communion Sunday it is fun to remember that as the earth rotates in its cycle, Christian communities around the world are awakened to a new Sunday morning, a new Lord’s Day, and they gather all over the world to take this communion meal.  It is our common bond.  

Communion is one of two sacraments we claim in the United Church of Christ, along with baptism.  A sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward or invisible gift from God.  This gift is too big to be described in words.  But you might want to choose a few words that fit for you today.  Here are some traditional words that hint at the meaning of communion.  Remembrance. Thanksgiving.  Connection.  Life. Salvation.  Spiritual nurture.  Forgiveness.  New covenant. New life.  Transformation.  Reconciliation.  Community. Foretaste of the heavenly banquet.

So come, assured that you have a place at the table.  Whoever you are and wherever you’re from and whatever you believe, you are welcome at this table.  Whatever you have done or haven’t done, you are welcome at this table.  You don’t have to earn your place at the table.  It is a gift.  At this table you have nothing to prove, no price to pay.  You have only to receive what God has to give to you.

Come to the table knowing that many others are invited too.  Some of those people you know and love.  Some are easy to feel close to.  Some are separated by culture, or distance, or hurt, or mistrust.  Let this table open your heart to the work of reconciliation. Trusting that you are loved, and forgiven, and safe, you can reach out to a neighbor, to help build the beloved community.

Come to the table knowing that your presence here matters.  You are precious, and unique, irreplaceable, and if you do not come to this table, God mourns your absence. 

Come to the table to share your longings and your hopes, your loves and your celebrations.  Come to share your griefs and your guilts and your shames and your, your fears and your anger.  God is big enough to take all of it.  Come to be known, and understood, and cherished.  Come to be changed.  Come to discover what God has in store for you.

Come to the table this morning, knowing that you don’t have to understand this gift to receive it.  Let communion work in you, God’s power in you, calling forth God’s future with you.

Come to the table Jesus Christ has set for you, and for all who seek him.  Amen.

World Communion Sunday Invitation
Dear friends, Come to the table of justice and joy!
Let praise go up to God our Life! 
From every creature on God’s good earth!

Wepraise you, gracious God, for in the beginning,
when the world was fresh from your hand,
you made us neighbors — one people though many kinds —
and lavished on us pleasures too many to name!

For you we were a sheer delight.
For each other, helpers and friends.

And so you entrusted to us your justice and your joy.

But we kept your gifts for a few and denied them to many,
creating worlds of poverty and pain.
And so we broke each other’s hearts.

But you did not reject us.

In the fullness of time you gave us Jesus,
full of grace and truth.

By his ministry of mercy,
you restore us to each other and to you.
Mending our hearts and repairing the world.

And by his Spirit you invite us even now to be for each other what he is for us — pardon and peace, blessing and delight.

For all your gifts, O God, we thank you!

And with everything that lives under, on, and above the world,
we give you glory, and we praise your name!

And now, O God, we remember Jesus.

[A brief silence ]

We remember that he forgave our sins.

He breathed on us the peace of God.

We remember that he called us friends.

He taught us to love each other as he loved us.

We remember that he feasted with the poor and rich,
with strangers and friends.

To eat with him was to taste how good you are.

Words of Institution

And we remember that on the night he was handed over, he ate supper with his friends, and he gave us a pledge of love that transcends death.

He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take and eat, all of you: This is my body, given for you.

Holy Spirit, bless this bread that the earth has given and human hands have made.
May it be for all the Bread of Life!

When supper was over, Jesus took the cup, gave thanks,
and shared it with his friends, saying:

Take and drink, all of you: This is the seal of a new covenant, my life poured out for you.

Bless this cup, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. 
May it be for all of us the Cup of Blessing!
**

Thank you, God, for life in the Spirit of Jesus: for gladness in this bread and cup, for love that cannot die, for peace the world cannot give, for joy in the company of friends, for the glory of creation, and for the mission of justice you have made our own.

Guide us to fully receive the gifts of this holy communion: oneness of heart, love for neighbors, forgiveness of enemies, the will to serve you every day, and life that is ever new.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.