Coming to the Table

We had the nicest sermon on taking communion a few Sundays ago. The scripture was from 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. For me, it was a beautiful reminder that you and I are always welcome at the Lord's table.

It is only when we come to supper with the Lord that we can receive His Power and His Grace. It is here we can be washed clean and rest in God's presence. The blessing is that we can come just as we are. . . no, you do not need to be perfect and without sin - an impossibility that it seems I, at least, am ever striving to attain. I think that I am often tempted to judge myself and other people, as to whether they are worthy to partake. I'm not sure if this is something that I grew up with in the Church, or something that I picked up from the world, but the thing is - I don't get to decide. The Lord has invited everyone to come to the table. Everyone means just that, everyone - the blatent sinner, the unbeliever, you, and me. Some of the sermon highlights:

• When we prohibit people from coming to the Lord's table they cannot receive the power of Jesus. When we come to the Table of the Lord we let Jesus show Himself to us.
• While there, we need to enjoy the feast for all it's worth.
• Unusual prayer is fitting at the Lord's table.This is the place to bring your most outrageous and impossible requests.
• Jesus can flow His wholeness into any part of my life (or yours) that is broken. It is here that we receive God's cleansing.

Isn't this all such a mystery and such a great picture of how outrageous and upside down it is to be a Christian. We can't reflect God's glory if we are not nourished by His body and blood. We must turn the other cheek and forgive seventy times seven, we must go and tell this strange and unbelievable message to people that don't know Him. We must follow His creed of loving our neighbor as ourselves. Not just the neighbor that we find it easy to like, but also the neighbor that we find reprehensible and unlikeable. Who else follows a religion like this?

I'm reading an interesting book: Take This Bread by Sara Miles. Sara's ancestors were Christians on both her mother and father's sides. Her mom and dad however, rejected the faith. Sara had no interest in the Christian lifestyle. Until . . . one day for reasons unknown to her she stopped by a church and took communion. She knew nothing about God, she just sort of followed the routine of the people in the church, but taking the bread and wine changed her. I'm still learning about her journey, but am struck by her stories of the people in the church who we might turn out, and who are actually the sort of people that Jesus hung out with. I'm struck anew by the fact that it's not my job to judge, but rather to love. How to love without judging? How to speak to the wrong without alienating the wrongdoer, and is that even my role? Do we only point the way to Love and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit?

These are the sorts of questions rolling around in my brain. I'm thankful that I can be nourished by God's body every day, and that His Holy Spirit is accessible to me every day, not just at communion. I'm thankful that I'm not the Judge, and that, even though I don't know the answers to my questions, that I can count on the One who knows all the answers to lead me down the right paths as long as I entrust myself to Him.