A few years ago, I came across what I thought was a really great, new Thanksgiving tradition. All you need are a white tablecloth and some fabric markers. As you’re setting your Thanksgiving table, scatter the markers along so that everyone can reach one or two markers. Then, once everyone is seated but before the meal begins, ask everyone to pause and think about one thing that they’re thankful for this year. Using the fabric markers, they write what they’re thankful for on the tablecloth along with their name and the year.

Maybe this idea struck me because words are such a powerful part of who I am and what I do. When you think about it, a giant part of a pastor’s job revolves around weaving together the “right” words – for worship, for prayers, for sermons, for visits … even for newsletter articles. Words have always appealed to me in a special way. They have been my friends and my foes, my expression and my constraint. For me, words truly are a living, breathing thing.

And I know that I am far from alone in this. There are many people who find some sort of journaling to be a very important, very powerful spiritual discipline. In her book on the art of spiritual journaling, Ann Broyles says, “There is something in the physical act of writing that releases creativity and self-understanding. … Many people who journal discover that the more they write, the more their words become connections to God, unselfconscious prayers, reminders of God’s power.”[1]

Words connect us both to one another and to God in a truly unique way. Words can be so intimate, so nuanced, so particular. The words we choose for one situation may be completely inappropriate in another. The words that I find comforting may ring hollow for someone else. Even the way that we say different words and assign meaning to them is constantly changing depending on our context – geographical, cultural, social, etc. If you’re ever looking for a fun way to waste a few minutes, look up some of the phrases and slang that are unique to different parts of American. The phrase “bless your heart” can mean two very different things in the north as opposed to the south, for example. And as we in Minnesota well know, the seemingly-simple word “interesting” can have a whole host of unsaid things attached to it.

In his 2^nd letter to the church in Corinth, Paul even likens us to words:

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all;
and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us,
written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God,
not on tablets of stone
but on tablets of human hearts.
~ 2 Corinthians 3:2-3

God took the time and the effort to create each and every one of us with a unique purpose and joy and vision in mind. But just like words, we are constantly in flux – changing, shifting, stretching, growing. We are constantly being guided – being written and rewritten, defined and redefined – by the movements and the nudgings and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In every sense of the word, we are God’s story, filling a blank page each and every day with the words of our hearts and our souls and our lives. Sometimes those words bleed over onto the pages of another. Sometimes our stories become intertwined. Sometimes they diverge. Sometimes we feel like the pages of our hearts are so full, they could burst, and sometimes we feel like they’re so empty, we can hear our own echoes. But through it all, we remain God’s favorite story.

Maybe that’s why the Thanksgiving tablecloth-writing tradition resonated so profoundly with me. Throughout the years, you keep adding to this tablecloth, heaping thanks upon thanks and gratefulness upon gratefulness and creating a powerful story of the life of you and your loved ones. I picture this tablecloth after 30 … 40 … even 50 years – words winding around each other, squeezed in beside each other, overlapping each other, even thanks from one year inspiring those for another, creating and recreating a stirring and authentic story of graciousness and gratitude.

[1] Ann Broyles. Journaling: A Spiritual Journey. (Nashville, TN: The Upper Room, 1999), 14, 17.

This is the final sermon in a 3-part series on stewardship. There are a few different elements in our stewardship worship services this year that are explained in the beginning of this sermon. Those elements are included at the end of this post.

