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Sunday September 14, 2008 "We Call Ourselves Disciples: Gather Round the Table" 1 John 1:1-9 |
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Location: Blogs Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons |
 | | Posted by: Brad Miller | 9/14/2008 11:09 PM |
As we continue our sermon series “We Call Ourselves Disciples: An Exploration of our Faith Heritage”, I can say with great certainty, that the most famous celebration of the Lord’s Supper in the history of this movement we call the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is one that never took place.
In 1809, Alexander Campbell was struggling mightily with issues of faith, the church and his role in it. He had been raised a strict Presbyterian, but had recently become acquainted with a Scottish pastor named Greville Ewing. Campbell attended small informal gatherings in Ewing’s home where any and all questions were freely and openly shared in lively discussions. Questions of how the church should organize itself, questions of interpretation of scriptures, questions about the nature of baptism and communion. It was a wonderfully freeing time for Alexander Campbell and set him on a lifelong effort to reform the church as he knew it and to restore the church to it’s original glory and form.
High on the list of issues that Campbell was dealing with was the welcoming of folks to a church that practiced “closed” communion. That is, Campbell was struggling with the fact that in Scotland in 1809, each denomination had it’s own standard for who could partake of communion…who was worthy of gathering around the Lord’s Table. How, he wondered, could the church truly be welcoming if they excluded people from such an important rite of the church?
How, he wondered, did we define “Christian”? Was the proper form of baptism essential to being fully part of the church? Was acceptance of the creed the essential element? Was partaking in communion what defined a Christian? Well, now we’re back to the beginning: if you can’t be a true Christian without taking communion, and the church is purposely excluding some people from celebrating communion, what chance do those excluded people have to become part of the church? And just how was the decision made to exclude people from communion? It was different for different denominations. In some, the clergy made a decision as to who was worthy. In some, a board of church elders examined people to determine who could come to the table. In some, the examination came at the time someone joined the church, and only members of that specific congregation were allowed to participate. In some, the communion table was open to denominational members only. And criteria for worthiness? Well, allegiance to the creed; proving that you were truly repentant of your sins; having been properly baptized; having no charges against you for profligate behavior. Any of these and more might be the yardstick against which you were measured before entrance into the fellowship at the Lord’s Table.
In Alexander Campbell’s church a service of communion was held twice a year. Before being admitted to the service, people were examined by the elders of the church as to their worthiness. If they were deemed worthy, they were handed a round metal token – probably about the size of a half dollar. When it came time to participate in the sharing of the bread and the wine, the token was dropped in a basket and the worthy participant was served.
Worthy participant? Criteria for communion? Examination by the elders? Excluding people from the bounty of God’s grace at the Lord’s Table?
Hear how the historian Leroy Garrett described the day when Alexander Campbell made a decision about communion:
“This is what was bothering him when it came time for his church’s semi-annual Communion service. He dutifully went before the elders to be examined as to his worthiness to take part. He obtained the usual leaden token that would allow him a place a the Communion table. On that fateful Lord’s Day in the spring of 1809, he waited in line to enter the Communion room, nursing his doubts about it all. He kept dropping back in line, trying to decide what to do. When he was at last seated at the table, he placed his token in the plate, but let the elements pass before him without partaking.” (“The Encyclopedia of the Stone – Campbell Movement” article on Alexander Campbell)
What Garret doesn’t tell us is that Campbell was just 20 years old when he made his statement against closed communion. His fellow communicants might not have even noticed. But for Alexander Campbell, it was a day when things crystallized in his mind that denominational division was the enemy of the church, and closed communion was a symbol of that division. On that day in 1809, it can rightly be argued that the movement we know as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) had it’s beginning. Years later, Alexander Campbell would recount the day and say, “At that moment, I was a free person in Christ.”
Freedom.
Freedom to worship, to believe, to praise God, is a hallmark of what this table is all about. To exclude people from the mystery of this table, the power of this table, the community of this table, is to take away that freedom from many who seek God’s presence in their lives as revealed to them through Jesus Christ.
Today, we practice open communion whereby all who would declare Jesus as Lord and Savior are welcomed at the table. I don’t decide who can celebrate here. The elders do not decide. The official board and executive team have no say in setting a criteria for worthiness. We simply make the table available and welcome all those who would partake.
In some quarters this is still a controversial issue. Some denominations still limit participation in some ways. But while the question of an open or closed table is central to our faith tradition, the history of our movement shows us that it is not the only controversy, the only question surrounding this sacred meal. No, there are many disagreements that have helped form our tradition beyond the issue of who can come to the table.
Among them are questions of frequency, questions of practice, and questions surrounding the meaning of communion.
Let’s start with frequency.
When should communion be practiced? Well, both Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell and virtually all the early members of the movement were raised in traditions that practiced communion either twice a year or four times a year. But both Campbell and Stone became advocates for celebrating the Lord’s Supper every time the faithful gathered. The warrant for such a practice came straight from the new testament book of the Acts of the Apostles. Hear Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
Both Campbell and Stone believed that Christian unity was a most important goal of the movement. This is a topic we will look at next week, but it’s important to note that Campbell especially believed that if we could come close to restoring the new testament church, if we could return to a day when the modern church acted and operated like the early church described in Acts, true Christian unity would be much closer to reality. And so, if the early church celebrated the Lord’s supper whenever they gathered, then that was how this new movement would proceed, also.
