October 20, 2013 Our Church is in good hands. And even though Todd is away on leave, and Willis Britt is an excellent preacher filling in for us, I honestly miss being able to be there. If not to preach, then to simply be with the Church. I thank God for the ‘ties that bind,’ and the wonder of a group that feels part of the ‘Body of Christ’ to many of us. God bless you WellsFolk as you worship this day, and God bless others as they find the full extent of their individuality in the context of community. Stories are remembered. One of the challenges of being a long-time preacher is that you know you are going to use material you have used before. This is especially true with illustrations because people somehow ‘hear’ those when the declarative is forgotten. Like a good song sung again, I’ve decided, is the way of illustrations. When reused, it will generally be in a different context, and one hopes of some value to the hearer. The other evening we stopped to visit in the ‘tent’ of one of the attendees of the New Prospect camp meeting I’m preaching this week, and in the shared time I started a story, which seemed relevant to the conversation. One of those present, a doctor on the Gulf Coast, finished it. Guess I used that one here on previous occasion! And then the story of a strange Holy Communion. Following the tragedy of Katrina, many churches were affected in the area, and most buildings damaged. There was no electrical power, and water was available only as it was brought in. Robbie, one of the ministers here with us this week, was working at First Church, Gulfport and tells this ‘piece of Katrina’ from a Sunday morning service at the Church. It seems that there was a part of the building usable, and they felt some would want to try to come to church despite all the loss inflicted by the storm. They were right—about thirty showed up. An addition of Holy Communion seemed important, and they found a bottle of grape juice not yet ‘turned.’ The nearest thing to the bread they could scrape up were taco chips. God baptized the service with Presence and the people were blessed with Sacrament even though the elements were different that day. And the blessing went further. Following the storm many animals were stray and lost. One lady in praying before taking her Communion held the chip slightly away from herself, resting it on the altar rail. She felt a slight movement, a loss of some kind, and opened her eyes to find that a dog had taken the Communion taco as his own! For centuries we have discussed and debated just who is invited to Communion and what is required that they should come. It means a lot to me, to be part of a branch of the Church that makes Communion available to those who feel moved to receive it. It represents a participation in Christ for all who come, but also a means of grace for those who choose to come and kneel and receive. We know the arguments to the contrary, and each is respected for the point of view held. Still, the open Table and open invitation feels very New Testament to me, and I’ve seen it become a sacred moment and meeting for hundreds—maybe thousands-- I’ve served across the years. In whatever form and in whatever way, I have a little prayer in heart today: Lord, touch and bless any reading this just now with a sense of caring presence, open love, and amazing grace. If you will, allow even a reading moment of become for us, a kind of Holy Communion. And please do so in ordinary ways, and also when only taco chips are available, for ourselves and even other members of your creation. Amen. We are in good hands. Happy Sunday, dear friends. Always love, always, Keith
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 11:11:03 +0000
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