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*This sermon was presented in a series "Scripture and Interpretation" for World Communion Sunday, October 5, 2014 at Albany Mennonite Church. The communion service is included below. The focus of communion was upon peace and justice.
In my seminary study I came
across an interesting tract, written by Reformer Henry Bullinger against the 16th
century Anabaptists. It answers the question: Why don’t Anabaptists attend the state churches? In this 1530 tract
Bullinger notes that the major reason Anabaptists didn’t attend the state
churches was because the state churches didn’t allow the congregation to
respond to the preacher. According to the Anabaptists, the state churches did
not practice the Rule of Paul in 1
Corinthians 14, that is, they didn’t allow the people to participate in the
worship, preaching, and interpreting of scripture. The Anabaptists said:
When someone comes to church and
constantly hears only one person speaking, and all the listeners are silent…
who can ... regard it to be a spiritual congregation?
The Anabaptists encouraged reading scripture together and discussing the Bible
with one another in discerning its meaning. This 16th century tract
is evidence of the practice of communal interpretation of the Bible among the
early Anabaptists.
Interpreting the Bible in community was also
a practice among the Jews and the early disciples of Jesus. As we read in the book of Acts the Jews and the early disciples
were directly involved in the study, discussion, and interpretation of their
sacred texts. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. They conversed
with one another interpreting texts from the Hebrew Scriptures, as in the case
of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch.
Philip, dear Philip. What
kind of Bible study have you gotten yourself involved in? You should have
thought twice about accepting the invitation to interpret the scriptures with
an Ethiopian eunuch. Imagine this; Philip was involved in a Bible study with a
non-Christian foreigner who was an educated banker, Bible-reading Gentile,
well-to-do black slave, personal assistant to a Queen, who had an ambiguous gender,
an atypical sexual identity, and who was thus excluded from the church (or
should I say “temple”)! Talk about your diversity within a Bible study! And all
wrapped up in one person! So, who might we dare include in our Bible studies? Who knows, we might end up baptizing some
unexpected, marginalized people! And they might even end up becoming
part of the church! God help us…to do that!
Further on in Acts, Paul
argued in the synagogue from the scriptures concerning a new interpretation of
a suffering Messiah. By the way, a suffering Christ was not the traditional
Jewish way to interpret the Hebrew Scriptures about the Messiah. Together the Jews at Berea examined the
scriptures to see whether or not what Paul said was so. These instances of
biblical interpretation indicate there wasn’t simply one voice, but a
multi-voiced conversation around the scriptures, discerning their meaning.
Even as the church began
meeting in the homes of some wealthier believers, interpretation of scriptures
was a shared conversation. From the church at Corinth we learn of the informal,
charismatic, conversational, and participatory nature of the worship of the
early church. What some call the “Rule of Paul” in 1 Corinthians 14 are
guidelines for the congregation to share in an orderly manner in the worship,
which was often referenced by early Anabaptists. Some came with a prophecy or a
lesson or a hymn or a tongue or an interpretation. And we know the women were
prophesying like it was no man’s business, because Paul tried to forbid them
from speaking!
The people, men and women, at
Corinth participated in the hearing and sharing of God’s Word spoken in spirited
prophecy and interpreted together the meaning of the scriptures. Interpreting
the scripture in community was a practice of the early church.
Anabaptists were known for their
emphasis on interpreting the Bible in community. When I first started studying the early Anabaptists
and Mennonite theology I came across this concept of “a hermeneutic of
community.” I understood that to mean that the gathered congregation is the
primary location of biblical interpretation. This understanding was not totally
unique to our tradition, but it stood out as a key element in how our tradition
approaches the interpretation of the Bible. Further study led me to propose
that from an Anabaptist perspective both preaching and interpretation of the
Bible are communal and conversational practices. What I discovered was that the
Anabaptists practiced a congregational form of interpretation by allowing
participation in their informal style of worship, as portrayed in 1 Corinthian
14. Interaction with the preaching or teaching was expected. The words of
Anabaptist leaders were not considered the final word of truth. The leaders
themselves invited the community to correct anything that they taught. Interpreting
the scriptures was not left to the scholars, was not constricted by the church’s
traditions, or primarily an individual discipline. It was a communal and
interactive practice.
