Sermon No. 2

Draw A Velvet Curtain

Today we celebrate communion at St. Paul's. Seventh-day Adventist churches celebrate it once a quarter, and include a foot-washing preparatory service.

Communion is a high and holy celebration. Interestingly, one of you told me that we are too serious -- "the music is like a funeral. No one smiles." And yet another member told me I am not serious enough -- "too flippant," he said!

"Eucharist" is another word for communion. It is from the Greek eucharistia, or "Thanksgiving." We also call it "The Lord's Supper." Catholics call it the "Mass," altho now they usually call the entire service the "Mass."

It seems the early Christians "broke bread" whenever they met. It was originally a commemoration, or memorial of the night before the crucifixion. By the 13th century, the Catholic church developed "transubstantiation," the doctrine that the bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Jesus, while keeping only the appearance of bread and wine.

Lutherans and some others have modified the Catholic teaching and call it "consubstantiation," that the body and blood of Christ are in "real substantial presence" in the elements, but not literal! (Do you understand that? I don't.)

Most of us see the elements as symbols, or memorials to the sacrifice of Jesus. When he instituted the ritual, Jesus had not yet been crucified. He was still a living human man. The disciples did not understand the significance of what Jesus did that night. Sometimes I wonder whether we really understand it.

Unfortunately, we have left off the most significant part of the Lord's Supper, the preparation. Listen to this:

"Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love . . . so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him . . . When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.

"'Do you understand what I have done for you?' he asked them. 'You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.'" (John 13)

For whatever reason, that lovely preparatory service is omitted by most congregations now, including us!

In some churches, only members are permitted to take communion. That brings up an interesting question: Must one be a member of a church to be a Christian, to be saved?

No! Church membership is not a prerequisite to being a Christian. But -- I don't know of many people who reflect the attitudes and attributes of Jesus apart from active participation in a community of Faith. Of course, we all know "active" members of churches who don't reflect much of Jesus' attitudes and attributes. Some folks call them hypocrites.

I once heard a preacher say there's no better place for hypocrites than in church!

Church membership is much like "works." One is not saved by works, but one is not saved without works, either. It seems incredible that anyone committed to Jesus Christ can refuse to be a member of a church. But some of you do, and I'm glad you are here, member or not.

There have been "saints" who did not claim the name of Jesus. People like Ghandi, who did the works of Jesus and who lived the life-style of Jesus, but did not espouse his name, are fine examples of Christianity.

I have mentioned Wendy Schwartz before, the young Jewish lady active in the peace movement. She has never acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah, nor does she even believe in life after death. When asked why she does good deeds, she replied, "Because it's the right thing to do." I surely wish more Christians would do the right thing simply because "it's the right thing to do," with no tho't of reward, even heaven!

"Communion" is from the same root as community and commune . . . and communism! How about that!

As an aside, let me again lament the bastardizing of the word "communism." What a shame that a word with such a rich and holy etiology has been made a "dirty word" to most of us. The first Christians were communists, you know. All things in common! Everyone was equal to everyone else! No one was ever in need. No one stored up for only himself.

It didn't work -- not because the theory was wrong but because people were wrong. If the Christians had been more Christian, it would have been the epitome of what Jesus taught and prayed for. Unity, fellowship, brotherhood. Because some folks were lazy and didn't do their share, and because some folks were greedy and wanted more than their share, communism for early Christians had to be abandoned.

When Engels and Marx and Lenin tried to revive communism, they probably had good intentions. Maybe they really tho't they could institute an egalitarian society, a society in which all would be equal. Because of ego, greed and laziness their experiment culminated in the very antithesis of real egalitarianism -- a totalitarian government of repression and distortion.

My oldest son, Felix III, believed that communes were "the right way to live." For some time before he died, he lived in a commune. It didn't last. There have been very few successful communes. We humans are simply too human.

As another aside, let me warn you against gloating over the fall of "communism." We certainly praise God for America, and we surely condemn totalitarianism (euphemistically called Communism) and dictatorship.

But the issue is not all black and white! When Lucille and I were in the Soviet Union, we saw no unemployment, few homeless, and health care was available to everyone. Here in our capitalist society we have many homeless, and the gap between the rich and the poor has got significantly wider in recent years.

We don't have all the answers, but I am sure a smug attitude is not in order.

