The Gift of the Sacraments: Communion

Some of my earliest childhood memories of worship center on the sacrament of Holy Communion. I was probably 5 or 6 when my mom had a conversation with me about the meaning of communion. Until that time, I sat in worship but never shared in the taking of the bread and cup of communion. I’m not sure what sparked the conversation. It may have been my expression of the desire to participate in the sacrament. But whatever the reason, we had a conversation where my mom shared with me in the simplest of terms the heart of the sacrament – that the bread represented Jesus and his life given for our salvation, for our forgiveness, for our healing, and the cup represented his blood shed for us in love on the cross. She wanted to be sure I had some basic understanding of what I was doing before I participated in it.

Sometime after that conversation, I participated in communion for the first time, and I remember that moment so well. I remember holding the little cube of bread and the little cup of juice and feeling overwhelmed with the sense that I was participating in something big, something important, even something holy, though as I child, I would not have used that word “holy”. But I realize now that is what I was feeling – a sense of the holy mystery that we encounter in the bread and the cup of Christ. I felt awed by the love of Jesus as I held that bread and that little cup. I felt a part of something big, something bigger than I could fully understand but something of which I was very much a part.

What is amazing and holy about the gift of the sacraments of holy communion and baptism is their power to communicate the extraordinary love and grace of God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, through very ordinary, tangible things. Bread becomes more than ordinary bread. Ordinary bread has the power to nourish and sustain our bodies. Through Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit, communion bread has the power to nourish and sustain our souls.

The cup has the power to quench our physical thirst. The cup of Christ, through the presence of the Holy Spirit, has the power to quench the deep thirst of our hearts and souls. Ordinary water has the power to wash us clean. The waters of baptism have the power to wash our hearts and souls clean, to renew us, to empower us for new and never-ending life. And the power of these sacraments to nourish and forgive and renew and sustain us doesn’t stop with the individual. They work in us together, as the body of Christ, making us into the living reflection of Christ in the world.

“Ordinary Things, Extraordinary Grace” is the focus of our next, short sermon series where we will explore the depths of what the sacraments mean to us and what God does for us and in us through them. This Sunday we will be thinking about Holy Communion as we celebrate World Communion Sunday. If you are worshipping with us online, you will want to set the table in your home so that you can share in the sacrament of communion with your church family. Next Sunday, we will focus on the sacrament of baptism. There are so many ways that we experience the grace of God – more than I can name. But the sacraments of communion and baptism are the unique, specific practices where we trust God’s grace to show up and work in us every time we participate in them. Our Book of Discipline refers to these sacraments as “outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual grace.”

As you prepare for worship this Sunday, I invite you to remember the first time you participated in Holy Communion. What do you remember about that experience? What does the experience of Holy Communion mean to you now? How does it nourish your soul? I pray you will join us for worship this Sunday, either online or in-person, where we will gather around the table of once again and be nourished by their extraordinary grace present in these ordinary things.

Lessons from our Charter Members

A few weeks ago, I received a letter from Bob and Patty Rexrode, inviting me to a luncheon at their house with some of the charter members of our church. They thought it would be good for me to record some of their stories for the records of the church, so future generations could hear directly from those who worked to make their mark on Suntree.

I have to confess before that day I knew very little about the beginning years of our church. I’ve never really imagined what starting a brand-new church would look like. I guessed it would start in someone’s living room, then move to the classic one-room church with pews and a choir loft, and eventually land in the kind of building we’re in now.

Throughout that afternoon I heard stories of pastors chasing moving vans and meeting new church members at local happy hours. I heard stories of love and loss. I saw a group of friends who had been living life together for almost 40 years reminiscing on those hard-fought early days of making something brand new.

I was fortunate enough to capture these messages and craft them into an episode of the Suntree United Pastors Podcast (SUPP). For those unfamiliar, podcasts are a form of audio media, that can range from the drama of old-fashioned radio productions to something simpler, like an interview. They are uploaded to the internet and available via a variety of websites and smartphone apps. You can see this episode of our church podcast, and the 51 before it, by clicking here.

What I walked away with from that luncheon was a huge amount of respect for the work and dedication of our charter members. They met in any building that would hold them, including an animal hospital and an elementary school cafeteria, just for the chance to praise God and make something in his honor together. To be honest, there are Sunday mornings where I really struggle to get out of bed and to church on time, a church that has air conditioning, padded adult-sized seats, and every other comfort that a modern church is known for.

Last week I celebrated one full year at Suntree UMC. It’s been a weird year. Maybe the weirdest this church has had since those early days. When I look at where we are, and the dreams we all have for the future of this church, I can’t help but think that it’s time to channel a little bit of that Charter-Member spirit. We need to start looking at every event, bible study, and week of worship as an opportunity to grow this church, to welcome back those who have been reluctant to return, and introduce ourselves to those looking for this kind of community in Brevard County. This kind of growth doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because a dedicated group of believers decides that pursuing the likeness of Christ is better when it’s done together. It’s done when we remember that as iron sharpens iron, we are the best forms of ourselves when we are holding each other up. It’s done when we decide that embodying the EXTRAORDINARY love of Christ is a constant calling, and a high bar to be achieved.

So I hope you’ll check out the podcast and take away new respect and perspective for each of our Charter Members listed below. Let’s go out and build a church that would make them proud.

In Christ,
Tanner Smith
Director of Communications & Media