Text used – Matthew 25:14-30

• Stewardship sermon series → recap
  • Last year – talked about what we contribute
    • Resources
    • Time/talents
    • Attention/commitment
  • This year – talking about where we contribute → Where do we devote those resources, time and talents, and our dedication?
    • First week: giving to church
      • Being involved here
      • Being invested here
    • Last week: importance of mission-giving
      • Through/within church
      • Also your own personal
    • This week: giving to our future → investing for the long run
    • FOCUS: How do we use all those elements of our own stewardship to actually strengthen the church?
      • Not about half-heartedly committing these things
      • Not about keeping the church limping along and just scraping by à How do we move from an attitude of simply surviving to an attitude of dynamically thriving?
    • And as part of this series, after each sermon, you’ve been hearing from other people in the congregation – their testimonies about why they invest their time, talents, resources, and hearts into what we’re doing and what we’re about here. Because as we have said throughout this series, the whole point is that we are the church together.
      • Today
        • Kamyn
        • Angie
      • After the testimonies, we have a time of reflection.
        • Questions listed in bulletin – Think about them. Pray about them.
        • Yellow post-it notes in bulletin – jot down anything that comes to you about how you can strengthen this church
          • Time, talents, resources, heart
        • Leave the post-it note on the notecard and put it in the offering plate as it passes. During the final hymn, I’ll put those post-its up on this board, completing our picture of who we are and who we hope to be in stewardship together here in [Oronoco/Zumbrota].
          • Last week’s question: Why is mission important to me? What mission opportunities speak to my heart?
            • Read some of pink post-its
• So today, we’re talking about the future of the church. But when it comes to stewardship, what does that even mean?
  • Basically – about expectations
    • With two 2-yr-olds in the house, our whole lives right now are about envisioning and defining and explaining and sticking to expectations.
      • EXPECT that boys will be polite (“please,” “thank you,” “excuse me”)
      • EXPECT that boys will be kind (no hitting, no pushing, no kicking, no pinching)
      • EXPECT that boys will listen to us (come when I ask you to, stop when I tell you to stop)
      • Our expectations are very clear … to us. But teaching and engraining these expectations into the mostly-irrational and totally impulsive minds of 2-yr-olds is a challenge to say the least. It’s a constant battle to help them turn these expectations into habits, and when one of them finally starts manifesting all by itself – when they started saying “thank you” without us having to prompt them, for example – it feels like the world’s greatest victory.
    • Expectations in the life of the church – crazy package of hopes and dreams for the congregation all wrapped up in our willingness and our efforts → This is what I’ve been talking about throughout this series when I say that we need to move from an attitude of simply surviving to an attitude of dynamically thriving. Any teacher or doctor or nurse or psychologist or counselor or parent will tell you that expectations play a major role in the outcome of a situation. What do we expect for the life and mission and giving of this church?
      • Safe, get-by sorts of things?
      • Audacious but great sorts of things?
    • Scripture speaks to expectations
      • Overarching expectation of the man going on the “extended trip”: He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. … After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them.[1] → implied expectation = servants will be responsible with man’s money
        • Question: Does responsibility always exclude risk?
      • 2 different expectations in the servants – polar opposite reactions
        • First 2 servants: Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same.[2] → These two servants had the expectation of dynamically thriving. They put themselves and their investment on the line. They were responsible with their master’s money – responsibly risky. And their risk doubled down their return, and they were rewarded in more than just funds.
          • Reward from master: “Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.”[3] → They are rewarded with trust, with greater responsibility, and with a deeper relationship.
        • Last servant: The man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money.[4] → This is the servant who acted from a place of timidity, a place of fear, a place of reservation.
          • From his own explanation: “Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money.”[5] → response born of an attitude of simply surviving
            • No risk involved
            • No uncertainty involved
            • But you know what they say … no risk, no reward.
• Life in the church is full of uncertainties, especially life in a small church.
  • Uncertainties: numbers (people and finances), filling roles within church (“Who’s going to be the next deacon/[session][council] member/Sunday school teacher?”), where we’re going and who we’re continuing to be and become as a congregation
    • Often comes from being too stuck in the past – too often comparing what and who and how we were 10/15/50 yrs ago to who we are today
    • Keeps us stuck in uncertainties and anxieties and worries → so busy looking backward that we forget to look ahead
      • E.g.: Ian walking into door jam – too busy looking backward, not enough time spent looking forward
    • In order to truly be good stewards of our future as the church, we have to take that incredible history that this congregation has and let it support and inform and inspire us without it hindering our desire, our innovation, and our risk-taking as we look ahead. It’s about …
      • Defining our hopes/dreams as a congregation
        • Honing and expressing our dreams
        • NOT about limiting and shrinking them
      • Having the audacity and the chutzpah to dream big and to have confidence and trust in our hopes
        • California politician and LGBT rights activist Harvey Milk quote: Hope will never be silent.
        • Hear this in master’s admonition for the last servant: The master was furious. “That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least?”[6] → Are we living cautiously? Are we selling ourselves short by expecting less than the least of ourselves and our future? Do our hopes speak boldly and unabashedly about our faith, our relationship with God, and our identity as Christians and as a congregation? Are we being criminally cautious or responsibly risky? Amen.