Communion . . . community. No one is an island. No one can live alone. We need each other. We can never be complete unless and until we all become "one," as Jesus prayed.

To answer the question again: No, Jesus did not call us to church membership; Yes, Jesus did call us to communion, to community. So I suggest that anyone who wants to be a genuine follower of Christ should be active in the Body of Christ, with or without membership.

To those who say, "I don't need a church to serve Christ" or "I'm a Christian; I just don't believe in organized religion," I believe that's usually a cop-out by people who want the benefits without the responsibility.

They want the church to be here when they are in trouble, and when they want invocations for their celebrations. They want the church to be here for christenings, weddings and funerals.

Have you noticed how many people bring their children to be christened and then rarely show up again, except on holidays or anniversaries? And those who want to be married in the church, but never attend? And those who want a church funeral for loved ones who had no time for church?

We are about to vote for political leaders. Just as there are people who don't want to take responsibility for church membership, there are people who don't want to take responsibility for electing government leaders.

Many people will not vote. People who don't study the issues and vote are often the ones who complain about taxes.

They probably should not call 911 when they need police or fire protection. Nor utilize the roads and street lights and libraries and post offices and Social Security.

Back to our subject -- The most passionate prayer of Jesus was the prayer on Thursday night before he went to Gethsemane, the night before he was crucified.

John 17 is really "The Lord's Prayer." Ellen White said John 17 is the most important chapter of the Bible. I believe it. Unity, fellowship, brotherhood is the very heart of everything Jesus lived and taught. One cannot live as Jesus defined and prescribed life without community.

But I'm a "liberal" and you are a "conservatives." How can we have any significant fellowship? I'm a left-wing socialist and you are a right-wing Republican. How can we enjoy each other? I'm white and some of you are black. What can bring us together? We are rich and they are poor, we are educated and they are not, we are Americans and they are Third-world . . . on and on we could go, emphasizing our differences.

Someone has suggested that to maintain peace and tranquility in the congregation, we should seat all the left-wing liberals on the left side of the sanctuary, the right-wing conservatives on the right side of the sanctuary, and then draw a velvet curtain down the middle so neither side can see the other side.

The preacher could first preach to the right side about the importance of personal piety, an absolute essential to Christian commitment. One can hardly be a "light of the world" without a strong witness of personal virtue. The congregation on the right side of the sanctuary would respond by nodding their heads and exuding frequent "Amens."

Then the preacher could preach to the left side of the congregation about the necessity to become active in issues of social justice, in political decisions, environmentalism, making this a safer and better world . . . and the left-siders could nod their heads approvingly. (Liberals are usually too stuffy to say "Amen"!)

Jesus ministered to both liberals and conservatives, both rich and poor, to the "politically correct" and to the dishonest tax collectors. He healed the rich and famous. He healed lepers. He loved and ministered to prostitutes and to rulers. There was no velvet curtain in his "sanctuary."

Well, I hope we've made the point -- we need to dwell in unity, to share the sanctuary, to share communion happily with those of different persuasions. Ecumenical is the word we use to describe the passion of Jesus, recorded in John 17.

I remind you again: I am here to challenge you, not to judge you. I can't see how any Christian can be "conservative" and still claim to believe in Jesus. "Conservative" means to conserve what is, the status quo. Don't change things. By no stretch of the imagination can Jesus be called "conservative."

But some of you are conservative, and I love you, no matter how much we disagree.

Dr. Herold Weiss, who teaches at St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, says, "I have found that if two are to walk together, the only thing they need to agree on is their destination. The route to follow, the mode of transportation, the rate of speed, where to stop and rest, and other details can be adjusted as circumstances arise. Otherwise, the journey turns out to be a boring trip."

As we share communion this morning, let us share love for each other, as we share love for Jesus who is symbolized by the elements on the table.

Let us pray . . .

Comments before communion

We are about to enter the Advent season. Winter is just upon us -- snow, ice, cold weather.

From the cold darkness of winter, we wait. God waits, too. In the silence of our hearts we wait . . . Surrounded by wars and violence, we wait . . . Distressed by poverty, prejudice, inequity, we wait . . . Unsettled by rumors of global warming, and of economic and ecological collapse, we wait . . .

Suddenly we are comforted. There is a star. We hear angels singing. We hear a voice -- "Do not be afraid."

When we say Hallelujah! we hear angels sing, "Behold, a child is born. Go to Bethlehem. You will find life, and light, and you will find hope, peace, joy and love."



