Today is one of those days where we can pause to reflect on what it means to be part of this thing we call the Church. Not only are we breaking bread and pouring out the cup like countless other around the globe, we are being reminded in our readings of what foundational covenant started this Judeo-Christian movement that we are a part of.
Today as we gather at the table and remember we are also remembering the Torah law that lies deep in the foundation of faith.
Ralph Milton, the author and storyteller from BC who for a time served as President of BC Conference once told the story about a Rabbi who lost a valuable gem and gathered all the kids in the neighbourhood to help him find it. They searched all over the front yard and back – they checked under every bush and combed every inch of the Rabbi’s yard before finally saying – “Rebbe, we’ve looked and looked and looked for the gem and we can’t find it … are you sure you lost it here?”
The Rabbi laughed and said, “Oh no, I dropped it in the basement. But the light is much better here …”
Ralph likened the Rabbi to our spiritual quests in the church. We spend lots and lots of time out in the yard searching because the light is much better, but we neglect the dark shadowy places and the difficult uncomfortable places because it’s easier and more comfortable to be out in the yard. In conveying his story, Ralph encouraged us collectively to go back into the basements and the dark shadowy corners and look there …
This is one of those moments … we have before us the story of the Ten Commandments – the foundational tenets – the Torah Law on which everything that follows rests. And yet, if you ask most Church members gathering at the table this worldwide communion Sunday, I doubt very much that many have given much thought to the ten commandments at all … we avoid the basement.
So, too descend those rickety old stairs for a moment – what do the Ten Commandments have to teach us today as we gather to break bread and share the cup?
The first lesson might be simply that the role of Law in the life of the Jewish faith, and ultimately our faith, is not what we’ve assumed. Often we see the Law as a burden that is imposed on people as a series of restrictive statements and proclamations.
We hear the ‘thou shalt not’s’ and assume it’s an attempt at curtailing our freedom …
But what if we accepted the view of Rabbis and teachers who say the Law – the Torah – this supposed list of “thou shalt not’s’ is actually an expression of faith that allows us to set ourselves apart as an act of devotion and LOVE to our God?
Instead of seeing the limits as something imposed from outside as a punishment, what if we turned our thinking around and saw these so-called limits as a way of expressing our faith boldly and openly saying – I don’t need to do any of these things anyway,
The Rabbis seldom see the Law as onerous and limiting. Instead they see the Law – the Torah as a means of attaining our full humanity by responding to God’s love through the living out of these distinctive ideas and restrictions.
Living Kosher, obeying God’s proclamations from Sinai, and setting ourselves apart by following the ancient teachings is not to be regarded as a negative – what limits us is NOT the law itself, but our obsession on the minutiae of the law.
We get hung up on trying to find the loop holes and the way out of the nitty picky details rather than accepting the role of these rules and regulations as a means of CELEBRATING and PROCLAIMING our faith.
Rabbi Abraham Heschel once wrote of observing the Sabbath – that infamous Seventh day: “In the tempestuous ocean of time and toil, there are islands of stillness where man may enter a harbour and reclaim his dignity. The island is the seventh day, the Sabbath, a day of detachment from things, instruments, and practical affairs as well as of attachment to the spirit.”
The observance of the Seventh day – one of the ten commandments, is about finding a place of peace and Shalom in the midst of a busy and tempestuous world.
The observance of the Law – the Torah, is about finding an expression of peace and Shalom AND faith in the midst of a busy and tempestuous world.
Breaking Bread and pouring out the cup at the table of fellowship within the church is about finding a place and an expression of peace, Shalom and faith in the midst of our busy and tempestuous lives.
It’s NOT about the nit-picky details, it’s about living, sharing and celebrating our faith.
It’s about going back to the basics and reclaiming the foundations of our faith.
This past week I read in a book by Jason Byassee, an American United Methodist minister, an example of what can happen when a Congregation remains focused on what is its foundational reason for being.
Byassee cites the congregation he once serves during a bitter and contentious election campaign. Battle lines were drawn and old friends became bitter enemies as two candidates from within the small congregation stood on opposite sides of the election.
Angry words and accusations were tossed back and forth between the two camps – but what kept the Church from exploding was a continued commitment to BEING CHURCH … the ladies of the congregation kept BOTH candidates in their prayers on the community prayer chain … the various groups within the congregation asked BOTH candidate to come and present their views … and instead of encouraging people to vote one way or another the pastor and the congregation urged people to become informed about the divisive issues, and to make sure they voted.
Then at a Church service, during the passing of the peace just prior to communion, the two rivals stood toe to toe with one another and one offered his hand saying “may the peace of Christ be with you …” and the other gentleman not only shook his hand, but embraced his supposed foe by saying “and also with you my friend …”
The kept to the basics – the foundational things that draws us here … faith, prayer, community, and the quirky things like Communion, passing the peace, and even The Law, that make us distinctive, and that show the world that we are people of faith.
Byassee for his part looking back, credits much of this healing and wholeness to the role of prayer … never did the Congregation forget to pray. They prayed for the candidates and their families, they prayed for the issues that we dividing their community, they prayed for their community, and they continued to pray for themselves. He offers the example of life’s storms breaking over the community only to be met by the breakwater formed by the women and men of the congregation firmly bowed in prayer.
This foundational gift – kept the community together.
And today that is what is happening here. We are creating a place of peace and Shalom in the midst of our busy and tempestuous lives by pausing to remember that God has entrusted this wondrous world into our care. We are simply the tenants in God’s vineyards, and when God seeks an accounting of the harvest how will we measure up? The vineyard has continued to suffer ecological damage, some workers are continually denied fair and living wages, while others have been shut out altogether. But we have the tools to return this vineyard to full health and vigour … it’s a little thing called faith, and it is based on these 10 easy steps that lead us to living our lives and our faith in a respectful and faithful way.
Today we break bread and pour out the cup remembering our connectedness to our faith, to our God and perhaps most importantly to one another … today we break bread and pour out the cup and remember that we are part of our greater community, part of this United Church of our’s, we are part of the Christian Church, and most importantly, we are part of the Faith Tradition that began that day in Sinai when Moses came down the stony path way labouring to carry the tablets given by God as a means of living and celebrating our relationship with God.
Today we break bread and share the cup remembering that for this briefest of moments, we stand fully in the presence of God and one another in a holy sanctuary of time where we are truly NOT alone.
May it be so … thanks be to God … Let us pray …
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