Testimonies

Time of Reflection
How am I invested in the future of this church?
What is our passion as a congregation? Where is it taking us? Where can it take us?
How can I be a steward of the future of the church?

Charge: From transcendentalist, author, and abolitionist Henry David Thoreau: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

[1] Mt 25:14b-15, 19.

[2] Mt 25:16-17.

[3] Mt 25:21 and 23.

[4] Mt 25:18.

[5] Mt 25:24-25.

[6] Mt 25:26.

This is the second in a 3-part series on stewardship. There are a few different elements in our stewardship worship services this year that are explained in the beginning of this sermon. Those elements are included at the end of this post.

Text used – Matthew 25:31-45

• Stewardship sermon series → recap
  • Last year – talked about what we contribute
    • Resources
    • Time/talents
    • Attention/commitment
  • This year – talking about where we contribute → Where do we devote our strength – our time, talents, resources, and dedication?
    • Last week: giving to church
      • Being involved here
      • Being invested here
      • Contributing to the life and work of this church because you believe in who we are and what we do
    • This week: giving to mission
      • Missions in which this church is involved
      • Other missions that may be important to you
      • Importance of mission-giving
    • Next week: giving to our future → investing for the long run
    • FOCUS: How do we use all those elements of our own stewardship to actually strengthen the church?
      • Not about half-heartedly committing these things
      • Not about simply keeping the doors open
      • Not about keeping the church limping along and just scraping by → How do we move from an attitude of simply surviving to an attitude of dynamically thriving?
  • And as part of this series, after each sermon, you’re going to hear from other people in the congregation – their testimonies about why they invest their time, talents, resources, and hearts into what we’re doing here and what they’re doing in their own lives. Because the whole point is that we are the church together.
    • Today
      • Kim – involvement and investment in the life and activity of this church [explain Karen/Kim scheduling]
      • Parker – heart for mission
    • After the testimonies, we’re going to engage in a time of reflection.
      • Questions listed in bulletin – Think about them. Pray about them.
      • Pink post-it notes in bulletin – jot down anything that comes to you about how you can strengthen this church
        • Time, talents, resources, heart
      • Leave the post-it note on the notecard and put it in the offering plate as it passes. During the final hymn, I’ll put those post-its up on this board. As the weeks progress, we will continue to add to this picture of who we are and who we hope to be in stewardship together here in [Oronoco/Zumbrota].
        • Last week’s question: Why do I give to this church? Why is my presence and effort in this church important?
        • Read some of blue post-its
• So today we’re talking about mission.
  • Basic definition = being sent out with a purpose
  • Christian understanding = adds element of helping those in need
  • And that’s where today’s Scripture comes in.: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me … Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me – you did it to me.[1] → Here we find Jesus not only giving a brief mention to those in need but empathizing with them so fully and so intimately that he takes on their identity. Jesus says to his followers, “I was them and they were me.”
    • When it comes to call/purpose as Christians → importance of this verse
      • Very familiar passage → Seriously, how many times do you think you’ve heard this verse used or preached or quoted? 10 times? 15 times? More? As a preacher, my fear when we have this level of familiarity with a passage is that we stop hearing it.
        • Hear the first few words → “Oh, yeah … this passage. I know what this says.” → tune out
      • Really hear what Jesus is saying: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me → Jesus isn’t just talking about a passing hunger here – a little stomach twinge between meals. He isn’t just talking about that slight chill we get when we haven’t added enough layers this time of year. He isn’t talking about just being a little bit lonesome. Have you ever been really, painfully hungry? Multiply it by 10. Have you ever been really, painfully thirsty? Multiply it by 50. Have you ever felt truly, painfully alone? This is what Jesus is talking about.
        • Speaking of refugees who are fleeing with nothing but the clothes on their backs, sure of nothing but the danger and violence and instability that they’re leaving behind
        • Speaking of teenager bullied and ostracized into a dark place of utter loneliness and isolation
        • Speaking of single parent working multiple jobs and struggling to make ends meet – deciding whether to buy groceries or keep the heat on, whether to buy the necessary medication or pay the rent, choosing between a winter coat or shoes without holes for the kids
