We are almost at the end of our "Sacrament Sandwich." I know that doesn't sound particularly respectful, but it is descriptive of where we have been the past few weeks. We had Holy Communion, a Baptism, Rally Sunday, a Baptism, and this week will be Holy Communion again. What a great way to frame our kick-off Sunday, surrounding it with sacraments.
This Sunday is World Communion Sunday. It is always one of my favorite Sundays of the year. One of the important elements of Holy Communion is the way it reminds us of our common union with believers in all times and places. On at least this one Sunday each year, we know that all around the world nearly every fellow follower of Christ will be at the table with us. Now that is one powerful image (and certainly a better mental image than picturing the congregation as children sharing a bathtub, as I asked the congregation to imagine on Sunday)! As we gather to worship, we are choosing solidarity over solitude. In coming to one place of worship, we make a choice to unite with those who gather there. If we don't like it for some reason, we can always find another location for our worship. But as disciples of Christ, we don't choose our family, all of God's children are our siblings...and this Sunday they are all coming to dinner!
I hope that you won't need to miss the worship service this week. It would be great to see a variety of faces present in the sanctuary. It would also be great to celebrate the meal with a variety of breads. Do you have a recipe for bread from some other part of the world? Perhaps a wonderful old family recipe from "the old country?" If you don't want to bake a loaf, you could buy one. Please let me know if you can help create an international offering for the Communion Table this week. Thanks, and see you at the welcome table.