Contemporary churches around the world
are recapturing the practice of interpreting the Bible in and for the believing
community. This is happening in the midst of several trends that
have worked against interpreting in community. Western culture, with its
emphasis on individualism, has tended to place the Bible in the hands of the
isolated reader. Devotional Bible study epitomizes an American approach to scripture.
It emphasizes interpreting the Bible on my own and for myself. To interpret the
Bible within and for the church as a body is a practice that needs to be
recovered not only in the US, but also in the worldwide church.
This recovery is taking place
in new and exciting ways within the worldwide church. For some time now base
communities in Latin American have been opening the Bible in small groups and
interpreting the Bible for their people and their context. The Gospel of Solentiname includes the transcripts of communal
interpretation of Gospel texts led by Roman Catholic priest Ernesto Cardenal. Gerald
West, a Bible scholar, has instigated dialogical interpretation or “reading
with” strategies in South Africa. Emerging churches in the US, drawing from the
wells of Anabaptism, are practicing more collective approaches to reading
scripture. One of your adult Bible study classes is going through the book
“Free for All,” written by leaders of young emerging churches seeking to read
scripture in community.
It is my conviction that our
practice of interpreting the Bible in community needs to bring the diversity of
our own communities and the worldwide church into our circle of biblical interpretation.
Like Philip, we need to have someone like the Ethiopian eunuch, or better yet, the
diversity he represents, in our interpretive conversation. Interpreting the
Bible with our ears leaning toward toward the African-American, Latino/a, Asian,
and Native American communities can help us hear what God is saying to us from
these texts today. We definitely need to converse with the poor and homeless,
so that we interpret the Bible rightly, particularly since the Bible was
written from within peasant societies. Living within a culture of relative
wealth can skew our interpretations of the Bible.
We may not always be able to
literally bring the world into our congregation, but we can include the
diversity of the world in our interpretive conversation through written and
recorded testimonies or biblical interpretations from diverse social,
political, and cultural contexts. The Bible is not bound to one gender,
sexuality, class, race, culture, or nationality. We need to bring the world
into our interpretive conversation.
Praise be to God! There is
the church around the world to converse with around the Bible, so that we may fully
and clearly hear what God is saying to all of God’s diverse people today.
There is more light and truth yet to break forth from
God’s Holy Word.
Opening Prayer
God of all nations and peoples,
we gather together as your people today in unity with our brothers and sisters
in Christ around the world. As we share in communion with the global church
this day, may our eyes be opened to realize that all walls and borders between
us have been broken down in Christ. As we break the bread of life in scripture,
may our hearts burn within us with your truth. As we sing our hymns, may we
remember the many tongues that offer you praise in other cultures. As we pray
for one another, may we remember that there is a world of people beyond us that
are in need. As we go from this sacred place today, may our world be a little
larger, our faith a little stronger, our love a little deeper. In the name of
the universal Christ we pray. Amen.
The Table of Peace
We gather around the
communion table on this World Communion Sunday with our eyes focused upon the
dimensions of peace and justice within this meal, one among many themes of the
supper. The supper of Jesus finds its origins in political liberation. The Passover
was a ritual meal celebrating God’s liberation of Israel from bondage to the
Egyptian empire. The supper we celebrate is in remembrance of Jesus who lived
and taught the way of peace and God’s reign over all kingdoms and who was
crucified by the powers of the Roman Empire. Jesus’ supper reminds us of the other meals he
shared. At his open table he welcomed the stranger and outcast and fed the poor
and hungry multitudes. Jesus’ meals foreshadow the final meal of God’s kingdom,
when all tribes, tongues, and nations will dine together at the feast of the
slain Lamb, when peace shall reign over the earth and justice will flow down
like a stream. This is a rather subversive meal!
Today we celebrate our unity
and peace in Christ by breaking the bread and sharing the cup. Communion is a
ritual of peace in many ways. Through sharing in the bread and cup we remember
and participate in the body and blood of Christ. Rather than lead an armed
rebellion against the forces of Rome or call down an army of angels, Jesus took
the nonviolent way of the cross, even unto death. His life and death offers
liberation from the way of violence by exposing its folly and futility. Through
the resurrection God vindicated Jesus’ proclamation of God’s reign over that of
Caesar and his choice of a nonviolent death over violence. In the bread and cup
we remember and participate in Christ and his way of peace.
