Psalm 26; 1 Corinthians 11.23-27
I was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin … a town of 50,000 souls on the shores of Lake Michigan … known for its cheese and sausage … and the Kohler Company … with its notable bathroom fixtures.
I recall lying in bed at night, listening to the mournful moan of the fog horn … the light house on the pier, with its sweeping beam of light, warning ships on their way to other ports, or headed into harbor.
All along the shore line, jetties were built … sizable piers, concrete structures, like tines on a fork, reaching into the water to break the waves, to protect the shoreline …
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| North Point Jetties |
I remember my brother fishing from these jetties, coming home with Lake Michigan Perch … on summer days, folks would be on the jetties, to sun and frolic, picnic and play.
I remember those jetties when they were new … construction first began in 1937 … now, they’re beaten up a bit by the passage of time and the relentless work of waves … but still, doing their work … bear the brunt of the storms, protect the shoreline.
The LORD’s Table is a spiritual jetty … built by God, to break the waves of life that threaten to undo us …
Psalm 62.6, God is my rock and my salvation …
To protect the shoreline of our soul, that we be not overwhelmed, when winds and waves threaten to undo us …
One of the most important things we can do is to acknowledge the storms of life … when our spirit is hammered by adversity … when we’re weary to the bone … when hope is only a distant memory …
Americans, with our can-do attitude, have difficulty with this part of life … “put on a happy face,” … “walk on the sunny side of the street” … “follow the Yellow Brick Road” … and it’s all good, but the story of life has other chapters, and stories to tell … elements, bit and pieces … ragged and torn, dark and deadly …
The LORD’s Table is an invitation to face, squarely and honestly, what we’re up against!
Why would the City of Sheboygan build all of those jetties if there were no storms?
Why the Cross, if there be no sin?
Why the Light of Christ, if there be no darkness?
Why the Love of God, if there be no hate?
The Cross, the Light, the Love of God - these things help us face the realities of pain and sorrow … failed dreams, lost opportunities, reversals of health, financial distress … betrayal by friends, and self-betrayal … the inner demons that plague all of us, the shadows of fear and loneliness.
And the giant horrors of life … things way beyond our control … families and nations devastated by war … homes lost in flood and fire … the untimely death of loved ones.
The LORD’s Table is a jetty built by God to absorb the storms when they come … the LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want … yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil … thou preparest a table before me, in the presence of mine enemies …
Today, World Communion Sunday … let’s do some Presbyterian homework …
World Communion Sunday made its debut in 1933, through the vision and work of the Rev. Hugh Thompson Kerr, Shadyside Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Kerr conceived of the idea when he served as Moderator of the General Assembly, the national meeting, of the Presbyterian Church, 1930.
Presbyterian Churches took up the idea, and then other denominations, as well … in 1940, the Federal Council of Churches adopted it, and promoted it throughout the Christian world … the first Sunday of October, World Communion Sunday …
On this day, millions of Christians stand by the Table of our LORD … we remember the night he was betrayed …
when a great storm arose,
the winds of hell, and the waves of hate …
a storm to destroy hope and peace,
a storm to breach the defenses of the strongest,
to overcome and wash away all that’s good, decent, and bright.
Crucify him, the crowds cried, the officials agreed, the powers that be wanted none of his nonsense … orders were given, the cross was ready … ready for the Son of Man to die, the Lamb of God who takes upon himself the sins of the world.
That night in Jerusalem, all is dark and doomed, Jesus takes bread and a cup - ancient symbols of deliverance and hope … reminders of the ancient feast of Passover.
The blood of the lamp daubed on the doorframes of homes in the land of slavery … the Spirit of Death draws near, and sees the blood of the lamb, and passes over that home.
And in the wilderness, on their way to the Promised Land, manna in the morning …
Jesus takes bread and breaks it … he takes the cup and blesses it … this is my body, this is my blood … I take the sins of the world to the cross … I take into my flesh every hurt and injury imaginable … I take into my soul the deepest sorrows … I bear the brunt of the storm …
Jesus does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, so we can do for God and the world what we ourselves must do … what we have to do …
love the world unto life,
be the voice reason in unreasonable times …
point to the truth when others embrace the lies …
define power in terms of giving rather than taking …
keep our eyes on God so we see to the end of time …
We gather at the Table, in the Company of the Saints … if we listen carefully, we hear them sing … we hear their words of encouragement:
You can do it.
We did it, and you will, too.
We did it as best we could.
And sometimes we failed …
But God is good enough to make up for it.
God is kind enough to forgive.
God builds upon what we do and makes it all the more better.
We did it.
And you are doing it, too - just fine.
The saints go marching in … they lay down their burdens and join the chorus of the victors … they pray for us - all the time …
Here we are, doing what so many have done before us … what so many will do after we’re gone, what people of faith are doing right now all around the world … this is my body, this is my blood … all that I am, for all that you are.
It’s World Communion Sunday, thanks to the Rev. Hugh Thompson Kerr and Shadyside Presbyterian Church … and thanks be to Jesus, who hosts the Table … the Table of faith, hope, and love …
A jetty - to protect the shoreline of our soul.
To God be the glory.
Hallelujah and Amen!
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