        • Speaking of the combat veteran who came home broken in body, mind, spirit who’s just trying to catch a freaking break somewhere but keeps hitting brick walls and coming up empty
  • These examples, these stories, could go on and on. Friends, just by picking up the newspaper and glancing at the headlines, we know that our world is in need. There are people struggling. There are people hurting. There are people out there who are desperate and unsure and afraid and alone. And in the face of all that need, Jesus turns to us in this passage and says, “And what are you gonna do about it?”
• Our call … our mission … our mandate as the body of Christ – the one who gave literally everything he had for those who needed it most – our responsibility and one of the greatest expressions of our faith is to help those who need it
  • Without conditions
  • Without prejudice
  • Without judgment
  • Without hesitation
  • Beauty of the day and age in which we live = it’s so easy! → Really, in our techno-obsessed culture, we have the world at our fingertips. We can find anything. We can advocate for anything. We can create and transfer and share and Tweet and GoFund and give through texts and electronically donate with a few simple clicks/taps. It’s actually harder to stay uninformed and disconnected than it is to keep a finger on the pulse of our communities, local as well as global.
    • All have different passions – different causes that speak to our hearts/experiences → easy to find an organization that could use our time, our talents, our resources to help advocate for those causes
      • Personally: support child in Uganda through World Vision, support Voice of the Martyrs (serving and supporting persecuted Christians around the world), breast cancer research, Minnesota Public Radio, local schools, local congregations
      • Ways we do that here
        • [O: serving dinner at Dorothy Day House, hosting the food shelf, People of the Church – way we decide where to donate to and wide variety of donation places (some “regulars,” some different every time, Pine Haven birthday party, 2^nd Sunday Spare Change Sunday for Revs. Shelvis and Nancy Smith-Mather in South Sudan]
        • [Z: current mission focus = hunger → giving to food shelves (Z and O), volunteering with Feed My Starving Children, yearly dinner at Towers, Back Bay Mission involvement, hosting/co-hosting arts groups like Songs of Hope children’s choir and His Neighbor Phil cast/crew]
• But when we’re honest with ourselves, we don’t participate in mission – with our time, our talents, our resources, or our hearts – simple because we’re supposed to. “Mission” isn’t a head activity. “Mission” is a heart activity. We are moved. Something – a circumstance, a situation, a cause – grabs a hold of our hearts and hangs on so tightly that we feel ourselves being changed.
  • Both the danger and the power of mission = cannot engage in mission and not be change → Mission is transformative. If you let it, it will shape who you are and how you see the world. It will shake up your priorities and your whole perspective. It will mess you up … in the best way possible. And here, we have a mission: to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world – in the hard places, in the empty places, in the dirty places, in the frustrating places, in the places where God’s heart is breaking.
    • Christian missionary Robert Pierce in China in 1947 saw widespread hunger and overwhelming need – wrote on the flyleaf of his Bible: “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.”[2]
      • Robert Pierce – inspired by need he saw in China → created World Vision 3 years later (1950) – organization that today promotes gender equality and child protection from things like human trafficking, exploitation, abuse and neglect as well as provides food, clean water, health services, education, disaster assistance, and economic and agricultural development for children and families and communities across the globe
      • Last year alone: served more than 4.6 million children worldwide
  • “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.” When you let this happen, friends, the possibilities are endless. The hungry can be fed. The thirsty can be given a cup of cold water to drink. The homeless can be given shelter. The world can be changed. Amen.

Testimonies

Time of Reflection
Why is mission important to me?
What mission opportunities speak to my heart?
How can I greater support mission with my time, talents, resources, and/or devotion?

[1] Mt 25:35-36, 40.

[2] Rick Ezell. “Sermon: Let Your Heart Be Broken – Jeremiah 8, 9.” http://www.lifeway.com/Article/sermon-let-your-heart-be-broken-jeremiah-8-9, accessed 18 Oct. 2015.

This is the first in a 3-part series on stewardship. There are a few different elements in our stewardship worship services this year that are explained in the beginning of this sermon. Those elements are included at the end of this post.

