Prelude to the sermon:
The following passage is taken from an article by the Religion Editor of the Wilmington News Journal, Gary Soulsman. It appeared in the Saturday, Oct. 1 issue of that newspaper. The excerpt is included here because it relates to the sermon.
Interfaith Service at Hanover
Delawareans of many faiths will gather at 6 p.m. Sunday for a vegetarian dinner and interfaith worship service at Hanover Presbyterian Church, 18th and Baynard Boulevard, Wilmington.
The celebration coincides with a rare confluence of events that occur in the next few days. These include: Mahatma Gandhi's birthday (Sunday). Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish High Holy Days start at sundown Monday). Ramadan (the holy month of the Muslim year starting Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on the citing of the new moon). Word Communion Sunday (always the first Sunday in October for Christian churches).
Since September 11, Hanover Presbyterian's Faith in Action Committee has sought to overcome fear of strangers. To promote peace, church members have held suppers with Hindus, Muslims, Bahais, Jews, and Christians, said Rev. Tom Davis, Hanover Pastor.
The Sunday event is a continuation of that effort, with the Bahai Community lighting a unity candle to begin the meal.
In addition, dancers from the Cornerstone Baptist Church will perform a praise dance.
A member of Congregation Beth Shalom will talk about the High Holy Days.
The Indo-American Association of Delaware will share the importance of Gandhi's birthday and his teachings.
A team of Christians will speak about World Communion.
Imam Rudolph Ali of Masjid Al Kauthar will explain the significance of Ramadan and the Muslim season of fasting and prayer.
And Pacem in Terris, a local peace organization, will pass out unlit candles to each person, signifying the need to promote unity.
You Feed Them
Preached on World Communion Sunday
October 2, 2005
At Hanover Street Presbyterian Church
By Pastor Thomas C. Davis
Text:
Luke 9: 12-17
The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place." But he said to them, "You give them something to eat." They said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish--unless we are to go and buy food for all these people." For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each." They did so and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Sermon Text
On this World Communion Sunday, a good Bible story to ponder is the one where Jesus feeds not only his own disciples, but thousands more people besides. That's a really wide communion. Jesus was known for his wise teaching and his miraculous healing, but he had another wonderful spiritual gift that is often overlooked because it is so mundane. Jesus was a master of table hospitality. He ate with all kinds of people--people not welcome at most families' tables. He ate with prostitutes and he ate with tax collectors and he ate with lepers. He ate with Gentiles, that is, pagans, the ritually unclean. Jews were convinced that for a Jew to eat with a Gentile would surely displease God. But Jesus thought very differently. He recognized that all people are God's beloved children. Jesus considered his table God's table, so he wouldn't think of dining just with the in-crowd and shooing others away. Did you know that most of Jesus' ministry took place in the least Jewish part of Israel, Galilee? There were probably more Gentiles there than Jews. "Can anything good come from Galilee?" snooty Jews would quip. Jesus thought yes, something very precious was coming out of Galilee: the good news that all are welcome at God's table.
Ponder what happened in our Bible story from Luke. That crowd of five thousand with whom Jesus broke bread in Galilee probably contained a lot of Gentiles. So, I imagine that when his disciples (who were all Jewish) saw that the crowd was hungry and restless, they became uneasy, for Jews didn't eat with non-Jews. They didn't eat the same food. They didn't even share the same glasses, or plates, or saucers. So, the disciples' first thought was: We'll send these Gentiles away to buy their own food and sit down to eat with their own kind, and that way we won't be defiled. But Jesus wouldn't let his Jewish kindred off the hook. He said to them: "You feed them!" Now, feeding that crowd wasn't just a logistical challenge. It was a deeply troubling spiritual challenge too, for his disciples must have been thinking: How can we do that, Jesus? It's forbidden! We can't break bread with people who are not like us!
Today is World Communion Sunday. Today, all over this planet, Christians will symbolically eat together at the Lord's Table. Free-will Methodists and predestination Presbyterians will celebrate their oneness in Jesus by coming to his table. Hallelujah! Catholics and Protestants who once slaughtered each other and burned each other at the stake will come to his table. Hallelujah! Eastern Orthodox Christians, who still regard their own way of worshiping as the only really right one, plus all those other poor Christians who don't know any better will come to his table. Hallelujah! But oh, for so, so long Christians fenced the table of Jesus. We said: We're in, you're out! You are not worthy to eat with us! For so long we have made a mockery of Jesus' welcoming table. Things are a little better now, thanks to the Spirit's work. We are speaking to each other. We are rubbing elbows at the table. That's good. It's a happy step in the right direction.
Still, we're a long way from what Jesus did in Galilee when he told his Jewish compatriots: You feed them! All of them! Not just your kind, but all of God's children! You make room at your table for them too. Tonight Hanover members will break bread with God's children who are not of our religious tribe. We will dine with Jews, Muslims, Bahais, Buddhists, Hindus, Unitarians, Sikhs, and others too. As part of tonight's program, I will explain to these neighbors what Worldwide Communion means to us in the Christian fold. Worldwide Communion demonstrates that we Christians acknowledge that we are one family, despite our past and present quarrels, and that we owe each other respect, and should strive to reflect the love of Jesus. However, I will also tell my non-Christian neighbors that the way I see it, the interfaith meal that we that we will be sharing demonstrates an even wider celebration of communion, one which Jesus would surely bless. For that's just what happened when Jews and Gentiles picnicked in Galilee: peoples from various faith traditions sat down to break bread, enjoying God's hospitality. Therefore, I see the interfaith supper which we shall enjoy this evening as a token of a worldwide communion. Granted, we will not say the institutional words of our Lord's Supper there. In that sense, we will not celebrate communion with a capital "C." We will not be performing a Christian sacrament. But, I truly believe that we will be getting closer to the table hospitality that Jesus demonstrated when his disciples shied away from eating with people whom they supposed to be unworthy in God's eyes. Jesus said to them: "You feed them." (Don't run away from this). "You feed them." I am deeply grateful for the Spirit's gifts to us, for brothers and sisters here who have a wide, wide vision of God's love. May God bless Hanover church and keep us on this journey that calls us to walk ahead of our tribe, sticking to the heels of Jesus.
Postscript:
I write this the day following the Interfaith Supper. The planners were delighted that extra tables had to be set up to accommodate the 120+ persons who attended. In addition to the four faiths cited in Soulsman's article, we heard briefly also from Rev. Heather Lynn, the pastor of the First Unitarian Church of Wilmington, and from Raj Singh, a member of the Sikh faith. Everyone looks forward to an interfaith service of Thanksgiving to be held at 7 pm on November 22 at Congregation Beth Shalom. - Pastor Tom
