November 26th 2006 Presentation: Tom Smith-Myott, Julie Madden, Anna Vagle

"Our Eucharistic Table"
Tom Smith-Myott, Anna Vagle, Julie Madden
Sunday, November 26th 2006

Introduction: Jim Cassidy
Carin Vagle (singing “Holy Now”)

Story:

Mass or Eucharist always at center of my faith life
But growing up, I felt something was wrong, something was missing
What Eucharist means to me has changed radically
As many of you will agree, the old concepts no longer make sense in our new cosmic evolutionary worldview

Point:

New way of seeing/new paradigm
1. no longer top-down, limited access to God, but divine creative presence at heart of everything
2. not God from the outside alone, but the Creator God always also present from within
3. as Peter Mayer says in his song “Holy Now”,
  “It used to be a world half there
  Heaven’s second rate hand-me-down
  But I walk with a reverent air
  ‘Cause everything is holy now.”
4. the presence of the divine, in the new paradigm, is everywhere, always – we don’t have to, we can’t, create it
5. thus rituals do not create something new
6. sacrament rituals bring to our attention and intensify something already there – e.g., a wedding ring, making love, a hug, eating together, giving gifts, singing “happy birthday”
New paradigm, with the assistance of modern scripture scholarship, helps us understand better what Jesus was about
1. Jesus chose meals as a primary metaphor for his message about God’s presence in our midst, also called “the kingdom of God”
2. Christ the king reigned at a table that welcomed everyone, at which everyone was equal, and thus turned the symbol of “king” upside down, from a symbol of domination to a symbol of partnership
3. Jesus ate with everybody, excluded no one, and called his followers to do the same – this is what Jesus was referring to when he says “do this in remembrance of me”
4. this meal to which we are invited is a free gift, a symbol of God’s unconditional love and generosity; no one is unworthy, everyone is invited to eat
5. Jesus also chose a meal as a symbol for what his life and ministry were about and what his death would mean – to announce and share the communion with God and with each other for which we were created
6. when Jesus says “this is my body”, he is referring to more than the bread, but to his whole life, death and resurrection – it all nourishes and unifies us, making us the Body of Christ

Challenge: Who do you eat with? Who do you invite and who do you not invite to your table?

My experience of Eucharist from childhood until I began college life was essentially a very private matter. HOW I received communion was of utter importance. In some ways it seemed I was to shut myself off from the rest of the community and focus on MY relationship with Jesus. It was ME, privately, going forward to receive Jesus.. Thus the practice of hands folded, eyes cast down, returning to my place in church in silent, private prayer to meditate on Jesus suffering and death. All very introspective…very reverent. It was indeed a devotional practice which felt very holy to me as a child (mysterious in some ways) but, as I think back on it now having grown in my understanding of this sacrament, it was a little like being invited to the banquet table then taking your wonderful piece of chocolate birthday cake and going into a nice, quiet corner to eat it all by myself. I had the experience of eating… the contentment of the food…the thankfulness, but I had missed the party!...the community for which that cake was all about…I missed the family, the oneness…the purpose of the celebration. Don’t get me wrong, I love and respect every Eucharist of my life. It is what keeps me connected to my Catholic heritage. But I have grown in my understanding of Eucharist and this community has been my teacher.

When Vatican II began using words like “assembly” recognizing the people as the church…and “celebration” of the Eucharist instead of “sacrifice of the mass” we began to think in new ways about this meal which gives us life and purpose. which calls us to not only remember what Jesus said and did, but to actually become the “Body of Christ” in the world….Jesus in us…we are in Jesus…I am in you, you are in me…we are in each other, in the world…connected to all those who have gone before and all those yet to come!! This is the great mystery of transformation; it is the great grace of Eucharist!

So we come to the table here at St. Joans..everyone of us, no one left out with great joy, singing, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, sometimes dancing, but always seeing each other and knowing God’s love and generosity and wide arms. Can we be less in our own lives?

I challenge you to consider this question; “How do we extend our hands in generosity to the world around us…no exceptions?”

The wider Church has been most public recently with its directives about who does or does not receive communion, the conditions under which one does or does not receive communion and the state in which one must be to take or not take communion.

I will not be addressing these concerns.

I would prefer to ask not how you receive communion but how do you take it into the world? What do you do with this precious gift? In other words, when we come forward and receive the body and blood of Christ, to what are we saying “Amen”? Do we say “Amen” because we do believe that you are receiving the body and blood of Christ? I learned recently that the root of the word “belief” means “to live by”, so if our “Amen” stops at belief that is passive and does not change how we live, I think we’re shortchanging the power and potential of our discipleship.

What transformation happens when the body and blood of Christ becomes part of our body and blood? What does our “Amen” commit us to? If we have a life of abundance and welcome, how do we share our abundance and welcome? If we are healed, how do we go forth to be healers? If we indeed know and celebrate the peace of Christ, how can we not be peacemakers in this world? If we know we are loved, loved, loved unconditionally, how does that change the way we love?

My family and I started on the periphery of St. Joan’s. Our first Sunday here, we sat right there looking up at our musicians Dick Hedlund and Lee Vague. You all said “Come on in, share this meal with us” You challenged us to share your “Amen” and take that “Amen” out into the world to work for peace and inclusion and justice and the dignity of human beings and the sacredness of all creation.

As we move now into the offertory, we thank you for the gift of your presence here and for your generosity to St. Joan of Arc. And as we celebrate communion, please know that there is room and nourishment for everyone at the table. All we need from you is your “Amen”!

(song; “Mama’s Kitchen)

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