Text used: Acts 2:41-47

• Well, ya’ll, it’s that time of year again – that time when shine a pointed light on how we contribute to the life and mission of this church as well as the Church universal. It’s time to think and talk and pray about stewardship.
  • Last year – talked about what we contribute
    • Resources – straight out monetary support as well as contributing things like food for the food shelf
      • Great e.g. – Pack the Pews Sunday that we participated in back in March (some food items, some monetary donations)
    • Time and talents – support through physical presence
      • Effort
      • Work
      • Using our various gifts to benefit the church
    • Heart/attention – support through being engaged and
      • Being emotionally/spiritually invested
      • Basically = caring what goes on here → making this church a top priority
  • This year, we’re going to talk about stewardship from a different standpoint. We’re going to hold those things that we contribute in our minds – our time, our talents, our resources, and our devotion – and we’re going to talk and think and pray about the ways in which we invest them in the life of the church.
    • FOCUS: How do we use all those elements of our own stewardship to actually strengthen the church? How do we move from an attitude of simply surviving to an attitude of dynamically thriving?
      • Not about half-heartedly committing these things
      • Not about simply keeping the doors open
      • Not about keeping the church limping along and just scraping by
    • 3 weeks
      • Today: talk about strengthening the church – this church
      • Next week: talk about strengthening mission
        • Mission that this church is engaged in
        • Mission that may be part of your personal lives – other groups/organizations you may support individually
      • Final week: talk about strengthening the future
        • Where is our passion taking us?
        • What are our hopes and dreams here? How can we invest in them?
      • And the best part of our stewardship series this year? You’re not just going to hear from me! Face it, you hear from me a lot. As part of this series, after each sermon, you’re going to hear from other people in the congregation – their testimonies about why they invest their time, talents, resources, and hearts into what we’re doing here and what they’re doing in their own lives. Because, friends, the whole point of being here is that we are the church together.
        • Today
          • Karen – heart for mission [explain Karen/Kim scheduling]
          • Bob – involvement and investment in the life and activity of this church
    • After the testimonies, we’re going to engage in a time of reflection.
      • Questions listed in bulletin – Think about them. Pray about them.
      • Blue post-it notes in bulletin – jot down anything that comes to you about how you can strengthen this church
        • Time, talents, resources, heart
      • Leave the post-it note on the notecard and put it in the offering plate as it passes. During the final hymn, I’ll put those post-its up on this board. As the weeks progress, we will continue to add to this picture of who we are and who we hope to be in stewardship together here in [Oronoco/Zumbrota].
• So today, we’re diving into stewardship by talking about the ways in which we invest ourselves in the church – this church right here.
  • CONTEXT w/in the rest of the story: opening scene of Acts = Jesus’ last words to his disciples (“When the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”[1]) → disciples returning to Jerusalem and choosing Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot → descending flames of Pentecost → Peter’s first sermon – spur-of-the-moment thing in front of a large crowd (“Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away”[2]
  • Today’s text = crowd’s response to Peter’s exhortation: That day about three thousand took [Peter] at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers … All the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common.[3] → I know that we read this today and think, “Oh my gosh, how could they do that?! At best, it sounds unattainably utopian – everyone living and sharing together in harmony, maybe a round or two of “Kumbayah” on the guitar at night. At worst, it sounds like an introvert’s worst nightmare: everyone living together and sharing everything all the time. GAH!
  • But friends, this is what we’re called to do and be as the church.
    • Live in common – translation into today
      • Common goals as a faith community
      • Common mission/purpose within our community of context
      • Common devotion to believing in and loving and serving and worshiping the Triune God
      • At our very core, this is who we are and what we do here. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are a community of faith. We are made one in the Holy Spirit.
        • Celebrate this in our sacraments
          • Welcoming newcomers into the faith – into the body of Christ – through baptism
          • Celebrating our commonalities in communion: shared grace, shared forgiveness, shared relationship with Christ and with one another
    • Share in life together
      • Gr. “wonderful harmony” = hearts of simplicity, sincerity, humility
      • Genuineness of sharing
        • Sharing in trust, confidence, love
        • Share our successes and our struggles
        • Share our faith walks so that we can hold each other up, carry each other along, strengthen each other and challenge each other when need be
          • What we do in sharing prayer requests – joys, concerns, and everything in between
          • What we do during coffee hour after worship
          • Even what we do on our way out → Have you ever noticed that it takes people forever just to leave? I love that! We’re so involved in sharing our lives with each other that we don’t want to go.
      • Share in efforts
        • Early church from Acts “[held] everything in common … and pooled their resources” → Isn’t this what we do here, too?
          • We pool our resources for the work of this church – in the cleaning and the maintenance, in the opening and closing of the building, in the acts of administration and in the decision-making and in the crunching of the numbers.
          • We pool our resources for the budget of this church. 
      • Share in impression of this church – face we present to the world around us à When people ask us which church we belong to or when we identify ourselves as members of this congregation, we instantly become a face for this congregation in the community. We share in the way the community sees us. We share in the way the community reacts to us and the way the community sees us react.
        • E.g. laid out by Scripture: They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.[4] → “Every day their numbers grew!” Friends, whether we like it or not, our actions speak volumes about this congregation to the world around us. People need to see that we’re invested. People need to see that we care. People need to see that this church matters enough to us that our time, our talents, our resources, and our hearts are spent here. If we don’t make the work of this church a priority, why should anyone else? If we don’t find this a worthy enough place to invest of ourselves, why should anyone else?
          • Not about being perfect – not about perfect attendance, perfect faith, perfect anything
          • About being engaged – engaged in what we’re doing here, engaged in what we believe here (“engaged” not the same as “always in perfect agreement”)
• Sue always does a stellar job of putting the bulletins together, but this week she really hit the nail on the head. Look at the front of your bulletin. There’s a quote on it: “Let us consider our callings, let us reflect on our responsibilities, and let us follow Jesus Christ.” (Thomas Monson) As we go forward thinking and talking and praying about stewardship, keep that in your minds and hearts. Consider your calling. Reflect on your responsibilities. Always with the goal and attitude of following Christ. Amen.

