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My heart beats for love. I want to be different. I want to be who I am called to be. WORTHY and LOVED!

Sunday, June 3, 2018

“Life Together: Communion and Confession” 1 Cor 11: 23-26

I am a big fan of going to the movies. One of my favorite movies I saw this year was The Greatest Showman which told the story of P.T. Barnum, who was the founder of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. But I also have a hard time just watching movies - often when I’m sitting there I find myself saying “This will preach” and brothers and sisters, parts of that movie will preach. 
As Barnum was first setting up his museum of oddities, it was mostly wax figures and an utter failure. Later, he had the idea to invite people who were outcasts in society to be part of the show, playing up their oddities, and forming a family in the process. 
There is one particular scene where Barnum was trying to make himself acceptable to high society by inviting a famous singer to come to America and perform. When he was asked where his circus family could sit for the performance, he stuttered and stumble, trying to figure out the best place to hide them so they wouldn’t be seen by the high society folks. When they came in after the performance to meet the singer they were shooed away. Until they came right into the middle of everyone, singing about their pain, before they proclaim “ And I know that I deserve your love.” 
This wasn’t the only time that the circus family were mistreated - in fact, there were protestors outside of the circus telling them to go home. But in the scenes where they found themselves being unwelcome - be it by the protestors or the high society folks or even Barnum himself, I found myself wondering a very hard but powerful question - who is it that we turn away and are not welcome amongst us as the church?
Paul was deeply struggling with the church in Corinth. They were quite frankly not behaving as the church. A little bit of background - communion in the early church was not celebrate necessarily as it is today - as part of the service. Instead, they would learn from one other, in homes, and share a meal together at the end, what we would call an agape meal, where they share of their bounty and remember the Lord Jesus. It was in this context of the shared meal that the Eucharist would be celebrated.
Except in Corinth your place at the agape meal was quickly boiling down to who you knew and what you had in terms of wealth. Those who had less were relegated to eating last if there was anything to be had at all. So much for a meal to celebrate the love and abundance of God. People were being shooed away from the table of God because they were being told that they weren’t good enough. As if they were being told through the actions of the church that they didn’t know the right people or have enough wealth to be present. 
I can hear the mutterings - but Pastor Michelle. We don’t do anything like that. We welcome everyone. On the surface that may be true - but I have to ask - do we really? When people come as guests to the church do we go out of our way to get to know their names, or is it weeks before we introduce ourselves or get to know them? When people come with young children, do we wish the children would be quite or do we realize that the giggles and cries of children are the life blood of our congregation? Do we tell people to come as they are - or do we really mean that they need to get their act together - acting like we do and understanding church rituals - before they are welcome? 
Paul is urging the Church in Corinth to open themselves up to truly be a welcoming congregation, by remembering. Paul tells them about the tradition from the Lord - around the celebration of Holy Communion, because quite frankly they had forgotten. These are folks who were rooted in remembering - but they had made it all about them. They heard the words “this is the body of Christ broken for you” and took it to be singular. Only them. And it led to incredibly selfish and harmful behaviors.
Recently, a fellow pastor posted the following statement about the church on his facebook page: “No one should feel more welcome in your church than the screaming baby, hormonal kid, or defiant teenager” Is that true for us church? Or do we want everyone to behave a certain way so we can get something out of the service, instead of seeing the service as a place where grace is poured out for all - no matter what you may be going through.
There is a tradition that we sometimes don’t follow when we celebrate Holy Communion - the part of the liturgy where we confess our sins before God and one another. While I understand why this is often glazed over - maybe we need a good time of confession again church. And not the time of confession, where we tell other people how they hav sinned, but instead on where we confess when we didn’t really act as the church. Weren’t welcoming to the stranger. Weren’t open to the new mom with the screaming baby or the person sitting in our seat. The times where we may not have said “go home and get it together before you come back” but sure acted like. 
I think part of remembering isn’t just remembering the story of Jesus that we celebrate during Holy Communion - how he gathered his disciples together and celebrated this holy mystery and gift of a meal with them, which we continue to celebrate as a church until he comes again. I think Holy Communion is also an invitation to each of us to remember as well. To remember what it means to be the Church of Jesus Christ. To remember a time when we were a stranger and someone welcomed us. And to remember that we, too, are a sinner saved by grace. Sometimes just like the prayer of confession is glazed over, so is the fact, brothers and sisters, that we are all sinners. Every single one of us. 
The church in Corinth didn’t find themselves abusing the communion table over night. It started as the root of all sin does with pride - thinking that they were better than the person next to them. And because they thought they were better they didn’t think that their sin was as bad, so of course they were more welcome at the table. Dietrich Bohnhoffer points out that the more isolated we are the more power sin has over us, and the more we become involved in sin, the more isolated we become. 

Friends, it is time that we come before God and confess. Confess the times we have acted like the church in Corinth. The times pride has tricked us into thinking our sin isn’t as bad as our neighbors. Let us confess, and then open ourselves up to the transformation that can come by remembering who we are - as the people who hunger and thirst for true communion with God and with one another. Amen. 

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