Holy Communion 1 Corinthians 1117-28 6-2-13

Sermon 6-2-13  holy communion   1 cor 11:17-28

¹⁷ In the following directives I have no praise for you,^(R) for your meetings do more harm than good. ¹⁸ In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions^(S) among you, and to some extent I believe it. ¹⁹ No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.^{(T) 20} So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, ²¹ for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers.^(U) As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. ²² Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God^(V) by humiliating those who have nothing?^(W) What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you?^(X) Certainly not in this matter!²³ For I received from the Lord^(Y) what I also passed on to you:^(Z) The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body,^(AA) which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant^(AB) in my blood;^(AC) do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.^(AD)27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.^{(AE) 28} Everyone ought to examine themselves^(AF) before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.

OUCH!

Sometimes Paul was not very polite to his Christian offspring
You are having a big party…..eating, drinking
Not taking the Lords table seriously
Not taking your relationship with Jesus seriously

Do we sometimes not take our relationship with God seriously?
uh oh, here comes a load of guilt.

No, I am suggesting to day that we often get Stuck in our own lives, our own thinking

There are ways to be devoted, determined, but not heavy

Paul chastised the Corinthians for the sin of not taking their spirituality seriously
ways of thinking, systems of thinking- lead to specific sins
in other words, they had a life paradigm that led them to trouble.

What are such paradigms? That continue to produce sin?
· I want [everything]- falling into the consumer society
· It wasn’t me-not taking responsibility for your life
· I call shotgun- I am more important than others
· I cant change- I am intransigent, a finished product
· It doesn’t matter-despair, nothing will change…..

traditional worship often carries the prayer of confession

Confession and absolution
1 John 1:8

”If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

confession and absolution

I recognize my sin, I am honest with God

Grace delivered to you

Grace in the form of forgiveness

A focus on the redemption, not the crime
can you Accept  this for yourself?

Too many people are so stuck in their past that they cannot see their future.

They are held hostage by the sins of their past to the extent that they have allowed themselves to be defined by their past.

Grace frees us from this type of thinking.

Grace invites you to
Face your life, your spiritual life with devoted integrity
Not so serious that you drive people crazy, but seriously enough that you begin to live with a sense of appreciation and a sense of joy for what god has done

Places in the heart
the 1984 movie Places in the Heart ... is the story of a young woman, sally field, whose husband is killed within the first few minutes of the film, it is a story of her struggling against the challenges of life during the 1930s. Lynching, brutality, infidelity, racism, greed, duplicity all of these are woven into the lives of those in the movie.

And so we have an affinity.

The film ends with a communion service. At first the camera shows you a few of the good folk in town. Next, some of the not-so-good. Then the banker and others who conspired to take away the farm. The camera continues to move with the cups of wine. There is the faithful farmhand – danny glover, who helped bring in the crop so sally field might pay her mortgage; next to him, the blind boarder. The plate passes to the children, then to their mother. She is seated next to her late husband. As you are trying to take this in, the plate moves to the young man who shot her husband. They commune, and each responds: "the peace of God."

Let’s watch…….

If a movie was made of your life……….

Who might be a the table with you?

Who needs to be invited?

Who do you need to see here for the world to be made right?

a person should examine themselves

Not so you can be good enough, but so you can see what God has done

Never stay back because you aren’t good enough

When we examine ourselves we always fall short

But examine yourselves.  Don’t forget the grace of God

Look at what you believe.  Is there any good news?
God brings us forgivenss, god brings us grace
do we understand?  Do we appreciate this? Are we grateful?

meister eckhardt said that if the only prayer that we learn in this life is thank you, then it is enough

First communion service at  WCC June 1994

People coming in shorts and flip flops

People were crying

the pastor had just shared this story……..
"A man was once traveling in a strange city. Off the main street was a little alley lined with small businesses, most of them antique and curio shops. He was fascinated by that winding street of strange stores. And, as he moved along the crowded cobblestones, a weather beaten sign swaying in the wind caught his attention. "It read simply, "Nothing Broken Beyond Repair." this was a shop for broken things. The business specialized in shatterdness - broken toys and mementos, china and vases and marred furniture. By the same token there was something optimistic about the sign and the store. As he paused to watch for a time, the man saw a number of people making their way into the building.
"They were from all walks of life - the wealthy, the poor and those in-between. They were carrying things to be repaired - things of value - precious at least to them - things once whole that now needed mending.

everyone has had a broken heart
Loss of a favorite toy, a pet, a boy friend, girlfriend, to be treated poorly by someone, to lose a loved one, broken marriages, financial ruin, dreams deferred

oh to have a place to go where brokenness can be healed.

3 questions to ask
A few years ago a  poll asked, "What word or phrase would you most like to hear uttered to you, sincerely?"

1.   "I love you."

2.   "You are forgiven."

3.   "Supper is ready."

How long has it been since we have heard these words spoken to us? "I love you" -- God's unconditional love."You are forgiven" -- God's unmerited grace."Supper is ready" -- God's unsurpassed invitation.

today as we come to the table I invite you to see that in Christ you are forgiven.  In Christ you are loved.

I invite you to hear again the words of Jesus who said,

Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Mt 11:28

Let us pray