Christ for the World

from my message on World Communion Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014, from Philippians 3:4b-14

I got to thinking about it this past week.  It was exactly 40 years ago that I found myself worshiping at Niccholson Square Methodist Church in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Here's how I got there.  I was a farmboy from the Panhandle of Texas and hadn't really traveled much.  I had been to Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado.  But I had received a Rotary Foundation Fellowship that allowed me to study anywhere I wanted to in the world.  I chose Edinburgh University.

I thought that they talked funny.  Ye looking all pealy wally (sickly, ashen faced).  If ye can say it's a braw, bricht, moon lit nicht ta nicht, ye all richt, ye ken (if you can say it's a bold, bright moon light night tonight, you're alright, you know).  Whooo r yu (who are you)?

They thought I talked funny.  "My name is Ly--un."  "Pleased to meet your Leon." "No, it's Ly-un."  We Texans make one syllable words into two.

I arrived in Edinburgh at the end of September, 1974.  I didn't know a single soul.  I lived in a bed-sit, a family rented me a room with breakfast for a pound a day, 4 floors up in tenement housing, at 52 Leith Walk.  At the end of my first week there, Sunday came around.  I was used to attending worship.  I found Niccholson Square Methodist Church, only 2 Methodist churches in this city of 1/2 million, next to the campus.

Worship was very similar to here.  They sang hymns, had prayers, read scripture, received a sermon.  It was the first Sunday of October, and they had the sacrament of communion.  The preacher said it was World Communion Sunday.  As I knelt there and received the bread and juice, it hit me.  People in Littlefield, Texas, 4,000 miles and 6 time zones away, were also taking communion this day.  People in Australia, Africa, Asia were also sharing in this meal.  What a large table!  Christ came for the whole world.  Every nation, language, tribe, ethnicity is included.

After worship, I was hanging around talking with the preacher and some other families.  One of the families asked if I had lunch plans.  I didn't. They invited me into their home.  I felt like the sacrament of communion was continued at their dining table as I was accepted there.  They didn't ask who my parents were, how old I was, what grades I made, what my political beliefs were, or where I was on the theological spectrum.  They simply accepted me as another follower of Christ.

In this passage of scripture, Paul gives his credentials, noting how righteous and educated and holy he is.  However, he says that none of that matters at all.  All of those accolades are worth nothing compared to knowing Jesus as Lord.

Today, at this table, we won't be checking ID's.  All are welcome here.  There are many who may not know that they are welcome here.  You may be called to extend this sacrament, to take it home, to take it into the world, so all can come home.

Ronnie is doing that with the English Conversation Class with the Matu community in East Austin.  Watch the video of one project that you might do on ReThink Church day Plus One, on Oct. 19.

I hope you are feeling called to your particular project where you can extend Christ's love out into the world.  I hope you are feeling called to inviting your Plus One, that friend, relative, associate, or neighbor to serve alongside you.  Please go online to register how you will extend this world communion feast on Oct. 19.  There are many people who are hungry, not just for food, but also for shelter, for relationships, for meaning.  The good news is that Christ came for the world, the whole world.