God’s Bounty – October 2, 2022, World Communion Sunday
Psalm 116:1-13, I Corinthians 11:23-26
October 2, 2022, World Communion Sunday
This is World Communion Sunday! And as you’ve been thinking about that, I hope you’ve given some thought to the “larger world around us,” as my home pastor growing up used to say. I hope you can get a mental image of our brothers and sisters in Christ all around the world sharing this sacrament, and passing this celebration to the west, from one time zone to the next!
One reason I hope we’re thinking about that, is that it’s too easy for our world to get very small. It’s too easy to focus in on our own little slice of it, and it becomes hard for us to think beyond that – especially in difficult times like we’ve gone through these past few years. Even though this has been called a “global pandemic,” it’s easy for us to get focused in on our ourselves, and think only of our own needs, in our own little world, here in this church.
So, World Communion Sunday is a good thing! It’s a good time to think about the Church around the world. Maybe, as we share this sacrament today, we can picture people in other countries, other cultures, and other traditions, all celebrating this sacrament in their own way.
As we think of that, we’re looking today at these words that have been used universally in the church as what we call “The Words of the Institution.” I wonder how many times they will have been read in this 24-hour period. They are the words of Paul, written in his letter to the Corinthians. As I said, they are the “words of the institution,” because they describe the time Jesus “instituted” or “established” this sacrament in the Upper Room, the night before his passion and death.
I hope these words are familiar words to you. “For I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was betrayed, too bread…” Those words are found in most liturgy books as part of the communion service. We’ve heard them for years, and the church has used them for centuries. I’ll always remember my home pastor growing up, Dr. John Lampe, reading those words during communion – in the King James English, of course!”
We’ve also used the words of the Psalm 116 in the communion service, which I also read today. Especially we’ve used these last two verses. “What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” Those are also very appropriate words for a communion liturgy! (Am I putting any pressure on you today, Kari?)
As I’ve thought about these two passages, I am reminded that both of them have very interesting contexts! In many versions of the Bible, the psalms come with little headings. I hope you’ve noticed how I’ve shared them with you in the past. They’re often very helpful in understanding the meaning of the psalm in question. Well, the heading for Psalm 116 reads, “Thanksgiving for recovery from illness.” And that psalm is about recognizing God’s goodness – God’s bounty – even through difficult times! That makes for an interesting context to God’s bounty!
Then, there’s this passage from First Corinthians. This has a very interesting context! As I said, it’s a prominent passage in the communion liturgy, but it comes right after Paul has taken the Corinthians “to the woodshed.” He did so because word had come to him that they were participating in the sacrament in an “unworthy manner.”
He said, “I know that there have been ‘divisions’ among you.” And then he described how he heard that some of them had plenty, and some were in want. And remember, the “Lord’s Supper” was more of a meal in those days, much like their Passover meal. It wasn’t just the symbolic elements like we share today. And they were letting the differences in their social standing become a source of division and even animosity in this “supper.” Some ate well, and some went hungry. And some were not taking seriously what they were doing!
Well, in this passage, Paul told them the seriousness of what they were doing. He told them how Jesus himself had given them this meal, this sacrament. And then he concluded with the words, “Anyone who partakes in the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner profanes the body and blood of the Lord.”
That sounds a little more serious, doesn’t it? And I think it’s good for us to remember that context. Because I think it helps us to see the importance of what we do here. And maybe we should ask ourselves, “Are we ever guilty of partaking in this meal in an ‘unworthy manner?’” And yes, this represents the bounty of God, but it has a serious side to it!
Do any of you remember communion tokens? They were little tokens given to people in the church after they had completed certain “preparations” for receiving communion. Then they “redeemed” them at the time of the sacrament. (That’s kind of funny when you think of Jesus as our “Redeemer!”) Well, I’m afraid communion tokens were gone long before my time. And maybe there are reasons we don’t use them anymore. Maybe it was making the sacrament too “regimented.” Maybe it wasn’t giving people a good enough sense of the Grace of God, and how it’s something that cannot be “earned.”
I don’t know. But then again, maybe giving people a sense of the seriousness of this was a good thing. And I’m thinking that’s also true about knowing the context of these “Words of Institution.” It speaks to us of the seriousness of what we do here! Maybe that gives us a deeper understanding of the bounty of God.
That idea of context reminds of the benediction we used to say when I was in Sunday School. I remember from a very early age, how we would all hold hands around a circle and say together, “May the Lord watch between me and thee, while we are absent one from the other.” Does that sound familiar? It’s called the “Mizpah benediction.” It sounds nice, doesn’t it? And I have fond memories of that.
But I learned later that those words come from a time in Genesis 31, when Laban had been chasing Jacob across the wilderness. They had some kind of a “falling out,” and Laban was trying to confront Jacob. So, in Chapter 31, they finally met up at this place called Mizpah. And the two men agreed to make a “covenant” between them – because they were at odds, and they didn’t trust each other! And they said these words. “May the Lord watch between me and thee, while we are absent one from the other.” And it was all about distrust! The next verse, which we didn’t ever say in Sunday School, spoke to that distrust. It says, essentially, “If you do anything wrong, even if no one is there, remember, God is watching!”
I suppose I just ruined that for all of you. But sometimes things that sound good can also be very practical. They can speak to the seriousness of something. Like these words of Paul. They call us to ask, “Yes, this communion is a nice thing to do, but do I remember that it’s serious business?!” Or in the case of the psalmist’s words, “Yes, I’ve been through hard times, but how do I recognize God’s bounty to me?”
Do you see the contrast in there, as well? There is seriousness in this sacrament, even though it’s about a thing of great joy! And there is a certain seriousness in terms of God’s bounty. That’s what the psalmist is speaking of here. He’s contrasting the hard times we go through with the goodness of God.
That’s similar to what I said last week. There’s abundance in this life that the Lord wants us to have. And sometimes we see it, and sometimes it’s obvious in our lives. And sometimes we have to look for it! And sometimes it’s hard to look for it because of the lack we may be experiencing, the difficulties we may have, or the hard times we might be going through, all seem so prevalent, and so strong, and so overwhelming!
I love the hymn we sang earlier. “This is My Father’s World.” I’d say it used to be my favorite hymn, but as you know by now, a lot of them have been my favorite hymn at one time or another! Well, my earliest memory of singing that hymn was from church camp when I was about 10. And where was that? Pennington Island!! And I particularly remember these words. “This is my Father’s world. He shines in all that’s fair. In the rustling grass I hear him pass. He speaks to me everywhere.”
But later in my life, the words of the last verse became very powerful to me. “This is my Father’s world, O let me ne’er forget, that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet!” Sometimes the wrong can seem “oft so strong,” can’t it? Sometimes it is hard for us to remember that “God is the ruler, yet!”
We need to remember that, don’t we? And when we do, then I think we’re closer to knowing this conclusion. “This is my Father’s world! Why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King, let the heavens ring. God reigns, let earth be glad!”
Sometimes it is hard to remember that! But that’s how we can know God’s bounty. We can remember what Jesus did for us, and it was serious business, but its result is this sacrament, which brings us the joy of God’s kingdom!
So, as we prepare our hearts for this sacrament, let us think of the seriousness of what we do here. And through this sacrament, may we know more of God’s bounty, no matter what the circumstances of our lives.
And may we think, “What shall we render to the Lord for all his bounty to us? We will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord!”
Prayer
Eternal God, help us to know of your goodness here in this sacrament, shared with our brothers and sisters around the world. And help us to know that this has come with a price. And that your love for us is so great that you saw that we were worth that price! Help us to feel your presence here at this table, and throughout our lives. For we ask in our Savior’s name, Amen.