Testimonies

Time of Reflection
Why do I give to this church?
Why is my presence and effort in this church important?
What does my stewardship in this church mean?

[1] Acts 1:8.

[2] Acts 2:38-39.

[3] Acts 2:41-42, 44.

[4] Acts 2:46-47.

Since yesterday was World Communion Sunday, we did things a little bit differently for the sermon. So here we go! 🙂

History of World Communion Sunday[1]

• First celebrated as “World Wide Communion Sunday” at Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA in 1933
  • Started as a way to “celebrate our oneness in Christ with all our brothers and sisters around the world”
• Spread to other Presbyterian churches → denomination-wide practice by 1936
• Promoted by the Dept. of Evangelism of the Federal Council of Churches (a predecessor of the National Council of Churches) in 1940 → went from being a “Presbyterian thing” to a multi-denominational thing
• “Today, World Communion Sunday is celebrated around the world, demonstrating that the church founded on Jesus Christ peacefully shares God-given goods in a world increasingly destabilized by globalization and global market economies based on greed.”
  • Reason special offering taken today is being used for issues of social justice → sharing our God-given goods in a world in need

Still share in those God-given goods today

• God-given goods of simple elements of human society & culture – bread and wine
• God-given goods of community – shared meal
• God-given goods of grace of a Savior who continues to offer us refreshment in body, mind, and soul when we gather around this table

Explore these God-given goods …

BREAD

Scripture – John 6:47-51: “I’m telling you the most solemn and sober truth now: Whoever believes in me has real life, eternal life. I am the Bread of Life. Your ancestors ate the manna bread in the desert and died. But now here is Bread that truly comes down out of heaven. Anyone eating this Bread will not die, ever. I am the Bread – living Bread! – who came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this Bread will live – and forever! The Bread that I present to the world so that it can eat and live is myself, this flesh-and-blood self.”