There were some who believed otherwise. Most common was an argument that if you do it too often it becomes a rote “going through the motions” and loses its power. Ahhhh, Stone replied, but the power of the table lies with the one who sets the table, not with us. To say the sacrament has no power is to say that it is of our doing, and it is not: it is the table set by Jesus Christ.
So what about the issues surrounding the practice of communion? We are living proof that the Lord’s Supper can be celebrated in a variety of ways. On most Sundays we celebrate with unleavened bread and juice that we pass to one another. Some Sundays we practice communion by intinction, where we break a piece off the bread and dip it in a common cup. In some traditions, people drink directly out of the common cup. Some churches say only ordained ministers may preside at the table, while others say only elders of the church, and still others say anyone can preside. And every single one of these traditions have a reason behind them.
When we use unleavened bread, we are mimicking the unleavened bread on the table of the last supper meal. When we the bread is broken off a common loaf we are commemorating the broken body of Jesus, give for us, shared by us. When we use a common cup, we are indicating that there is but one sacrifice made on behalf of all of us. When we say only a minister can preside at the table we are invoking the idea of apostolic succession, a priestly duty passed from the early apostles down to today’s clergy. When we say anyone can preside we are declaring that we in fact all part of the priesthood by virtue of our belief in Jesus Christ, and as part of the priesthood of all believers, we are all worthy to serve.
How is communion practiced today in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)? Without a doubt, at every worship service, but in a myriad of ways. We may pass the elements, we may walk up and break off a piece of the bread, we may use a common cup, or we may not. But generally, most Disciples congregations believe that any believer can preside at the table, when necessary, because it is not our table, but Christ’s.
A lot of the issues surrounding practice are driven by our final question: what is the meaning of the Lord’s Supper?
There are two basic answers to that question. The first possible answer is that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of the sacrifice made on our behalf, a commemoration of Jesus calling on us to remember what has been done on our behalf. A marking of what it is that holds us all together, where we come from and where we are going.
This view can be summed up by Alexander Campbell when he wrote, “The Lord’s supper is not an ordinance for receiving new blessings, but for commemorating those already received.”
The second possible answer is that it is not simply a memorial but a recognition of Christ’s spiritual presence with us and the spiritual feeding of Christ’s followers. This view might be summed up by noting that the power in the presence of Jesus leads us to take a solemn vow of penitence and renewal, and in this act, we face up to who we really are, and whose we really are, and our sins can be forgiven.
So where does that leave us? How are we to practice communion? How are we to discern meaning in this sacred meal?
For me, the scripture lesson this morning helps guide me in discerning the importance of our shared, open communion.
First, the writer of 1 John tells us that he wants to share with us what he had experienced first hand, seen with his own eyes, touched with his own hands: that God is revealed in Jesus Christ. This is a word of hope and grace from one who wants us to experience what he had experienced, and so Jesus is re-presented to us, revealed to us, when we are in fellowship together.
This is the importance of the memorial of the Lord’s Supper. At the table we remember what has been done for us and find ourselves in symbolic union with those who first witnessed the ministry, the life, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. At the table we are reminded that the ministry of Jesus did not end with those who were there at the beginning. But in their sharing, their commitment to be in fellowship with all who need to hear the news, and the commitment of all those who have followed over some 2000 years, the very real and the very powerful ministry of Jesus Christ is alive and well today. Fellowship is a powerful force, and an open fellowship around the Lord’s table is the most powerful force of all.
But the second part of today’s scripture points out that that the powerful force of communion fellowship is not simply in the remembering, but in the actions to which it leads.
When we come to the table, together, as God’s children, we recognize that we are sinners, each and every one of us, and if we can come to this table, the cleansing power of Jesus’ sacrifice can be ours, again and again and again. We come to this table seeking the light of God which Jesus brought to the world, but it requires of us that we recognize our own shortcomings, and in our solemn and sacred posture of repentance, we are forgiven. We are renewed.
We celebrate every week because we are human and need to be reminded. We celebrate every week because we are human and need to be renewed. We celebrate every week because we feel the power of being uplifted and strengthened each time we take the time to celebrate. We welcome all to the table because we would be failing in our duty if we did otherwise. The power of the table is to be shared, and shared widely, and often. We welcome all to the table because in the fellowship of believers, we are strengthened as individuals and we are strengthened as the body of Christ, each connected to the other.
No matter how we sort it out, no matter how we celebrate, no matter how often we celebrate, no matter how we derive meaning from our celebration, we experience an awesome power when we gather around the table.
There is power in the commemoration of Jesus sacrifice when we gather around the table.
There is power in our communion with those who have come before us and those who will come after us when we gather around the table.
There is power in the renewing reality of Christ’s presence when we gather around the table.
There is power in the connection of believers, rededicated to serving all God’s children when we gather round the table.
There is power at the table.
Come, gather round the table.
It is set for all of us.
Let us pray: Lord we give thanks for the bounty of your table. We give thanks for the chance to commemorate and celebrate your presence and your power among us. We give thanks for the witness of all those who gather around tables just like this, all around the world. We ask for strength that we might take the power of your table and harness it to do your work, to live out your will, through our actions and lives, now and always. Amen. | | | Permalink | Trackback |
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