One: One World, 10/4/15

Sermon 10-4-15   World communion sunday- ONE World  Luke 22:14-29

¹⁴ When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.^{[a] 21} But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. ²² The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” ²³ They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. ²⁴ A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. ²⁵ Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶ But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. ²⁸ You are those who have stood by me in my trials. ²⁹ And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,

How big is your world?

When I was a baby                                                     picture with sister

When I was in grade school                                       picture of mummy

When I was in high school                                         picture of bike ride

When I go into another world

I see my blessings

I witness hunger

I understand their sorrow

          When shooters happen in Oregon, we feel it

          Entire nations are being depopulated………. And life goes on for us

I see the Russian view of the usa

          Shooting in Oregon……. We feel it

          Similar things happen around the world

          We don’t know…in one ear and out the other

          God sits ahigh up and he loves all the same…..

Nicaragua – I meet and get to know hungry people

          People that think a $500 a month job is the greatest thing

How big is your world?

What ownership do you take of the world??

Today, Christians all over the world will be receiving communion together

We stand in solidarity with

Baptists in Springfield

Catholics in new York and Italy

Presbyterians in Scotland

Methodists in England

Orthodox believers in Russia

They are all the same.  We are one.

All parts of the body

All important to God – equally important to us

In our scripture today are the historic words of institution.  I usually don’t say them  when I am leading communion and I want to tell you why……….. I have bobbled them in the past and I have been worried that I would bobble them again.  But recently I fell upon a new meaning.  Not a new meaning, an old meaning that finally sunk in for me.

Do this in remembrance of me. Do what?

Eat the meal? Come to church,, remember me, eat the meal. Feel good and then go on your way?

This is what I always thought that he meant.

Enjoy the nice moment with jesus

Its what I have done for years.

It is what I do every week at 8am

I don’t want to rob you of that

Do this in rememberance of me. Do what?

Well,  what was he doing?

Washing their feet

Coming as one who serves

Dying so that others can live

Do that and remember me

I have conferred a kingdom upon you

It is a kingdom not of self consumption  but of sacrifice and love

I was thinking about peter and his denials.

Its not that he lied and chose to say he did not know Jesus, he chose self preservation over sacrifice

He chose self over service

DS at installation service.  Jonahs boat partners jettisoned the cargo

They chose self preservation at all costs

And we continue to jettison our cargo, ignoring our purpose

Making life about me and insuring my self preservation.

And jesus has conferred upon us a kingdom.

I have been reading Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker

Luke 22: 15¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 

Jesus was seriously making a point with that statement.

I want to do this.  I want to suffer.  I choose it.  I choose this life of sacrifice

At the last supper, the disciples are arguing about who is the greatest.

Jesus is washing their feet.

Jesus is reminding them of his sacrificial living and death

“This is My body. This is My blood.” Jesus didn't just host and serve the meal; He became the meal. He was the sacrificial Lamb, broken for the redemption of the world.  Consumed for you.  and he went willingly, embracing sacrifice.

“The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed.”

“No one takes [my life] from me.”

“I lay it down of my own accord.”

For years I taught people to believe things

But I didn’t spend enough time talking about what it means to live.

And I don’t mean, be good.  Stop playing cards or drinking margaritas.

I mean we are called to live a sacrificial life, to serve.

The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is my body [BROKEN], which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. (I Corinthians 11:23-24)

Now you are the body of Christ. (I Corinthians 12:27)

Obedience to Jesus’ command is more than looking backward;

it's a present and continuous replication of His sacrifice.

We don't simply remember the meal; we become the meal.

Mercy has a cost:  someone must be broken for someone else to be fed. The sermon that changed your life?

That message was poured out so you could hear it.

The friends who stood in the gap during your crisis?

They embraced some sacrifice of brokenness for your healing.

Anytime you say. “That fed me, that nourished me,” someone was the broken bread for your fulfillment.

Many years ago a wise man told me that I would be broken.  I didn’t like it.----Then he said, it will make a good meal.

The other day I was talking with a friend about how bad it feels when you feel like you are being broken, but the result of that is that you become pliable, usable, a good meal.

Truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds- john 12:24

Conclusion

Do this.  And remember me.

Jesus has conferred on us a kingdom.

Most of us spend our entire lives, throwing ourselves at our agendas.  Our jobs, our vacations, our families, our hobbies, golf, softball, gardening, manage the 401k, let’s go out to dinner.  Chiefs games, power and light, let’s get some royals tickets.  Most of us live our entire lives throwing ourselves at our own agendas, and if that is what we choose to settle for, we most often are beset with feelings of, “there must be something more.”

When we become a Christian, we are joining a family, a big family, a world-wide family.   The questions of how we spend our time and resources can no longer be limited to that which I prefer.  God calls us to look out and see to see all of his children.  And not just to see, not just to visit, but to embrace his children, to love them, to help them, to spend our lives in sacrificial kingdom living.  And it is no surprise that those that choose this path find the life that truly is life.

And so Jesus said, when ever you do this, remember me…..

Eat the bread and remember, sure

But also, when ever you take the pain, go the second mile, turn the other cheek, help the least of these, become a sacrifice, remember me