Universality of bread

• Crosses all the lines that we try to draw between ourselves and “the other”
  • Race
  • Language
  • Gender identification
  • Socio-economic class
  • Education level
  • Even religion.
• Bread is a critical element in every culture around the world. It can travel easily. It can adapt to a wide variety of circumstances. A simple piece of bread can mean different thing to different people, even within the same cultural context.
  • Differences between pizza crust, cornmeal bread, unleavened matzo bread, and Wonder Bread

Story of hearing about Grass Roots: The Universe of Home by Paul Gruchow → read short passage about bread[2]

• Jesus tells us, “I am the Bread of Life. … Anyone eating this Bread will not die, ever. … The Bread that I present to the world so that it can eat and live is myself, this flesh-and-blood self.”
• Question: Are we looking for “Wonder Bread” version of Jesus or “homemade bread” version of Jesus?
  • Wonder Bread version: stripped down, bland, easy to swallow
    • Jesus that doesn’t make waves
    • Jesus that doesn’t challenge us
    • Jesus that doesn’t make us squirm
  • Homemade bread version: rough around the edges, has depth, full of surprises
    • Recent blog post in Huffington Post’s religious section: I’m all for love and a personal relationship with God, but I choose to follow the man who teaches that political actionis worship, that social justice is  What I and people my age are looking for is a church that preaches not just transcendental love, but that prophetic fire that makes Jesus so appealing.[3]
  • The Jesus that scares us with all of his incendiary comments and outbursts and cryptic parables is also the Jesus who most inspires us – who touches and stirs something deep within our souls – who awakens within us a burning desire to do something and be something more.
    • Jesus: I came that they may have life and have it [4]
    • Gruchow: The wholesome mystery of bread, the sacrament of it, I know now, was never in the ingredients but in the labor, and in the laborers who transfigured them into bread.[5] → Ingredients vary. The particulars of our lives vary. But through his sacred and extraordinary labor – through his healing and teaching, his living and his dying and his rising again – Jesus continues to transfigure our lives into something nourishing, something strengthening, something sustaining. And when we eat this bread – whether it’s homemade or store-bought, wafers or gluten-free or even [garlic bread/graham crackers] … When we eat this bread and participate in this universal and holy mystery, we enter into that labor, too. We go out into the world satiated and yet hungry to be the body of Christ in the world.

Hymn: Let Us Break Bread Together, verse 1

WINE

Scripture – John 15:1-8: “I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken. “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is – when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

Interesting thing about wine in relation to bread – wine is a temperamental thing

• Temperamental naturel of grapes
  • Not easy to get plants started
  • Not easy to grow/maintain
  • Not easy to harvest
  • Hear echoes of this nature in beginning of our Scripture reading – Jesus speaks of farmer pruning and caring for and nurturing grapes on the vine
• Temperamental nature of wine itself
  • Must be aged properly
  • Must be stored properly
  • For enthusiasts, must be served with the proper dishes
    • Pinot Noir with salmon
    • Cabernet with beef
    • Chardonnay with chicken
    • (matchingfoodandwine.com)
  • Not so terribly different from us people
    • Always in need of something
    • Always wanting something different
    • Always looking for the next best thing
    • Half the time, we don’t even know what we want, and yet we expect others – our friends, our family, our coworkers, sometimes even strangers on the street or in the grocery store – we expect them to intuitively understand what we want and what we need (or what we think we need) right in that moment. We are constantly changing, constantly in motion and in flux.
      • Kerlin Richter quote (from last week): Christianity is a messy and embodied religion, and I am a messy and embodied person.

And yet, there is utter joy amidst the messiness

• Tradition of grape stomping: Feet have been used to crush wine for thousands of years. Ancient Romans drank wine, and it is believed that they stomped their grapes back in 200 BC to extract the juice. It makes sense to use the weight of the body to press down on grapes – it is certainly less tiring than pressing down with hands, or turning a press. Plus, stomping can easily be a group activity, and a celebratory one at that; and the creation of wine is nothing if not cause for celebration. In the United States, stomping grapes for the production of wine has been banned since the end of the twentieth century. … The practice of stomping grapes is still used by some small wineries in Portugal and Spain, but it is a rare practice, indeed. Still, stomping grapes is fun. … Grape-stomping festivals have sprung up around the country during harvest time, to satisfy the unquenchable desire to crush grapes with feet.[6]
  • Pop culture examples:
    • The hilarity of the infamous “I Love Lucy” episode in which Lucy and a rather enthusiastic Italian woman are stomping wine together[7]
    • The playfulness and romance of the scene from the movie “A Walk in the Clouds” in which the main characters are all participating in an annual wine stomping celebration on their Spanish vineyard[8]
  • Even in the midst of our fussiest, most stressful, high-maintenance moments, there are glimpses of the joy and purposefulness of God all around us.
    • Particularly visible this time of year as the leaves on the trees begin to change colors
    • Witness it in the amazing colors of sunrise/sunset (real beauties lately)
    • Hear it in delightful laugh of children
    • Feel it when you wrap cold hands around a warm mug of coffee/tea
    • Experience it in the love of family and friends

