World Communion Sunday is exactly what it sounds like: a time for the world to celebrate communion. It was started in the 1930s by the Presbyterians and soon spread to other branches of the church. If only for a day, Christians around the world put aside their differences to partake in a common meal. May the meal remind us that we are one in Christ Jesus.
Our pastor put it nicely, reminding us that the Table lets us know that we are not alone, that we have a family, that we have a home. The Table does not belong to us, but to God, which is why we receive rather than take the meal. Yet, God's Table is bigger than we know. Thus, the sermon's title: A Big Table.
Yet, I believe the sermon could (should?) have been titled, The Table Tells The Tale. At the end of the sermon, after describing God's Big Table, we were asked to think about how we define family because we eat with our family. In essence, he was asking what walls we erect around the Table, for, although it is really God's Table, we try to control who has access.
We can talk a good talk and we can say anyone is welcome around the Table. But, really, is anyone welcome? If so, why don't we mix it up on World Communion Sunday and gather together with those of other traditions? If so, why is it that we are the most segregated at 11am on Sunday morning? If anyone is welcome, why do we not reach out to those long-lost kinfolk, the ones with whom we haven't spoken in years, if ever?
When it comes to assessing our sense of hospitality, a good place to look is around the Table. How welcoming are we?
The Table tells the tale.
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