"A Communion Beyond Walls"
Text:
Thesis:
Mark 9:38-50 and Numbers 11:16-17,24-30
In Christ, our communion extends beyond the walls of the church.
Today is World Communion Sunday. It is a day when we think about the communion
that we have that extends beyond our walls. As we gather here today inside this
sanctuary – inside these four walls – as we pray and sing and lift up the bread and
the cup – as we take and eat and drink in remembrance of Jesus Christ – as we
remember how he showed us God's love – millions of our brothers and sisters around
the world are doing the very same thing.
Some of these people will be in churches like our own in nations like our own. They
are in magnificent cathedrals with vast pipe organs and huge choirs and paid
musicians. Or, they are in modern buildings with multi-media displays and theater
seating. And many like us are in modest structures of stone or brick or wood with
plain windows and simple furniture. But many of them will be in places that are very
different like Africa, South America, and The Philippines. They, too, will be
celebrating the sacrifice made freely by Christ on our behalf. But they will be in single
rooms made out of sheet metal, wood scraps and cardboard, or in village squares in
which the sound of chickens and the smell of goats will mingle with the sound of
hymns and the fragrance of incense. Others, will be gathering in straw huts, where a
simple wooden cross is the only thing which shows that this is a church. Rev. Carolyn
Weber, serving in Ethiopia, knows churches like this. Many congregations in our
presbytery, are partners with churches like this in Rwanda.
The immensity and the diversity of the family that we have in Christ beyond these walls
is truly mind boggling. We need to remember and celebrate it as often as possible.
We have a communion, we have a family, beyond these walls. And it is good and it is
beautiful and it is God’s gift to us – and to our world.
But as we sit inside these walls today – I also want us to consider how they may be
barriers to our communion with others, how they might even be a barrier to our
communion with God.
Each one of us has a way of shutting things out – a way of shutting other people out.
We see that in both our scriptures readings today. Joshua asks Moses to stop two
men, Eldad and Medad, from prophesying in the camp because that is not where they
should be. You see, Moses and the 70 chosen elders have gathered in the tent of
meeting – their place of worship. And God comes to them and places upon them the
same Spirit which has empowered and directed Moses. But, the Spirit has also come
to 2 men who are still in the camp – who are not chosen – who are not even elders.
Mark’s gospel reports that the disciple John tells Jesus about a man driving out
demons in his name. They told him to stop, because he was not one of the ones who
traveled with Jesus. But apparently he refused.
The answer of both Moses and of Jesus is helpful for us today. Moses replies to
Joshua – "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord's people were
prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” Jesus says to John – "Do
not stop him. No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say
anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth,
anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will
certainly not lose his reward.”
The Spirit and the power of God, is not limited to those we identify as being “one of
us.” God’s work is happening beyond these walls in places we cannot imagine.
There are churches in bars and coffee shops and shopping malls. And in fact, each
one of us is called to take the name of Jesus into the world beyond these walls.
Sometimes we feel very small and frightened. Sometimes we are so damaged, that
we want to retreat into a place of safety – a place where we cannot be hurt. We want
a place of comfort, a place where we will not be judged, a place where no one will
mind if we don't have the answers, a place where things are predictable, a place
without too many surprises.
This is understandable – at times it is even necessary. We all need a place of
healing,
a place of peace, a place where we do not have to struggle every moment, a place
where we can rest secure in the knowledge that we are safe, a place where we can
gather strength. I pray that this church may be such a place for you. That is what
the church is for. It is meant to be a place of refuge and strength – a place where we
are fed and prepared to serve God in the larger world.
But the church is also meant to be an open place - open for others to come in - and for
us to go out. It is to be a place where the little children are welcomed instead of being
told to sit down and shut up – a place where people whose lives have been shattered
perhaps by divorce are welcomed, where they may feel that there is hope for a new
life, instead of being told they are offensive to God. It is to be a place where those
who have experienced the disappointments and devastation of life can experience the
healing power of God – a place where strangers who seek to do good in the name of
Christ might be affirmed rather than ignored because they are not known to us and do
not belong – a place where we learn that God is not only with us but with others as
well.
The church, my friends, is more than a building or a particular congregation. It is
more than a denomination – more than one particular way of doing things. We have a
communion beyond our walls. If we don't get in touch with it, if we don't understand
that it is there and open our hearts to it, then all that we do and experience inside
these walls is useless. This may be a place of safety for us, but it should not limit our
vision of where God is and how God is working.
Today we celebrate the God who reached out past the walls that surround heaven and
entered into communion with us. We celebrate in the Lord's Supper the fact that Jesus
Christ loved us so much that he was prepared to give up his safety, his peace, his
strength, his joy.When we lift up the bread and the cup and share in this meal, we
celebrate the fact that Jesus gave up his very life so that we might become whole and
be able to enter fully into God's kingdom.
Our walls - our definitions - our understandings have a purpose, they serve a function,
they are necessary to us. But the communion God calls us to most often extends
beyond our walls and our definitions. It takes in those prophets who speak in the
places where our understanding says they should not be. It includes those disciples
who heal others in Christ's name even though they don't belong to our group.
Today - as you receive the bread and the cup of our Lord Jesus Christ, remember why
it is given to you. Hold on to the moment. Take strength from this time with God and
enter into the fullness of the communion God has called you to. As you meditate, see
and feel the wideness and the breadth of the family that God has created.
Understand that diversity does not need to lead us to division. Those who are not
against us are for us. God would have all of us full of zeal to do his work.
Thanks be to God for the fact that the power of God is in God’s name and not in us.
Thanks be to God for choosing us and calling us to break down every barrier. Thanks
be to God for uniting us as one people in Christ. Amen
[adapted from a sermon by the same title by Rev. Richard Fairchild, 2003]