“From Bread and Cup to Faith and Giving”

Sermon by the Rev. Caela Simmons Wood

First Congregational UCC of Manhattan, KS

Matthew 26:26-29

October 2, 2022

Every year in October we put a special focus on the Christian practice of stewardship, which I define as remembering that everything we have belongs to God and we are called to examine how to best share our resources to help build the God’s Realm of Justice and Peace here on earth. You know, just a light topic. 

Each year, our stewardship committee provides opportunities for us to reflect on how our own generosity sustains this particular community, First Congregational UCC. We hear testimonies in worship and we’re invited to make financial pledges of support for the coming year. This helps our church leadership create a budget that funds all our ministries. 

We often use a theme from the UCC and this year’s theme, “From Bread and Cup to Faith and Giving” wins the award for the longest title I’ve ever seen. I tried to think of a way to shorten it, acronym-ize it, something. But there it is in all its glory. 

But it’s a good one. Because our sacred texts are overflowing with stories about gathering around the Table, being fed and nourished, and then sharing the goodness we’ve found there. We’ve been discussing them for the past several weeks in our adult Sunday School class and the conversation has been rich. The “table” theme means we’re also going to get to have some fun fellowship hours in October - next Sunday you’re invited to bring a special bread to share that reflects your heritage and the Sunday after that the Deacons and Ministry of the Decorative Scissors have a crafty project for us. 

The Table is at the center of our faith. No wonder Jesus chose to use it as he prepared to leave his disciples. The story of the Passover meal, which we heard earlier, is all about freedom. The story of manna in the desert reminds us to trust God. And who can forget how Elijah was saved from his despair when the Spirit offered a nap and a snack?  Who can forget the loaves and fishes, which are all about abundance and caring for one another? We are a people of the Table. 

As we’ve talked about the Table in classl, we’ve reflected on how we first learned what Communion is and what we’ve learned by practicing it in various faith communities over the years. One of the things I’ve always loved about World Communion Sunday is how it helps us remember that although we follow Christ in this little corner of the world, we are truly a part of a global movement for healing. At the last church I served we had a table that was about 16 feet long and I often liked to ask the congregation to visualize it stretching out, out, out all the way around the globe and forwards and backwards in time. 

I don’t know what Communion means to you, but, one of the things I’ve noticed is that I tend to connect more with HOW it’s done rather than the words said about what it means. I mean, I guess we could all go read a treatise on the intricate theology of Communion, but it seems to me that this embodied practice is meant to be experienced. And it is through that experience that we come to understand - on a gut-level - what it’s all about. 

In our tradition, of course, the Table is open to all. No exceptions. A few years ago I was talking with a colleague from another tradition about having a shared worship service. We pondered having Communion but I said I wasn’t sure if that would work since, in his tradition, they don’t keep an open table. He was surprised and said, “Oh, but we DO keep an open table. The table is open to all baptized Christians.” I said, “Hmm. Well ours is ALL the way open. Like, I’ve served self-professed atheists, unbaptized folks, and Muslims who came forward.” It turns out we meant different things by all. 

We say the words that all are welcome at Christ’s Table every time we gather, but we also SHOW it in several ways. First, we do our best to offer bread in the sanctuary that everyone can eat. Ours is gluten-free since we know that’s a restriction for some people. And rather than offering a separate option for the gluten-free folks we ALL eat from the same loaf together. So no one set aside as separate. 

Second, we remind our folks who are Zooming that they can use whatever food or drink they have on hand. Jesus used the common foods of his day, so if you have coffee and a cinnamon roll, I think Jesus would approve. And while we invite people in the sanctuary to come up to receive the elements, we always send servers out to serve those who aren’t able to come forward for any reason. 

Third, we not only welcome people of all ages at the Table but we regularly invite and encourage children to serve Communion. I don’t know about you, but I find it extra-meaningful when a child serves me Communion because I am reminded of how much Jesus loved children and, well, kids, I kind of feel the same way. I think you’re pretty awesome. I know others around here do, too. 

As I’ve been thinking this week about how the HOW of our Communion speaks to the WHY of what we’re doing, I had something come into my mind that I wanted to share with you. Years ago, David and I were members of a Disciples of Christ congregation. They had a big metal bucket at Communion and people were invited to throw their loose change into it as they came forward so it could make a “joyful noise unto the Lord.” I loved watching kids throw their change in gleefully because I’ve often found Communion to be too stuffy and formal. After all, Jesus and his friends probably shared jokes and spilled wine and laughed at the table, right? 

But what troubled me about this joyful tradition was the way it conflated a financial offering with receiving Communion. It felt a little bit like paying an admission fee to get to the Table. 

I’ve thought about that church sometimes when I see our “Fill the Breadbasket” container here on Communion Sundays. I love that we’re reminding ourselves of the way coming to the Table, in turn, strengthens us to go out and feed others in a tangible way. We are fed so we can feed others. “From Bread and Cup to Faith and Giving,” right? 

But I wonder if we should consider moving the baskets to the side aisles. So that we get it in the right order. We don’t GIVE so that we can RECEIVE Christ’s presence. We RECEIVE Christ’s presence to overflowing and then we go out and GIVE to others. It’s a small thing that feels important. 

Jesus knew that small things were often the big things. Jesus knew that showing was almost always better than telling. Jesus knew that bodies matter, so he gave us a ritual where we literally take the Christ-force into our bodies to remind us that everything is holy. Jesus knew that gathering at the table with friends and enemies is what human-ing is all about. Jesus knew that we are prone to forget important things so he gave us this concrete thing to do to help us remember. Jesus knew that we are all hungry in so many ways, so he helped us remember to stay in touch with our need. 

Christians ever since have been gathering around tables together to be fed, nourished, sustained. And although many of us have missed the point by spending wayyyy too much time arguing about intricacies like who is welcome, what exactly happens to the elements, who is qualified to serve, and on and on - the Table remains. 

And the Table is always about what comes after. It’s about returning here again and again to remember who we are and who God is. It’s about being fed so we can feed others. It’s about moving from Bread and Cup to Faith and Giving. 

Thanks be to God.