I have known what communion is for a long time. I remember a Sunday back in 1969. We had just started attending a Methodist Church in Taylors, S.C. I was only about five. That particular Sunday was a communion Sunday. Now when I was growing up we went to Baptist and Methodist and Presbyterian churches. And I knew that in some churches they didn't let little children take communion and in others they did. So I asked my parents if I could have communion. They said they thought that in this church they let children have communion if they have an understanding of what it means. By the way, my parents were wrong, in the Methodist Church all children are welcome to take part in Communion. So, my parents asked me if I knew what communion was. I had been to church every Sunday from the time I was an infant and I had seen communion 100 times. I told them that when we take communion we remember that Jesus died for us. I had seen and heard it 100 times.

I knew what Communion was but as I grew older that basic understanding grew as I grew. In college I attended worship at a campus ministry center where Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians worshipped together. Lutherans and Episcopalians celebrate communion every Sunday. That was something new to me. At home we just had communion once a quarter or once a month. Every Sunday seemed a bit much. You would think that having communion that much would take away its specialness, but it didn't. Instead it began to take on more meaning. My understanding of what communion was grew.

Communion can be described in many ways and has many meanings. Like many things in the Church it contains layers of meaning that only become clear to us as we experience it over and over. Who hasn't read a passage of the Bible, or a hymn, and at first you thought you knew what it was all about. But as you delved into it you found another level of meaning. Communion it like that, it cannot be described in just one way. Many Christians including John and Charles Wesley call Communion as a mystery. That means that we can only try to describe it, but we can never fully understand all its complexities.

So I need to make clear that this sermon will attempt to answer the question "What is Communion;" but it will not present the only way to answer it. I will only describe certain aspects of it.

So "What is communion?" Communion is one of the oldest ways that Christians have worshipped. Even in the earliest days of the church when 1 Corinthians was written, Paul talked about it as something that was being passed down. It even dates back to Jesus and his twelve disciples.

But Paul also says something interesting. He says that in communion we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again. We think of communion as a way to remember what Jesus did, but we often do not think of it as proclaiming like a sermon. But it does. In the communion service we tell the story of how God has saved us through Christ. Through the symbols of bread and wine we tell how Jesus body was broken and his blood shed for us. We also show that because of that shed blood we are fed spiritually. In communion we proclaim that God saves us through Christ's death. But when we come forward to take part in communion we also witness to our faith in Jesus' death and resurrection.

Communion is not just a noun, it is also a verb. It is not just a word to refer to a ceremony, in is a verb that refers to an action. It is not just something we take. It is something we do. Because in doing it we proclaim Christ's death and its power to save us.

But something more happens in communion. When we gather together to proclaim that good news that Christ's blood was shed to feed us spiritually, we are not alone. Christ is in our midst. And that affects each of us. We Methodist say that communion is a means of grace. Through it Christ ministers to us.

For our reading from Luke I chose the part of the Emmaus story when Christ broke the bread and was revealed to the disciples. Just as the risen Lord was with those pilgrims on their journey, the risen Christ is with us. And when we remember how he died to feed his lambs and how he bled to give us eternal life, it is an opportunity for Christ to minister to us. We proclaim his death to the world, but his gracious presence is also revealed to us as we partake.

As we celebrate communion today, I invite you to remember how Christ died for us. But I also invite you to look for Jesus to minister to you and for our Lord to be revealed to you once again in the breaking of this bread and the taking of this cup.

Mark 6:30-44

Jesus fed over 5,000 hungry people with five loaves and two fish. This is one of the most important miracles that Jesus performed. This is obvious from the fact that it is recorded in all four gospels. This miracle played an important role in the early Christians' understanding of communion.

There is a lot to be learned from this parable. There is the attitude of the disciples in the face of the people's needs. There is the role of the small boy, who John tells us about, who gives what little he has. There is the ability of Christ to supply the needs of the hungry masses with plenty left over.

There are a lot of ways to understand this miracle. Some people say that we are like the disciples who are concerned for the people's hunger and yet feel helpless. Some say we are like the crowds fed by Christ the bread of life. Some say we are like the little boy who gives all he has even though it is so small. But today I want to say that we are like the bread. Like those 5 barley loaves we who have given our lives to Christ are taken, blessed, broken, and given.

When the boy gave those loaves and fish to Jesus, he took them and then blessed them. He broke them and gave them to feed the hungry people. Like those loaves we are taken. Like that small boy, we who have given our lives to Christ have given all we have. And Jesus accepts that gift. Someone lesser than the Son of God would disdain such a small gift. They would sneer at it and say, "Don't you have anything more?" "How do you expect to heal the suffering of the masses with only this." But Jesus just smiles and accepts the gift.

Once we have been taken, Jesus blesses us. When we come to Christ we are just sinners. We are dirty from a life of sin and spiritual neglect. But Jesus cleans us up. He blesses us with forgiveness. Like a potter he remolds our distorted wills into a usable shape. And he gives us the Holy Spirit, God's living presence with us, as a counselor and provider.

Then Jesus breaks us. Christians used to talk about being broken, but we don't do that much anymore, because people already feel broken so they don't want to hear that God will break them. But this is an important part of the process of being used as part of Jesus ministry. If Jesus had not broken the loaves they could not have been distributed to the hungry people. In order to be tools for God's kingdom we must be broken. Our spirits and pride must be broken. We must be brought to our knees. Because the truth is that we can't minister by ourselves. Like the Disciples we don't have the resources. It is only when we are on our knees, looking to Christ, that we can be useful to God.

Once we are broken, Jesus gives us. He gives us in service. Some people have the mistaken conception that just being saved is the sum total of the Christian life. It is a very important part, an indispensable part, the beginning of the Christian life. But Jesus didn't save us to make us forgiven bumps on a log. He saved us so we could follow him. And Jesus is always going out to minister to the sick and needy and lost and oppressed. We are not what we once were. Jesus has drastically altered us by blessing us and breaking us. And because of what Jesus has done we are useful tools.

Look around you. We are surrounded by hungry people: people starving for love and companionship. They need the love of their Heavenly Father. People are hungry for forgiveness of their sins. People are dying for lack of bread, and medicine, and justice. And there are so many lost and hungry souls and their suffering is so great.

Why don't you help them? Begin by giving yourself to Christ. "But how can someone like me make a difference. Jesus can't do much with little old me. I barely have enough to live on myself." Just come as you are to Jesus. Come as a weak helpless individual. You may be much like those who are lost and dying around you.

I promise you Jesus will accept you. And he will bless you. He will bless you with his love. He will bless you with forgiveness. He will give himself to you as spiritual food and drink. And then he will break you. As you follow him as a disciple you will learn. You will learn that the way to be larger than your foes is to fall on your knees. You will learn that the greatest disciple is the one who bends the lowest to help another. And Jesus will give you. A new you: new and improved by the hands of God's Son. And God will use you to minister to others.

You may not be moved by the suffering in our world, in our very community. If you aren't, I pity you and I pray for you, because your heart is indeed hard. But if you are moved and wish you could do something, listen. Give Jesus what little you have: yourself. And let him transform you, then God can make a difference through you.