The Miracle of Communion

Sermon October 2, 2022

Scripture: Luke 22:14-20

Revised Standard Version

The Institution of the Lord’s Supper

14 And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you I shall not eat it[a] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after supper, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.[b]

Today we shared communion with our community, this church body. We started with an invitation to this “holy mystery”, and now let’s look at miracles through the ages that have to do with this very holy meal. I have three stories to share. So sit back and enjoy story time!

First, let me tell you the story of the first Passover. It all began about 3200 years ago when Egypt was run by Pharaoh, a cruel king who used enslaved Israelites to build the beautiful palaces and pyramids. Moses, born an Israelite, had been taken into Pharaoh's family by his mother and raised side by side with him. Once Moses was older, he learned of his roots, and asked that his people be freed. Pharaoh said no.

God brought 9 plagues onto Egypt, but Pharaoh would not free them. We pick up the story at this point, as written in Exodus 12, using the version from The Message translation.

Exodus

12 1-10 God said to Moses and Aaron while still in Egypt, “This month is to be the first month of the year for you. Address the whole community of Israel; tell them that on the tenth of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one lamb to a house. If the family is too small for a lamb, then share it with a close neighbor, depending on the number of persons involved. Be mindful of how much each person will eat. Your lamb must be a healthy male, one year old; you can select it from either the sheep or the goats. Keep it penned until the fourteenth day of this month and then slaughter it—the entire community of Israel will do this—at dusk. Then take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which you will eat it. You are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire, that night, along with bread, made without yeast, and bitter herbs. Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled in water; make sure it’s roasted—the whole animal, head, legs, and innards. Don’t leave any of it until morning; if there are leftovers, burn them in the fire.

11 “And here is how you are to eat it: Be fully dressed with your sandals on and your stick in your hand. Eat in a hurry; it’s the Passover to God.

12-13 “I will go through the land of Egypt on this night and strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, whether human or animal, and bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am God. The blood will serve as a sign on the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you—no disaster will touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.

14-16 “This will be a memorial day for you; you will celebrate it as a festival to God down through the generations, a fixed festival celebration to be observed always. You will eat unraised bread (matzoth) for seven days: On the first day get rid of all yeast from your houses—anyone who eats anything with yeast from the first day to the seventh day will be cut off from Israel. The first and the seventh days are set aside as holy; do no work on those days. Only what you have to do for meals; each person can do that.

17-20 “Keep the Festival of Unraised Bread! This marks the exact day I brought you out in force from the land of Egypt. Honor the day down through your generations, a fixed festival to be observed always. In the first month, beginning on the fourteenth day at evening until the twenty-first day at evening, you are to eat unraised bread. For those seven days not a trace of yeast is to be found in your houses. Anyone, whether a visitor or a native of the land, who eats anything raised shall be cut off from the community of Israel. Don’t eat anything raised. Only matzoth.”

21-23 Moses assembled all the elders of Israel. He said, “Select a lamb for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the bowl of blood and smear it on the lintel and on the two doorposts. No one is to leave the house until morning. God will pass through to strike Egypt down. When he sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, God will pass over the doorway; he won’t let the destroyer enter your house to strike you down with ruin.

24-27 “Keep this word. It’s the law for you and your children, forever. When you enter the land which God will give you as he promised, keep doing this. And when your children say to you, ‘Why are we doing this?’ tell them: ‘It’s the Passover-sacrifice to God who passed over the homes of the Israelites in Egypt when he hit Egypt with death but rescued us.’”

The people bowed and worshiped.

Today, there are approximately 14,800,000 people practicing Judaism around the world, who practice the Passover Seder meal annually, 3200 years after the first Passover. That is truly a miracle.

Our next story is the story of the first communion, the Lord’s Supper. It happened the night that Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples. It comes from Luke 22 once again from The Message translation.

