Sunday is World Communion Sunday. This event is celebrated around the world inviting Christian communities to share with each other remembering Jesus’ transformation of a Jewish custom to a new meaning for his followers. Recently I attended a meeting in Memphis TN where one of our bishops, Bishop Henry Williamson preached the sermon at Communion service. The sermon was entitled, “The Power of Holy Communion.” I’d like to share some of his points with you.
First, Bishop Williamson recalled his own experiences as a minister in Chicago, where he would sometimes miss Sunday dinner in order to take Communion to the sick and shut-in of the congregation. He spoke of one particular incident where he visited a man in the hospital who was so sick he couldn’t have food or water by mouth. The pastor of the church broke the wafer, dipped it in the juice and rubbed the wafer across the man’s lips. The man’s grateful and visible response was proof positive of Holy Communion’s power. He reminded the ministers present that this is one responsibility of ministry that should be taken very seriously.
He went on to say that Holy Communion brings us into the presence of God, deals with our sins, shortcomings, faults, and mistakes, calls us to holy living, forgives us of our sins, gets rid of guilt-ridden complexes, directs us in the reciprocity of forgiveness when we leave the table. We begin to experience this power when we first eat of the bread, which represents Christ’s body, whose suffering has the sufficiency to meet our every need. The suffering reveals the gravity of sin. God hates sin because it destroys people, the object of God’s love.
Christ suffered to save us from sin. Love is God’s motive, and the body shows the power of God’s love to us. It also calls us to love one another. The power of Holy Communion gives us the opportunity to change our lives for the better so we can live holy. The cup, which represents the blood of Christ, is his life being poured out for us, “a ransom, a payment for the sins of the whole world.
Finally, the power of the Holy Communion calls us to look to a great future when Christ comes back to receive us unto himself.
Holy Communion is both a celebration and a remembrance. We celebrate the power that is symbolized in the taking of the bread and the cup. We remember Jesus’ death, which according to our Christian belief atones for the sins of the whole world. This is one of the things that united the early Church. After praying and teaching, they came as one to remember and celebrate.
World Communion Sunday reminds us that we do have something in common. We believe that Jesus died for all of us. It is one act that transcends denominations and unites us as one. Have a blessed week.
