Each month, when I invite us to the Communion Table, I begin with the simple word “Come.” Come to the Table.
It is, perhaps, one of the most important invitations we find in scripture because it is an invitation to join Jesus at his Table. It is an invitation to eat of the feast that has been prepared for us, to remember Jesus’ sacrifice, to be nourished for our own journey of faith, and to look forward to the great feast that is still to come.
Jesus’ invitation is an open invitation. It is for those who have been to the Table often and for those who have never been; it is for those who have it all together and for those who are struggling. It is an open invitation because it is Christ’s Table; it is not my table, it is not a Presbyterian table, but it is Christ’s Table. And at Christ’s Table there is room for all!
This Sunday, October 6, we will gather around the Table again, as we do on the 1st Sunday of each month. But this particular Sunday is a special occasion. The Church designates the first Sunday in October as World Communion Sunday. And so, on Sunday, as daylight inches across land and sea, Christians will gather, at their own times, in their own places, and with their own traditions, to celebrate their place in God’s family.
The tradition began in the 1930s amid clouds of war and great economic uncertainty. In response, World Communion Sunday was imagined as a way to celebrate the call of all Christians – of whatever background and whatever theological tradition. To recollect, remember and celebrate that we are one in Christ. And to be reminded that the Table we receive from, and communion at, is God’s Table – not our own.
I love celebrating World Communion Sunday, because it invites us to think beyond the walls of our own congregation. While we gather at our own Table, we also remember our brother and sisters in faith celebrating this same meal around the world. And as we gather at the Table we also remember that there is a place for everyone at the Table. Our God is boundary-breaking God, and as we celebrate World Communion Sunday, we remember that it is not a meal reserved only for just a few, or for those deemed deserving, but it is a meal open to all. And that’s good news for me, and it is good news for you.
Whoever you are, wherever you have been, there is a place for you at Christ’s Table!
And so, come to the Table. “Come and eat,” Jesus says!
Grace and peace,
Kimmy
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