10-4-26 “Remember Who Brought You Here”
“Remember Who Brought You Here”
I want to start with something funny that I found on an internet site: A four-year-old was in church when the wine and communion wafers were passed out. He was very interested in this, and started to get up. His mother leaned over and told him that he was not old enough to partake in the Communion.
Later, when the collection plate came by, he ignored it. His mother again leaned over and tried to coax the nickel out of him. He steadfastly refused, saying, “If I can’t eat, I’m not paying.”
Today is World Communion Sunday, a fitting time to reflect on the meaning of Holy Communion.
Jesus taught his disciples to celebrate Communion in remembrance of him. Here at our churches, we celebrate Holy Communion regularly, remembering Jesus’ sacrificial love, his death and resurrection, and his promise to be with us.
Different Christian traditions celebrate Communion in different ways. Some use grape juice; others use wine. Some emphasize the solemn remembrance of Jesus’ suffering and death. Others emphasize the joy of Christ’s resurrection and the hope of new life.
The words, prayers, music, and even the elements may look different from one church to another. But there is something beautiful about that. Because today, Christians all around the world are coming to the Lord’s Table. Different languages. Different cultures. Different traditions. Different kinds of bread. Different ways of worshiping. And yet, we are remembering the same Lord. We are sharing in the same grace. And we are part of the same family of God.
World Communion Sunday is a time to reflect on how we are one in Jesus Christ, even though we come from different cultures and traditions. Today, we are celebrating this unity by sharing different kinds of bread: our own family breads, unique breads that may remind us of the traditional bread of the Israelites, naan, and other breads from different cultures.
I deeply appreciate everyone who contributed a family bread or a unique bread to share with us today. Thank you for helping us make this celebration special. As you look at the Lord’s Table, you can see that we have several different kinds of bread. I invite you to enjoy them and experience the variety of breads that represent our diverse cultures and traditions. Though the bread may be different, we share one table, one faith, and one Lord, Jesus Christ.
I wonder what your first impression of Holy Communion was. Do you remember the first time you received Communion? Was there a Communion service that made a lasting impression on you?
We often remember our first experiences. My first experience with Holy Communion was actually not a very happy one. It was the first time my entire family attended a Sunday worship service together. We were excited and deeply grateful because God had called all of us together. But when it was time for Communion, my father and I were not allowed to receive it. At that time, in the Korean Methodist Church I attended, only baptized members were permitted to receive Holy Communion. I remember being disappointed and confused.
Later, after I was baptized, I received Communion for the first time. And I cried. I remember standing before the pastor who was serving Communion, and I felt something very deep in my heart: “Now I belong.” I felt that God had accepted me. I felt forgiven. I felt that I had become a child of God.
But the Communion service itself was very solemn. In the Korean Methodist tradition I experienced, Communion was often centered on remembering Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. The atmosphere could feel almost like a funeral. It was not a celebration of life, but rather a solemn time of mourning, filled with grief over the loss of Jesus Christ.
Then, when I came to the United States and attended chapel services at the Lutheran School of Theology, where I received my Ph.D., I experienced something quite different. The Lutherans celebrated Holy Communion with great joy. They used bread and wine, and the service emphasized Christ’s presence, our unity with Christ and one another, the hope of new life, the resurrection, and Christ’s promise to return.
There was singing. There was joy. Sometimes, there was even dancing. I thought to myself, “Is this Communion, too?”
The two traditions looked very different. But over time, I came to understand something important: There are many ways to celebrate Communion, but the heart of Communion is the same: we remember Christ, and we are united with Christ and with one another.
And that brings us to our Scripture lesson today. Let us go back to the Israelites. We have been following their story. They were slaves in Egypt. God called Moses through the burning bush. God sent Moses to Pharaoh. And finally, after the ten plagues and the Passover, the Israelites left Egypt.
They walked toward the Red Sea, and God made a way for them. Then they entered the wilderness.
God was with them, guiding and protecting them. When they became hungry, God rained bread from heaven. When they were thirsty, God gave them water from the rock. God guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. And eventually, they arrived at Mount Sinai.
Imagine the scene. A group of former slaves is standing at the foot of Mount Sinai. They have left Egypt, but they have not yet reached the Promised Land. They are in between—delivered from slavery, but still on the journey. And there, God speaks: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
Before God gives them the Ten Commandments, God reminds them who they are and what God has done: “Remember who I am. Remember what I have done for you.”
Then God teaches them how to live as God’s people. Their freedom is not simply freedom from Egypt; it is freedom for a new life with God and with one another. Martin Luther expressed this beautifully: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” In other words, we are free—but our freedom is not freedom to live only for ourselves. We are free to belong to God and to serve God and one another. Don’t live like slaves in this world. Live in the freedom of belonging to God as children of God.
This message is not only for the Israelites; it is also for all Christians. We may not have crossed the Red Sea, but we each have our own stories. Some of us have walked through difficult seasons, experienced loss or disappointment, or wondered, “Where is God?” And yet, here we are. Maybe we don’t understand every step of our journey, but by God’s grace, we are here.
That is what Holy Communion invites us to do: remember. Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” What would you like to remember about Jesus? Perhaps we remember His love, His sacrifice, His death and resurrection, and His promise. And remember this: You are not alone.
Communion means sharing, fellowship, and union. We do not come only as individuals. We come together to one table, sharing one bread and one cup. That is why World Communion Sunday is so meaningful.
Today, Christians around the world are gathering in different countries, speaking different languages, singing different songs, and sharing different kinds of bread. Yet we remember: One Lord. One grace.
One body. One family. When we come to this table, we come not only as members of Upper St. Croix Parish, but as part of the worldwide body of Christ. We come with people we know and people we will never meet. We come with people whose cultures are familiar to us and people whose cultures are very different from ours. But Christ’s table is big enough for all of us.
So, on this World Communion Sunday, remember the Israelites standing at Mount Sinai. The God who brought Israel out of Egypt is the God who has brought us this far. The Christ who gathered his disciples around a table gathers us today. And the Holy Spirit continues to draw us together. So let us remember: Who brought us here. Who loves us. Who carries us. Who calls us.
And remember that we belong to a family much larger than this congregation. Around the world, God’s children are coming to the same table. Different bread. Different languages. Different cultures. Different traditions. But one Christ. One grace. One family. One table. One hope.
Thanks be to God. Amen.