A few weeks ago, I worshiped with the church in the village
of Nacivare. As we waited for everyone
to gather, one of the church leaders from another village leaned over to me and
pointed towards the front of the building.
The church building in Nacivare is the size of a large living room in
the United States. It is a mud brick
building with a altar/table made of mud bricks up near the front. This table was decorated with used beer and
coke bottles holding picked flowers and in the center of the table were the
plates and cups for communion. My friend
indicated the red plastic table cloth that covered the table advertising the
Manica brand of beer with their slogan in bold letters, "Abraça o nosso
sabor" - Embrace our flavor. A
number of people in this church have a problem with drinking and this friend
chuckled at the irony.
The slogan captured my attention as well - What would it
mean if the church truly embraced the flavor we find at the Lord's table? What would that mean to a community of faith?
Years ago, I was blessed to perform my cousin Daonne’s
wedding and an image from that day has stuck with me ever since. After the bride and groom left, Rachel and I
stayed after the reception with the rest of the family to talk and help clean
up. Some folded and put away chairs, others
washed dishes, and someone was vacuuming the floor. At one point during the confusion of the
clean up, I glanced over and saw my Uncle Howard, the father-of-the-bride. He had finished clearing off the table used
to display the groom’s cake, and then he pulled off the tablecloth, revealing
the table beneath – it was a Communion table, with the carved words: “Do this
in Remembrance of Me." This table,
which was made for displaying the bread and the fruit of the vine on Sundays, had
been used on a Saturday in the fellowship hall for the wedding reception.
Scripture uses this compelling image of a wedding
celebration to describe the joining of Christ and his people (Eph. 5:32, Rev.
19). During his final Passover meal with
the disciples, Jesus shared the bread and wine with them and told them that he
would not share this meal with them again until the coming of the kingdom (Luke
22:14-19). When heaven is described as a
wedding banquet, and the Lord Supper as a future feast, or a party we have
something tangible to imagine. So, what
that final wedding feast will be like; will the communion meal be part of that
banquet? What will it be like for us to
share the groom’s table, Jesus’ table, while we break the bread and drink the
wine?
In watching a father-of-the-bride remove a groom’s cake and
a tablecloth to reveal the communion table underneath, there was a glimpse of
what that ultimate wedding celebration may be like - where, after the wedding
feast, we look over to see our Father pulling the cover from the groom’s table
to reveal the place for gathering and celebrating the groom’s meal.
When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper we point each other
toward that ultimate wedding celebration at the end of time where we will enjoy
being fully present at table with the Lord.
Embracing the flavor we find at the Lord's table today,
means remembering that it is only a taste of what is to come.
Grace and Peace,
Alan
No comments:
Post a Comment