A Great Banquet

October 3rd, is World Communion Sunday. It is one of my two favorite worship celebrations of the year. I guess a minister's perspective is a little different. Christmas and Easter, as wonderful as they are, end up being exhausting too. The two celebrations that I hold dearest, though are World Communion and Pentecost. These speak to me of the current life of the church.

World Communion moves me each year. I know that as we sit down to supper on Saturday, New Zealand Christian gather around their Communion table beginning the celebration of the Lord's Supper. As we sleep believers in Africa take communion. The table is different from ours. The language too. The colors surrounding the sanctuary may be quite vivid. But they continue this great banquet of God that spreads, hour by hour, across the globe. If we wake early on October 3rd, Christians in Cape Verde and the Azores will be sharing bread around the table of Christ. We take our turn as we participate in Sunday worship. When we are at home later in the day, Christians on the West Coast of the US will celebrate the great meal. Aleutian and Samoan Christians will be among the last to gather at the Lord's table.

We often disagree about how communion should be done, and who can participate, BUT for this one Sunday we call our attention to the fact, that no matter what denomination or practice, we all celebrate the Lord's Supper. The global community of faith breaks bread and pours the cup to remember that Jesus Christ is our unity. We haven't figured out yet, how that works. But on World Communion Sunday we remind ourselves that God is working around the world. We experience a foretaste of the Rule of God, who can gather us together despite our differences. We know the richness of the diversity of God's people and take our turn at sitting at table in the Kingdom of God.

What does it take to be God's disciple?

I've been enjoying the summer Bible Study on Mark. It was only 4 weeks long, but it was a great way to become better acquainted with the book. The group of disciples studying with me made it an even better experience. One week we explored the book of Mark by looking at what it had to say about discipleship. We came up with an intimidating and challenging list!

*faith/trust

ability to see the big picture

understanding

prayer

ability to heal

*humility

*servanthood

inclusive – no discriminating

*selflessness

is loyal, steadfast

staying ‘awake’ – being mindful

steadfast, even in the face of personal threat

ability to weep, be remorseful, to repent

willingness to touch others

ability to be moved with compassion

willingness to disregard the rules for the sake of compassion or need

take up your cross

put God first

The qualities that have a star (*) beside them were mentioned in more than one scripture passage.

This lesson has stuck in my mind for a couple of reasons. First, it is not even a comprehensive list, and yet it is overwhelming. Trying to live up to following God by being all these things is a very tall order!

But it has also stuck in my mind because it is not like other job descriptions I see. There are few "measurable" qualities on this list. The qualifications are often attitudes or leanings of the heart. They are, for the most part, qualities of being -- as opposed to qualities of doing.

Being on the path of God is more about our way of being than it is about doing. Oh, there is definitely doing involved in following God and putting God first. But that doing comes out of hearts that are humble, faithful, understanding and prayerful.

It would be a lot easier if it was only about doing. But it isn't. Walking on God's path changes us from the inside out!

ALL CREATION GROANS

Many of us have watched the unfolding horror in the Gulf of Mexico unfold with aching hearts. Pictures bring home just a small part of the reality of the threat and devastation. For me the picture that tore at my heart was a close up of a pelican, covered in brown oil, flailing in the water. The pelican looked panicky and desperate – or maybe I am reading into it my own feelings about this ecological nightmare.

Something about that picture of the pelican made it plain to me that God’s creation is groaning in pain and sorrow. No matter who we feel is responsible, or what we believe the answer to be – there is something elemental happening here. The soiling of good water, healthy wildlife and the widespread ruin of the “good earth” is heartbreaking.

It is right that our hearts ache for the despoiling of the earth God has made and maintains and loves. I believe that what happens in the Gulf affects us all. The more we “muck-up” our world, the harder living becomes for all. Sometimes, we can sense only a bit of that feeling of being out of kilter. Other times, like when I viewed the picture of the oil laden pelican, our hearts cry out with pain.

There are some things we can do. First, is pray. Pray for wisdom and knowledge to stop the flow of oil. Pray for those whose lives have been turned upside down by this massive spill. Hold the whole situation in the light of God’s love. We can also donate to organizations that are helping in the clean up – like those that are helping wildlife.

Another, much harder step we can take is to begin to cut our dependence on gas. That is a very hard pill for us to swallow, though. Most of us haven’t even wanted to think about this. Maybe that is one more thing for us to pray about! What should we do? What should I do?

Every week in worship we say the Lord's Prayer. Most of us have long since had it memorized. I know that with me, when I am used to saying the same thing over and over again, I can lose the depth and meaning of the words. Often another 'angle' is needed to understand words that are so familiar to us.

In the New Zealand Book of Common Worship, there is a version of the Lord's prayer that opens my eyes -- and maybe yours as well. It is, I believe, a translation from the Maori version of the Lord's Prayer, and it holds many surprises for those of us long used to the "Our Father" version. Those surprises can both enlarge and enrage us. We have grown used to saying and understanding this prayer 'our' way. But this Maori version reminds us clearly that there are other ways of understanding this prayer.

Try it - tell me what you think!

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain bearer, Life giver,

Source of all that is and that shall be,

Father and mother of us all,

Loving God, in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!

The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!

With the bread we need for today, feed us.

In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.

Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!

Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth!

In time of temptation and test, strengthen us.

From trials too great to endure, spare us.

From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For your reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.

The Avowal

As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon the air
and air sustains them,
so I would learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit's deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.

Denise Levertov

I was introduced to this poem just last year at a time in my life when there was much uncertainty. It has served as both comfort and challenge to me. Jo Potter’s recent situation has reminded me of this poem again. The early days after her surgery when prayer was all we could offer on Jo’s behalf, reminded me of trying to “learn to attain freefall and float into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace.” It wasn’t easy to trust God’s deep embrace. It seemed to us that more information, more explanation would ease our worry and move us forward. But the truth was (and always is) that it is only in that deep embrace of our Creator’s Spirit that we can find peace and know the grace that surrounds us always.

I offer the poem to you, hoping that in your times of uncertainty and fear, you might be reminded to trust. We all need somewhere to go when we are unsure of ourselves and the world around us seems to be falling apart. There is a place to go – to the Spirit’s deep embrace. There is someone to trust – the God whose grace is all encompassing. Learning to trust is one of the hardest lessons we adults will ever know. In this nature, and our children can teach us the truth – only when we trust do we find the deepest lessons of faith.

Pastor Susan

Enjoy the Irises

Of all the beautiful flowers of spring, my favorite is the iris. Until a few years ago, I thought most irises were purple, or purple and white. Then I was introduced to a place called the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in Montclair NJ. The gardens contain over 10,000 irises in 3,000 different varieties and produces over 100,000 blooms through the seasom. It is an amazing place - there are purple, red, black, yellow, blue, and orange varieties - among many others. The place is a rainbow of color and an amazing place of beauty.

The iris is a delicate plant that lasts longer on the stem than when it is clipped and put in a vase for show. One day it is beautiful, the next day is it withered and dying. They don't last long - but while they do, they make the most of it.

Irises remind me that beauty can be fleeting, so it is important to drink it in while it is around. It is a life lesson for me. For surely like many of you, I walk too quickly through this life and miss so much of the beauty around me. That splendor is all around us in spring - with the weeping cherry on the green or the ornamental pears along South Street. But the truth is there is magnificence around us all the time - in the created world, in the people around us, even within ourselves.

The beauty is there in our own face and heart, in the hearts of others -- take some precious time to see it, drink it in, and thank God for such amazing grace!