More Than a Building

Sunday, August 30, 2020

Hebrews 12:1-3 

Introduction

             Today we will enjoy our first onsite visit to the Lord’s Table since last winter. Even as we do so, there are fewer of us present and we are observing safe distancing. Holy Communion is intended to be a very intimate expression of faith and unity so today’s Eucharistic liturgy will seem counter-intuitive, at least until we finish hearing the Lord’s Word. Let us pray: May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock, and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

                        Let’s begin by reading today’s Scripture passage. Hebrews 12:1-3 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

            The author, probably the Apostle Paul, identified himself with the persons to whom he has written – that’s us too! He means for us to understand that we are observed and that we are running a race and our Savior and Lord is standing at the finish line urging us on. Jesus set the course, broke down its obstructions, and complete the raise so that we could look to Him as our guide. Christ calls us to the finish line where He holds a new garment, a crown of glory, and a signet with our new name. (Revelation 2:10; 17; 27-28; 3:5; 12; 20)

The Cloud of Witnesses

            It’s difficult to know whether we should understand “witnesses” as those who have affirmed the faith or those who are spectators. The writer portrays athletes in a footrace, running toward the finish line as they are urged on by the crowd. Yet, they are “surrounded,” which makes it hard to think of them as looking to the “witnesses”—and even more so since they are urged to keep their eyes on Jesus. Perhaps a few ideas are present. The author could be describing something like a relay race where those who have finished their course and handed off their baton are watching and encouraging their successors. There are others with whom we run, not as competitors, but as companions. Also, it is surely observed by spectators; those who entered the race but do not run; those who call it folly and watch only in hopes of witnessing crashes and failure, and the Enemy.

           

The Communion of the Saints

            The sacrament of Holy Communion is a visit to the Lord’s Table that ends with a unique expression of God’s Grace. Holy Communion is Eucharist, which means an act of thanksgiving. The early Christians “broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising

God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (Acts 2:46-47a) It is the communion, or unity, of the church family—the local community of the faithful, and Church universal. It is deeply meaningful to individual participants, but it is much more than a personal event. The Apostle Paul explains in First Corinthians 10:17 that “because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” The sharing and bonding experienced at The Lord’s Table exemplify the nature of the Church as a model for the world as our Lord would have it.

Holy Communion is a commemoration and memorial act, but it is much more than intellectual recollection. “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) is anamnesis – a biblical Greek word that describes “dynamic action that becomes a representation of past gracious acts of God in the present, so powerfully as to make them truly present now. Christ is risen and is alive here and now, not just remembered for what was done in the past.” (This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion. United Methodist Publishing House. 2004)

            With all that being said, we can return to the concept of the “great cloud of witnesses” with a better sense of what “communion” means. It is still a very intimate expression of connection with our Lord even as it is shared with others around the Table. As a sacrament, it is timeless. Therefore, it is a Holy Communion with those who have completed the race and with the realm of God. We are seated at the Table of the Lord’s Home – that is, the Table in God’s dwelling place into which we have been accepted because of the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit of Heaven is in and with us as He is in and with all the subjects of Christ’s Kingdom, whether they dwell on Earth or in Paradise.

 

Conclusion

            It doesn’t matter if you are physically present for the worship service or participating from home or elsewhere. When you affirm your faith in Christ as Savior and submit to Him as Lord you affirm His sacrifice. Therefore, as we experience the Communion liturgy you are present and participating in the timeless divine presence of God and the saints.

            Paul ran the race and urged his companions along the Way of Christ saying, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14 14) Now, he joins us at the Table as one of the witnesses. He would say, “take and eat; take and drink” as if to urge you on.