Takes a seemingly brutal and destructive act like stomping grapes to make beautiful wine → similar to another brutal and destructive but necessary act: Christ’s crucifixion

• The darkness had to come before the light
• Jesus knew that this was coming. He knew all about the torment and the humiliation and the pain that was to come, and yet he taught and healed and prayed and lived each day with his disciples, holding the joy and the bitterness together until the moment was right.
  • Used something as fickle and yet as vibrant and life-giving as a grape vine to describe relational nature of faith: I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. … This is how my Father shows who he is – when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

Hymn: Let Us Break Bread Together, verse 2

THE SACRED CELEBRATION

Scripture – Luke 22:7-20: The Day of Unleavened Bread came, the day the Passover lamb was butchered. Jesus sent Peter and John off, saying, “Go prepare the Passover for us so we can eat it together.” They said, “Where do you want us to do this?” He said, “Keep your eyes open as you enter the city. A man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him home. Then speak with the owner of the house: The Teacher wants to know, ‘Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ He will show you a spacious second-story room, swept and ready. Prepare the meal there.” They left, found everything just as he told them, and prepared the Passover meal. When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, and said, “You’ve no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. It’s the last one I’ll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God.” Taking the cup, he blessed it, then said, “Take this and pass it among you. As for me, I’ll not drink wine again until the kingdom of God arrives.” Taking bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, given for you. Eat it in my memory.” He did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you.”

Friends, in this blessed meal, in this sacred celebration in which we are about to participate, Jesus took common elements – humble bread and ordinary wine – and imbued them with a meaning and a holy weightiness that is universal. We all need the grace offered to us in this bread, this body of Christ. We all need the forgiveness granted to us in this cup, this blood of Christ. We all participate in this life of faith together just as the disciples participated with Christ in that first Last meal centuries ago.

• Still seek Christ’s presence among us … just as they did
• Still ask for Christ’s guidance and direction … just as they did
• Still inspire by Christ in thought, word, and deed … just as they were

When we come to this table, we celebrate the love of Christ. We celebrate the sacrifice of Christ. We celebrate the gritty humanity and true divinity of Christ. We celebrate the radical revolutionary of Christ – the one who sat with the people he wasn’t supposed to sit with, taught to the people who weren’t supposed to learn, kissed the people who weren’t supposed to be touched, and loved the people that everyone else forgot. All of that realness, all of that love and messiness and joy and pain, all of that faith and hope and desperation are here at this table, in the brokenness of the bread, in the bittersweetness of the cup. Here we worship. Here we pray. Here we praise. Here we are nourished and blessed, not so that we may stay here and genuflect before the elements themselves but so that we may take the blessing we receive here out into a hungry and hurting world. Amen.

Hymn: Let Us Break Bread Together, verse 3

[1] “World Communion Sunday” from https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/worship/world-communion-sunday/. Accessed 3 Oct. 2015.

[2] Paul Gruchow. Grass Roots: The Universe of Home. (Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 1995), 45-47.

[3] Christian Chiakulas. “Churches Could Fill Their Pews With Millennials If They Just Did This” on Huffington Post: Religion, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christian-chiakulas/churches-millennials-if-they-just-did-this_b_8215846.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000051. Posted 30 Sept. 2015, accessed 3 Oct. 2015.

[4] Jn 10:10 (emphasis added).

[5] Gruchow, 47.

[6] “A Brief History of Stomping Wine” from Von Stiehl Winery, http://vonstiehl.com/a-brief-history-of-stomping-wine/. Written 4 Aug. 2009, accessed 4 Oct. 2015.

[7] “Lucy’s Italian Movie,” season 5, episode 23 of I Love Lucy. Original air date: 16 Apr. 1956, http://www.tv.com/shows/i-love-lucy/lucys-italian-movie-17248/.

[8] A Walk in the Clouds, produced by Zucker Brothers Productions, released 11 Aug. 1995.