Divisions and the Table

In the sermon we considered how the people of God are always prone to putting obstacles in the way of those who would draw near to God. Nowhere is this propensity more clearly revealed than here at this Table. Think of the ways that various churches rope off the Table and keep folks in the outer courts. If you’re too young, or mentally infirm; if you’ve not been baptized in the correct branch of the church, or are unable correctly to parse out the way in which Christ is/not present spiritually/materially in the bread and the wine, then in many, many traditions, you are not welcome at this Table. In these ways and countless others the church has kept other Christians at a distance and failed to realize the visible unity of the Church that the one loaf symbolizes. Brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, baptism and communing at this Table define who is “in” and who is “out.” This is not the Table of the Reformed, or Episcopalians, or Lutherans, EO, or RC, it is the Table of the Lord. He decides who can come and who can’t. Let the unity that is manifested at this Table shape the way you view and treat your brothers and sisters in Christ both within and without this congregation and our denomination. Strengthened by the body and blood of Christ, endeavor to live peaceably with all those bought with the blood of Christ. You’ve been blessed and given grace in order that you might bless and extend grace to one another and to all men. Rejoice in the grace that you receive at this Table, but don’t keep it all to yourself!