		Draw A Velvet Curtain
		Today we celebrate communion at St. Paul's. Seventh-day Adventist churches celebrate it once a quarter, and include a foot-washing preparatory service. Communion is a high and holy celebration. Interestingly, one of you told me that we are too serious -- "the music is like a funeral. No one smiles." And yet another member told me I am not serious enough -- "too flippant," he said! "Eucharist" is another word for communion. It is from the Greek eucharistia, or "Thanksgiving." We also call it "The Lord's Supper." Catholics call it the "Mass," altho now they usually call the entire service the "Mass." It seems the early Christians "broke bread" whenever they met. It was originally a commemoration, or memorial of the night before the crucifixion. By the 13th century, the Catholic church developed "transubstantiation," the doctrine that the bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Jesus, while keeping only the appearance of bread and wine. Lutherans and some others have modified the Catholic teaching and call it "consubstantiation," that the body and blood of Christ are in "real substantial presence" in the elements, but not literal! (Do you understand that? I don't.) Most of us see the elements as symbols, or memorials to the sacrifice of Jesus. When he instituted the ritual, Jesus had not yet been crucified. He was still a living human man. The disciples did not understand the significance of what Jesus did that night. Sometimes I wonder whether we really understand it. Unfortunately, we have left off the most significant part of the Lord's Supper, the preparation. Listen to this: "Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love . . . so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him . . . When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "'Do you understand what I have done for you?' he asked them. 'You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.'" (John 13) For whatever reason, that lovely preparatory service is omitted by most congregations now, including us! In some churches, only members are permitted to take communion. That brings up an interesting question: Must one be a member of a church to be a Christian, to be saved? No! Church membership is not a prerequisite to being a Christian. But -- I don't know of many people who reflect the attitudes and attributes of Jesus apart from active participation in a community of Faith. Of course, we all know "active" members of churches who don't reflect much of Jesus' attitudes and attributes. Some folks call them hypocrites. I once heard a preacher say there's no better place for hypocrites than in church! Church membership is much like "works." One is not saved by works, but one is not saved without works, either. It seems incredible that anyone committed to Jesus Christ can refuse to be a member of a church. But some of you do, and I'm glad you are here, member or not. There have been "saints" who did not claim the name of Jesus. People like Ghandi, who did the works of Jesus and who lived the life-style of Jesus, but did not espouse his name, are fine examples of Christianity. I have mentioned Wendy Schwartz before, the young Jewish lady active in the peace movement. She has never acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah, nor does she even believe in life after death. When asked why she does good deeds, she replied, "Because it's the right thing to do." I surely wish more Christians would do the right thing simply because "it's the right thing to do," with no tho't of reward, even heaven! "Communion" is from the same root as community and commune . . . and communism! How about that! As an aside, let me again lament the bastardizing of the word "communism." What a shame that a word with such a rich and holy etiology has been made a "dirty word" to most of us. The first Christians were communists, you know. All things in common! Everyone was equal to everyone else! No one was ever in need. No one stored up for only himself. It didn't work -- not because the theory was wrong but because people were wrong. If the Christians had been more Christian, it would have been the epitome of what Jesus taught and prayed for. Unity, fellowship, brotherhood. Because some folks were lazy and didn't do their share, and because some folks were greedy and wanted more than their share, communism for early Christians had to be abandoned. When Engels and Marx and Lenin tried to revive communism, they probably had good intentions. Maybe they really tho't they could institute an egalitarian society, a society in which all would be equal. Because of ego, greed and laziness their experiment culminated in the very antithesis of real egalitarianism -- a totalitarian government of repression and distortion. My oldest son, Felix III, believed that communes were "the right way to live." For some time before he died, he lived in a commune. It didn't last. There have been very few successful communes. We humans are simply too human. As another aside, let me warn you against gloating over the fall of "communism." We certainly praise God for America, and we surely condemn totalitarianism (euphemistically called Communism) and dictatorship. But the issue is not all black and white! When Lucille and I were in the Soviet Union, we saw no unemployment, few homeless, and health care was available to everyone. Here in our capitalist society we have many homeless, and the gap between the rich and the poor has got significantly wider in recent years. We don't have all the answers, but I am sure a smug attitude is not in order. Communion . . . community. No one is an island. No one can live alone. We need each other. We can never be complete unless and until we all become "one," as Jesus prayed. To answer the question again: No, Jesus did not call us to church membership; Yes, Jesus did call us to communion, to community. So I suggest that anyone who wants to be a genuine follower of Christ should be active in the Body of Christ, with or without membership. To those who say, "I don't need a church to serve Christ" or "I'm a Christian; I just don't believe in organized religion," I believe that's usually a cop-out by people who want the benefits without the responsibility. They want the church to be here when they are in trouble, and when they want invocations for their celebrations. They want the church to be here for christenings, weddings and funerals. Have you noticed how many people bring their children to be christened and then rarely show up again, except on holidays or anniversaries? And those who want to be married in the church, but never attend? And those who want a church funeral for loved ones who had no time for church? We are about to vote for political leaders. Just as there are people who don't want to take responsibility for church membership, there are people who don't want to take responsibility for electing government leaders. Many people will not vote. People who don't study the issues and vote are often the ones who complain about taxes. They probably should not call 911 when they need police or fire protection. Nor utilize the roads and street lights and libraries and post offices and Social Security. Back to our subject -- The most passionate prayer of Jesus was the prayer on Thursday night before he went to Gethsemane, the night before he was crucified. John 17 is really "The Lord's Prayer." Ellen White said John 17 is the most important chapter of the Bible. I believe it. Unity, fellowship, brotherhood is the very heart of everything Jesus lived and taught. One cannot live as Jesus defined and prescribed life without community. But I'm a "liberal" and you are a "conservatives." How can we have any significant fellowship? I'm a left-wing socialist and you are a right-wing Republican. How can we enjoy each other? I'm white and some of you are black. What can bring us together? We are rich and they are poor, we are educated and they are not, we are Americans and they are Third-world . . . on and on we could go, emphasizing our differences. Someone has suggested that to maintain peace and tranquility in the congregation, we should seat all the left-wing liberals on the left side of the sanctuary, the right-wing conservatives on the right side of the sanctuary, and then draw a velvet curtain down the middle so neither side can see the other side. The preacher could first preach to the right side about the importance of personal piety, an absolute essential to Christian commitment. One can hardly be a "light of the world" without a strong witness of personal virtue. The congregation on the right side of the sanctuary would respond by nodding their heads and exuding frequent "Amens." Then the preacher could preach to the left side of the congregation about the necessity to become active in issues of social justice, in political decisions, environmentalism, making this a safer and better world . . . and the left-siders could nod their heads approvingly. (Liberals are usually too stuffy to say "Amen"!) Jesus ministered to both liberals and conservatives, both rich and poor, to the "politically correct" and to the dishonest tax collectors. He healed the rich and famous. He healed lepers. He loved and ministered to prostitutes and to rulers. There was no velvet curtain in his "sanctuary." Well, I hope we've made the point -- we need to dwell in unity, to share the sanctuary, to share communion happily with those of different persuasions. Ecumenical is the word we use to describe the passion of Jesus, recorded in John 17. I remind you again: I am here to challenge you, not to judge you. I can't see how any Christian can be "conservative" and still claim to believe in Jesus. "Conservative" means to conserve what is, the status quo. Don't change things. By no stretch of the imagination can Jesus be called "conservative." But some of you are conservative, and I love you, no matter how much we disagree. Dr. Herold Weiss, who teaches at St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, says, "I have found that if two are to walk together, the only thing they need to agree on is their destination. The route to follow, the mode of transportation, the rate of speed, where to stop and rest, and other details can be adjusted as circumstances arise. Otherwise, the journey turns out to be a boring trip." As we share communion this morning, let us share love for each other, as we share love for Jesus who is symbolized by the elements on the table. Let us pray . . . Comments before communion We are about to enter the Advent season. Winter is just upon us -- snow, ice, cold weather. From the cold darkness of winter, we wait. God waits, too. In the silence of our hearts we wait . . . Surrounded by wars and violence, we wait . . . Distressed by poverty, prejudice, inequity, we wait . . . Unsettled by rumors of global warming, and of economic and ecological collapse, we wait . . . Suddenly we are comforted. There is a star. We hear angels singing. We hear a voice -- "Do not be afraid." When we say Hallelujah! we hear angels sing, "Behold, a child is born. Go to Bethlehem. You will find life, and light, and you will find hope, peace, joy and love."