For many years now the 1st Sunday of October has been called Worldwide Communion Sunday. The spirit of the designation is that on that Sunday Christians all over the world will celebrate communion on the same day as a sign of unity. Practically speaking it appears that it may be more of a North American thing, with maybe some European buy in. Also it really speaks more to those traditions (such as Presbyterianism) that do not already gather at the table of faith every week (Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran for example).
At any rate, many United Churches, including St. Paul's, have made a concerted effort to mark Worldwide Communion Sunday over the years. Which mean that this Sunday we will gather together at the table of faith to eat and drink together. If you are joining us online you are invited, or even encouraged, to have bread and juice available so we can all eat and drink together across the electrons and miles.
The Scripture Reading this week is 1 Corinthians 11:17-34
The Sermon title is Table Fellowship
Early Thoughts: There is something special about eating together. It can be a great way to create and build community. Discussion over food has a slightly different feel to it somehow.
When done well that is.
Paul has heard that the people in Corinth have got the idea of table fellowship all wrong. The old class distinctions are showing up at the table of faith. Privilege is leading some to eat really well while others get the crumbs. And he is a little bit annoyed about it!
From the beginning of the Jesus movement eating together has been a key feature of the community. Indeed Jesus was routinely criticized for eating and drinking with the 'wrong sorts of people'. Table fellowship in the early church appears to have included that piece we now call Communion/Eucharist/Lord's Supper but also a whole meal where the community gathered, likely in the evening after the day's work was done, to eat at the same table. And this is where the Corinthians have gotten it wrong.
All evidence suggests that the Corinthian church had a mixture of free folk and slaves, wealthy folk and those who served them. From what Paul says it seems that the wealthy, those who have a more leisure-filled life, show up early and start the feast. Then those who have to work longer show up and the best food and wine are already gone. Paul has been trying to bring the Corinthians into a vision of the Kingdom, where there is no longer slave or free, Jew or Greek, man or woman (to borrow from his letter to the Galatians). In the Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed and Paul shares there is no place for some to feast and others get crumbs. Table fellowship in the church needs to mean that all are welcome to eat and all have an equal share in what is served.
In part this is why I see it as so important that we have what is called an open table. In some traditions only members of that denomination, or even of that congregation, can be served when communion comes around. Indeed within United Church history this has been the case. When I was growing up the expectation was that only confirmed members would take communion (though I don't think there were gatekeepers standing there with lists), with some people having memories of the Elder coming to visit before the quarterly communion service and leaving a communion card or token showing that one was in fact a ember in good standing. But our understanding of communion has changed over time and by the time I was a young adult the common language of United Church invitations tot he table reminded us that the table belongs to God, not to the church. Because it is God's table and God is the host all who seek to live in God's way are welcome to eat and drink at it. The gatekeeper is the person making the choice, not some church official. Paul exhorts the Corinthians about those who partake in an unworthy fashion (it is my understanding that this is part of why Roman Catholics are supposed to go to Confession before being served at Mass) but the determination is left up to the people themselves.
There is something special about gathering with friends at the table of faith. It might be an intricately carved high altar in a medieval cathedral, or a rickety table in a mud hut, or a flat rock along the riverside, or even a folded down tailgate. The flat surface itself is less important than the fact that people of faith gather together, share prayers, remember Christ, and eat together as beloved children of God.
Shall we gather at the table?
--Gord
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