"An Eating Disorder"
July 4, 2004

The New Testament Lesson: I Corinthians 11: 23 - 33

Instruct people on how to make their communion effective

I.  The Purpose of Communion is to put us in contact with Christ
   A. Preparing for communion, I started thinking about my first experience.
        1. It was not a pretty sight.
        2. Watching my brother become confirmed in Congregational church
            a. I was nine at the time.
            b. As part of the service, they celebrated communion.
        3. I rarely went to worship. Mom just took me to Sunday School
            a. I had been given no instruction on what communion was.
            b. When they started passing the trays, I thought, “Great! A Sanck!”
            c. When they got to me, I took several of the little “cookies” before mom saw what I was doing.
            d. Being ex-Catholic, she was horrified.
            e. At her reaction, I was simply terrified.
        4. Fortunately, I got over the trauma.
   B. But, I wonder how many adult Christians do any better than I did.
        1. Do we really know what communion is about?
        2. Do we approach it as we should?
        3. Do we attain the power that it is supposed to bring us?
   C. Our passage: Paul’s warning to a church that had an eating disorder.
        1. When they gathered together, they mistreated the sacrament.
        2. For them, it was nothing more than a big church party.
            a. They brought lots of food and wine.
            b. Some got drunk before the rest had arrived.
            c. Communion was anything other than about Jesus.
   D. But Communion is all about our Remembering of Jesus.
        1. More than simply calling to mind memories of Jesus.
        2. It is a spiritual process of focusing on all that Jesus was and did.
        3. In prayer during communion, we reach out to our Lord.
        4. When we do that, the Holy Sprit causes a miracle: we connect!
            a. More than simply thinking about Jesus.
            b. The Spirit causes Jesus presence to actually exist with us.
            c. We call it “the real presence of Jesus.”
   E. When we open ourselves in this way, Grace is poured into us.
        1. The power of the Cleansing of the Spirit.
        2. The power of being able to walk in the Spirit and be like Christ.
        3. The power to transform our lives and our world is given to us.

II.  But Communion isn’t magic; demands mental and emotional involvement
   A. The miracle of communion doesn’t happen automatically.
        1. Communion is not a magic act.
            a. It is not a ritual that generates power apart from our involvement.
            b. It will not bring us power without our participation.
        2. In the past, it has been treated like a magic act in some churches.
            a. The Priest was the magician.
            b. The people simply had to sit there and let the Priest do his work.
            c. As long as they showed up, they got the benefits.
            d. In fact, famous magic words came from this: hocus pocus.
            e. Actually a corruption of the Latin: “Hoc est meus corpus.” (English: This is my body, broken for you.)
   B. We may still have an eating disorder.
        1. How do you participate in Communion?  Are you actively involved?
        2. I know that some of us are not.
            a. Instead of thinking about Jesus, we just let our minds wander.
            b. We think about the people next to us.
            c. We think about all we have to get done.
            d. We contemplate on where to go to eat after worship.
            e. Maybe we just worry about how long the service is going
        3. When we do this, we fail to receive benefit of being in communion.
        4. True participation takes some real effort and concentration
   C. We believe that to benefit from Christ presence we must be involved.
        1. We must use our minds and focus on the person and work of Christ.
            a. We call to minds the things that Christ taught us.
            b. We meditate on the nature of Jesus’ character.
            c. We contemplate the sacrifice of our Lord because of our sins.
        2. We also open our hearts to the emotions of those thoughts.
            a. We realize the extent of the pain and suffering of Jesus.
            b. We agonize over the wrongs we have done that made it necessary.
            c. We rejoice in the love and mercy that God has shown for us.

     Friends, Communion is an important resource for our Spiritual lives.  It is essential for being the people God has called us to be and living the lives God has set before us.  But, it can not help us if we aren’t engaged as we are instructed to be.  Paul’s warning, “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord.” still applies today.  We must come to this table with our spiritual eyes open.  We are to look at ourselves in the light of Christ’s love and sacrifice, open ourselves to the healing and forgiving presence of Christ and honor the great sacrifice given for us.  Then we can come and receive the grace God has for us as Jesus is present in our midst.

And as you go from this place, may you walk in the way of Christ Jesus and May God always find you faithful!