Shame is a liar. Guilt can be an antiseptic to sin. Confession is the beginning of healing. Wholeness is needed for leadership. A sermon by Rev. Jeffrey Spencer presented on January 16, 2022.
Scriptures: Psalm 51
Series: I Am Not Okay

INVITATION (Sandy)

As we prepare to celebrate communion, please gather together something to eat and something to drink. For those of you at home, remember to switch to gallery view and raise your bread and cup, as Jeffriess says, to minimize the time our masks are off, we will take our elements together. We gather together, as Jesus asked us, we gather to remember him and his teaching. We gather to offer our broken spirits to be healed and make new. All are welcome at the table that is hosted by Jesus. All are welcome at this table.

PRAYER (Jeff)

Let us prepare with a prayer. Oh, God. Enter into our hearts as we take these elements into our bodies. We present in our life. By your presence, you create a holy place in our hearts. Holy Spirit, in this time when we don't feel okay, we need you most. We need your solace, we need your guidance, and we need your love. Come to us as we eat and drink and help us to remember we are here to share that love. That by sharing all may have the gift of grace, your love gifts. Amen.

WORDS OF INSTITUTION (Jeff)

Friends, as we gather around Christ's table here, I can't help but think of the circumstances that Jesus faced. We remember around this table every time Jesus fed the crowds, whether it was in his ministry, in the resurrection and especially on that last night when he was betrayed. And in those circumstances facing betrayal, arrest and execution. Jesus took the bread from the table and he blessed it, giving thanks to God. And I'm not sure that that whole part about giving thanks in the midst of those circumstances really echoed in me until today. So he took bread. He gave thanks to God, blessing that bread, and he broke it. And he gave it to them, inviting them to eat and to become the body of Christ. Take and eat. And in a similar manner at that meal, he took a cup from the table. That may have been the Elijah cup, the cup set aside for Elijah coming to announce the presence of the Messiah. Maybe he was inviting the disciples to be like Elijah and to announce the presence of the Messiah, and he gave thanks to God blessing that cup. And he shared with them, inviting them to drink. And to allow his life force to flow through them. Take and drink. Our Advent story tells us that the Christ child whose birth we anticipate will one day sit at tables with strangers and friends, building relationships filled with love and grace. We see this, as Jesus fed the multitude, turned water into wine, and ate with the dear ones in that upper room the night before his death. It was there that Jesus took the bread, blessed it and broke it. Remembering him through this broken bread, our eyes are open. Christ is with us. Take and eat. He then took a cut and blessed it. And in his blessing, he reminded them that when they sip from the fruit of the vine to drink in remembrance of him through this cup of blessing, our hearts are warmed. Christ is changing us. Take and drink. On the night that he was arrested in the shadow of execution and death, Jesus sat at a table with those that he loved. In the midst of their fear and anxiety, He offered them a different vision for their lives and offered a ritual for healing and wholeness. He took the bread and he blessed it. When he broke it, and he gave it to them, and he said, "this is my life, broken open and shared with you. Each time you eat this ordinary bread, remember the extraordinary transformative power of lives when they are broken open for justice and love." And then He took the cup, traditionally reserved for Elijah, the holy one to come. But instead of waiting, he said, "this is the cup of blessing. Each time you drink of this cup, you participate in the promise of new life, of liberation, of the yes to communion with God." Ministering to you in Christ's name, we offer the bread and the cup, take, eat and drink. When Jesus shared bread with people around him. During his ministry that night that he was betrayed, and on Easter, he would do this: He would take the bread. He would bless it. He would break it. And he would give it. Saying take and eat. In the same way, at that last supper, he took the cup from the table and they gave thanks to God blessing it, and he gave it inviting his disciples to drink it. Friends, we come to this table that our lives may be broken open like the bread and that God's life force may flow through us like sweet wine. Come to this feast for all things are ready. Take, eat and drink.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING (Jeff)

Please join me in giving God thanks. In gratitude for this sacred meal, we give ourselves to you, giver of life and wellspring of love. Ask much of us. Enable much in us. Encourage many things through us. Lead us on for your love sake. Amen.