The first Sunday in October is World Communion Sunday in several Christian denominations. We are participating in our service today (REMINDER: the service starts at 3:00!) with shared bread. We have baked bread that we are sharing with several other local churches, and we will be praying for those churches in our services and Emmaus Groups.

I want to share just a little bit about why we think this kind of unity around Communion is important. Three key texts: John 17, Ephesians 2, and Revelation 5, In John 17, Jesus prayed for his followers to be one, just as he and the Father are one, "so that the world may know that You (the Father) sent me (Jesus)." In other words, Jesus taught us that our unity proves to the world that what he says about himself--that he comes from God. Our disunity and divisions signal that we are not sure if we believe that he is really God's Son.

In Ephesians 2, Paul argues that a key part of Jesus' work on the cross is to overcome natural divisions (such as those between Jew and Gentile). Jesus' blood is not only about saving us from sin but also meaningful for making one body out of those who are separated, Our unity reveals that we have become on new kind of humanity, a new city under the reign of Jesus the Lord.

And in Revelation 5, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sing to Jesus the Lamb, "You are worthy...because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God." Jesus rules over a kingdom that welcomes and transcends all nations and natural dividing lines. Our unity around Jesus (rather than around our nations or ideologies) demonstrates that Jesus the Lamb really is worthy, and that we serve as priests within creation.

To close, here is our prayer from our Communion time today:

We pray the prayer that Jesus prayed to the Father for us, as recorded in John 17:

“Whose prayer was not for us alone, but also for those who will believe in Him through our message, that all of us may be one, Father, just as you are in Jesus and He is in You. May we also be in You so that the world may believe that You have sent the Son. Jesus has given us the glory that You gave to Him, that we might be one as You and the Son are one—Jesus in us and You in Jesus—so that we may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You have sent the Son and have loved us even as You have loved Jesus.”

For our sake, for the sake of the world, and for Your own glory—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—unify us across our divisions.



Amen