I Am One Of Many

I am one of many
Ever wonder about the composition of the world?
If the World were 100 PEOPLE:
50 would be female; 50 would be male
26 would be children; There would be 74 adults, 8 of whom would be 65 and older
There would be: 60 Asians, 15 Africans, 14 people from the Americas, 11 Europeans
33 Christians, 22 Muslims, 14 Hindus, 7 Buddhists, 12 people who practice other religions, 12 people who would not be aligned with a religion
12 would speak Chinese, 5 would speak Spanish, 5 would speak English, 3 would speak Arabic, 3 would speak Hindi, 3 would speak Bengali, 3 would speak Portuguese, 2 would speak Russian, 2 would speak Japanese, 62 would speak other languages
83 would be able to read and write; 17 would not
7 would have a college degree, 22 would own or share a computer
77 people would have a place to shelter them from the wind and the rain, but 23 would not
1 would be dying of starvation, 15 would be undernourished, 21 would be overweight
87 would have access to safe drinking water, 13 people would have no clean, safe water to drink
On this World Communion Sunday, we remember that we are ONE of many!
This series continues as a response to the questions of who is God and Who am I? Our identity is necessary entangled in who God is and who God made us to be. We are those who are fearfully and wonderfully made; we are found by God and embraced into the love of God. As a result, we are disciples, and we are useful. We have focused on a very narrow relationship between God and the individual, but now, it is time to more fully reflect the wideness of God who is personal, but never private.
Sometimes, we forget that we are all part of one larger world, even when we could let nationality divide us. I listened to this story yesterday. It was wedding day for Jo Du, when the zipper on her beautiful gown broke. Sunday in Ontario, and no tailor shops were open. Her bridesmaids did not want her walking down the aisle with pins on her back, so they decided to knock on the door of the next door neighbor. How desperate they felt! How unique to reach out to a neighbor. They were looking for pliers, but what they found was much, much better!
Their neighbor, David Hobson was hosting and Syrian refugee family as a temporary passage for them to find asylum in Canada. This family was happened to include a master tailor. Father Ibrahim, has been a master tailor for 28 years and mastered the situation in no time. With his sewing kit, he quickly returned the beauty of the wedding day to a wrought situation. The recent immigrant family, the Dudus, from Syria saved the wedding of the Du family emigrated from China!
How beautiful it is when we imagine ourselves, not as individuals, part as part of larger community, each of us needing one another. How beautiful it is to learn our neighbors as vital parts of our lives together and not just as those to be avoided. To not let nationality and difference divide us. In a world in which we cling more closely to those who are familiar, those whose experiences echo our own, those who activities we recognize, we forget that this is not a Christian value – that is a defensive and preserving worldly value.
Instead of faith values come from One who was always transgressing boundaries and borders. It was around a table that Jesus gathered the disciples, when he was imparting the most life changing news to the apostles and the disciples. It was around the tables that he gathered zealots and tax collectors, fishers and rich women, religious experts and those were culturally bereft of any knowledge of temple practices. It was around the table that they found commonality and were reminded that they are one of many. Jesus came into the world, not just for a precious few who always seem to have it all figured out, but for the whole entire world. The breaking of the bread, the giving of the cup, and servant sacrifice were not just for a chosen few, but rather for the entire world!
World Communion Sunday is a reminder that what unites us around the world is much stronger than the details which divide us. The kind of bread we consecrate, the language with which we receive the Sacrament, the traditions of how we spend time together are details in contrast to the Savior who we serve. Our understandings of governmental structures, political parties, and clothing are details in contrast to the human experience which drive us to the God whom we all need.
In the midst of our distinctions, we find similar heart songs. Psalm 63 was not just written thousands of years ago as David was feeling from Absalom. But it has been the prayer song of all who have sought God with desperation since. It has been the heart song of those fleeing from devastation in Syria, from a land that has for generation been the home of a people and then place where people of faith can no longer depend on the places and traditions that shaped their faith. “O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Sings the Psalmist and sings the refugee. This is also the song of the oppressed and the downtrodden. This is our heart song as the world crashes in around us. It is the heart song who those whose loved ones have died at the hands of others by violence. It is the heart song of those who feel alone and abandoned, in Chicago and in Crimea, in Walla Walla and West Chester, all around the world.
On World Communion Sunday, we celebrate that God’s table is larger than we understand, and we must continue to extend it to include all of God’s children. It includes those in our church as well as those who if they every showed up in the same building, we would be somewhat beside ourselves. On this day, we remember that each one of God’s children is a gift.
World Communion Sunday reminds us that there are many reasons to gather around the table. Some of us may be coming this morning with hearts heavy from the difficult news of the week – heaviness from difficult diagnoses, ailing friends and family, a world that appears beleaguered and failing. God meets is in the gift of Sacrament and offers us healing.
Some of us come this morning to Communion relieved to have a place to put a pause on everything else and stay in the shelter of the safety of the Ark for a while. God meets us in the stillness of our hearts and grants peace in the midst of our storm.
Some of us are celebrating – birthdays and anniversaries, special days and mundane beautiful days. God meets us in the joy of Communion and invites us to share it with others.
As you come to the table this morning, remember that there are people all over the world gathering today to take part in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. There are people all over the world celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Communion. No two of those people have lived following Jesus in the same way. No two of those people approach the communion table with exactly the same heart. No two of those people will be changed in the same way after encountering the living God. However, each of us will be transformed by the presence of each other in community and life creating, redeeming, and sustaining power of Jesus.
This is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, thanks be to God, Amen.

Old Testament Lesson                    Psalm 63                                     Chris Curtiss

O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,[a]
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
they shall be given over to the power of the sword,
they shall be prey for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Gospel Lessons: Luke 22:19

Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Meditations For Your Week

 Sunday, October 2~ Saturday, October 8

Sunday: “Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’” Luke 22: 19.  Holy Communion is a gift of sustenance and a reminder that God will always be provide for you.  Give thanks to God for God’s providence.

Monday: O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1.  Where in your life do you need God?  Have you spoken with God about it?

Tuesday: “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.” Psalm 63:3.  Steadfast is the way of God.  Prayerfully consider how God was and is and will be, always and forever, no matter what faithful in loving and in caring for each of us.

Wednesday: “So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.” Psalm 63:4.  Calling on the name of God is depending on promises that God will be present and faithful, God will protect and provide.  How has God proven to you that calling on God’s name will bless you?

Thursday: “My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;” Psalm 63:5-6.  Next time you cannot sleep, meditate on God’s faithfulness, consider God’s character.  May your fall asleep with God’s word on your lips.

Friday: “For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.” Psalm 63:7.   The shadow of the wings of God call to mind protection.  God protects us.  Prayerfully consider how you will pray for God’s protection for yourself and those you love.

Saturday:  “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” Psalm 63:8.  We need God.  For each and every day, we need God.  How are you leaning on God as you seek  to follow today?