Ephesians 2 teaches us that
through the blood of the cross the walls that divide us as differing people and
cultures have been broken down. Jesus is our peace. He came and proclaimed
peace to those far off and those near. We are no longer strangers but citizens
and members of the common household of God. We remember in the bread and cup
that in Christ we are one people, no longer divided by the walls or borders
that separate us as nations. We who are in Christ are no longer Americans or
Iraqis or Mexicans or Africans. We are one in Christ. We are citizens of God’s
new country, one people through the reconciling work of Christ.
So, in sharing the bread and
cup we feed upon Christ, who took upon himself the nonviolent way that led to
the cross. In sharing the bread and cup we remember that we are a worldwide
church bound together in Christ, a bond that transcends national and political
boundaries and therefore calls us to live in peace with one another.
Communion Prayer
May this prayer be our call
to unity and peace. It is a prayer from the Didache or Teaching of the Twelve
Apostles, one of the earliest Christian documents outside the New Testament:
Even as this broken bread was scattered
over the hills,
and was gathered together to become one,
so let the church be gathered together
from the ends of the earth into your kingdom
For yours is the glory and the power and was gathered together to become one,
so let the church be gathered together
from the ends of the earth into your kingdom
through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
Confession and Reconciliation
In his instructions on
celebrating communion the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians about
not eating the bread and drinking the cup in an unworthy manner. Examine
yourselves and discern the body. We have taken this to mean that we reflect on
our own sins and discern Christ’s body in communion. This is partially true, we
should examine our relationship to Christ symbolized in the bread and cup. But,
also in the context of the divisions and conflicts within the church, Paul was
addressing the need for the church to examine themselves as a collective group
and discern the body of Christ, the church. How can they partake of the one
bread in remembrance of the one body of Christ when they are divided and in
conflict? Therefore, self-examination, confession, and reconciliation is to
precede partaking of the bread and cup.
Jesus said, “If you bring
your gift before the altar and there remember that you have something against a
brother or sister, first go and be reconciled and then come and offer your
gift.” As we share in these gifts of God brought before us, if we need to be
reconciled, even now at this moment, go to that person and be reconciled in
order to partake of the one body and blood of Christ in a manner worthy of our
call to unity and peace.
Silent Prayer
Assurance of Forgiveness
If we confess our sins, God
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. Amen.
Taking, Blessing, Breaking the Bread
I received from the Lord what
I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night Jesus was betrayed he
took bread took bread, and he gave thanks…
Baruch atah Adonai elohenu, melek ha olam, ha motzi
lehem min ha aretz
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who
brings forth bread from the earth.
And when he had given thanks,
he broke it and said, “This is my body that is broken for you. Do this in
remembrance of me.”
Taking, Blessing the Cup
In the same way he also took
the cup, after supper, and blessed it.
Baruch atah Adonai elohenu, melek ha olam, boray peri
hagaphen
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who
creates the fruit of the vine.
Jesus said, “This cup is the
new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of
me.”
Invitation to the Table
Come, for everything is now
ready. God calls you to the welcoming table of peace. The gifts of God for the
people of God.
Sharing Communion
Communion blessing
For as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
The Peacemaker’s Creed- written by Leo Hartshorn
We believe in God, creator of heaven and earth
who calls us to care for the earth
who
is the maker of shalom
who
commanded his people not to kill
who
shatters the spear
and
beats swords into plowshares
We believe in Jesus Christ, the Prince
of Peace
who
blessed the peacemakers
who taught his
disciples to love their enemies
who
told Peter to put away the sword
who
took the nonviolent way of the cross
and
was raised by God to vindicate his way of peace
We believe in the Holy Spirit
who
breaks down the walls that divide us
who
empowers us to overturn the tables of injustice
who
lets justice roll down like waters
who
liberates the captives
and sets the prisoners
free
We believe in the church universal
which
is God’s beloved community
which transcends all
nations, politics, and cultures
which
calls us to unity
which
follows the nonviolent way of Jesus
and
proclaims the gospel of peace
We believe in the reign of God
when
the lion will lie down with the lamb
when
people from every nation, tribe, and tongue will worship the Lamb of God
when
everyone will sit at the welcoming table
when
the last will be first, the rich will be poor, the outsiders will be insiders
and
peace and justice will reign over all the earth
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