Luke 22 1-2 The Feast of Unleavened Bread, also called Passover, drew near. The high priests and religion scholars were looking for a way to do away with Jesus but, fearful of the people, they were also looking for a way to cover their tracks.

7-8 The Day of Unleavened Bread came, the day the Passover lamb was butchered. Jesus sent Peter and John off, saying, “Go prepare the Passover for us so we can eat it together.”

9 They said, “Where do you want us to do this?”

10-12 He said, “Keep your eyes open as you enter the city. A man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him home. Then speak with the owner of the house: The Teacher wants to know, ‘Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ He will show you a spacious second-story room, swept and ready. Prepare the meal there.”

13 They left, found everything just as he told them, and prepared the Passover meal.

14-16 When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, and said, “You’ve no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. It’s the last one I’ll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God.”

17-18 Taking the cup, he blessed it, then said, “Take this and pass it among you. As for me, I’ll not drink wine again until the kingdom of God arrives.” 19 Taking bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, given for you. Eat it in my memory.” 20 He did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you.

Today, there are about 2 billion, 380 million Christians around the world. Since there are almost 8 billion people total, that is almost a of third of the population. Most of them are taking communion today, along with us. Roman Catholics represent 1.3 billion out of the 2 and a half billion Christians. Devout Catholics go to mass daily and take communion daily. Many other churches like ours celebrate monthly, on the first of the month. This tradition has survived for over 2000 years. Truly a miracle!

My final story is from my friend Dave, who has recounted this mystical experience he had years ago, yet is still so clear in his mind.

Dave was living in Newtown CT with his wife. They attended an Episcopalian church because that was her choice. The rituals are very high in Episcopalian churches, while Dave is more of a plain person. But he participated anyway.

He was standing in their bedroom getting dressed when suddenly a white light came down from above into the top of this head and out his hands, he felt a divine connection, and Dave felt full of the Holy Spirit. He didn’t say anything to his wife because a discussion might make them late for church.

Every Sunday is Communion Sunday at this Episcopal church. They don’t have small cups of juice; they don’t use the tincture method where you dip your own bread. Instead, you go up front and kneel on cushions that have Bible stories embroidered on them, while putting your elbows on a rail. Dave was there, waiting until the Rector came along and placed a wafer on Dave’s tongue. Notice, you, the parishioner, don’t touch it. He digested his wafer. Next a woman came behind with an urn about 8” high and 5” in diameter at the rim, made from earthenware. The lip was a half inch thick of pottery and was full of wine, not grape juice! She poured a little bit into each mouth and wiped the rim with a cloth to clean it.

She got to Dave, and he was still feeling very much in the “Spirit” from getting dressed. When she poured the wine into his mouth, Dave felt connected with the body of Christ and the body of all Christians who have ever had communion since the Last Supper. He felt he was a part of the body of Christians. “This is my body” – Dave felt like a part of the body at that point. He felt “in the spirit” from the bedroom to the rail, at least a half hour. The feeling of being connected was something that happened the moment the cup touched his lips. Almost like a kiss.

That feeling didn’t last long. It was like an inspiration, like “This IS Communion”. This cup had touched everyone else’s lips in the church, the big church. Dave feels that if it was metal or plastic, it would not have had the same mystical effect. Probably because in Jesus’ time, there was only one cup at the Lord’s Supper, made of pottery. He envisions the cup of blessing on any Sunday in that church would have gone down the line of 40 people, and after they were done, then the next 40 and on and on. Dave still craves that experience, the experience of sharing wine and blessing and promise.

Miracles. All bringing us closer to feeling the Oneness of God. Shared experiences of billions of people over thousands of years. Let us pray.

Dear One, we have such gratitude for your love, your forgiveness, and your blessing. We are just single people with a shared experience of mystery and miracle that you have given us today. Please let us take this in. Please let us remember you and all those who have ever shared in Passover or communion. May our lives be blessed by the grape and the grain, by the experience and story shared here in this hour, and by the communion with all. May we feel your Oneness. Amen.