10-01-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 1, 2023
Today is World Communion Sunday, a day when faith communities around the globe celebrate unity around the table of grace. I must confess to you that I have an image in my head, or maybe it is more of a short video clip that keeps running through my brain. Yesterday, as I was flipping to a different channel on TV, I clicked accidentally on a religious station, just in time to hear the minister yell, “And they are all going to hell!” I wasn’t even too sure what group he was referencing, but there seemed to be such certainty in his voice in regard to who was going. I felt as if he could give you names, street addresses, and social security numbers, for he seemed so confident in who was going to hell. That voice and those words keep spinning around in my head as I think about the Communion Table, specifically on this World Communion Sunday. I can’t speak for other churches, but I feel certain that we will have a number of people gathering around one of the Communion Tables at Cypress Creek this morning who that minister would suggest are going to hell. And I’m pretty sure if he got to know me, he’d put me at the front of the line. But I don’t think our purpose as Christ Body in the world today is to announce who we think might be going to hell, but to proclaim who we believe belongs at the table. And as that minister seems to be showing the door (entrance to hell) to many, I would rather be inviting people to a table where love, mercy, and kindness are being put on display. An interesting statistic in a recent study shows how those under 35 yrs old are leaving the churches that seem to know who is going to hell, and if these young people actually try another church, they are seeking out churches where folks are making space in line for all to feast at a table that is a hint of heaven. I have lots of questions and doubts about my faith, but the one conviction I cannot shake is the limitless and unconditional love of God that I see in Jesus, including each time he sat down and shared a meal with people. And that’s what we will do this morning at Cypress Creek Christian Church.

Bring me again to your Table, Gracious God, so that I might be filled with your love and ready to go and invite others into an experience of love. Amen.