Our Communion
Tomorrow, Christians all around the world will mark Worldwide Communion Sunday. It is a time for all Christians, whether they worship in a huge cathedral or in a mud-floored hut, to gather with others around the table of our Lord Jesus.
At the table, everyone is welcomed into the Spirit of Christ. No one is turned away. No matter what our circumstances, our position in life or our struggles in life, tomorrow we are one and Jesus calls us, by name, to join with him around a special table.
Every table, in every home of worship, has inscribed upon it: Do This In Remembrance of Me. Worldwide, Christians gather to remember Maundy Thursday when Jesus met with his friends and shared with them a simple, ordinary meal of the day – wine and bread. Nothing fancy.
What made this meal so memorable were the words Jesus used. At the time, his friends were befuddled by the words and it was only after his death and resurrection that the meaning of his words would make such an enormous difference in their lives.
Every home of God has different ways of experiencing this communion, but within that familiarity, come the words of Jesus. From the very traditional service to clown communions, people will gather to remember and celebrate. Tomorrow, we put away all of our differences and we gather as friends of Jesus, to sit and be changed by Jesus’ words. Different locations, different languages, different patterns, all are one in Christ Jesus.
In a world filled with so much strife, maybe after tomorrow, we can glean from sitting with Jesus a new spirit of peace through the sharing of our love, as sisters and brothers.
This year, as we Christians celebrate worldwide our hope found in Jesus, other faiths are marking new beginnings, as well. Tomorrow, at sundown, marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year or Rosh Hashanah. It is a time of reflection and prayer and is known as the Feast of the Trumpets. I don’t know how many of our Jewish friends will be blowing their shofars, but certainly in Israel they will be.
When I was in Israel, I purchase a small shofar, as a souvenir. The shofar is blown every Sabbath to greet people to the Synagogue. It would be like our church bells.
I blew mine to begin our worship service, once. The shofar is not a subtle instrument and when I blew mine to begin worship, I was greeted by a number of hearing-aids flying through the air, including mine!
Coupled with this Jewish celebration, is the Muharran or Muslim New Year, which also begins at sundown. This is a time of prayer and fasting and peace. This Islamic day is very special for our Muslim friends.
I find it wonderful that, tomorrow, Christians, Jews and Muslims all celebrate an aspect of their faith that aims at new beginnings. I pray that as we all celebrate our various feasts, that the God we all revere and honour, will place in all our hearts the desire to be one in God. We are all brothers and sisters of a great Creator. In God, we are all of one communion. Peace and love to everyone. God bless you all.