I originally planned this sermon as part of another sermon series, or at least a sermon on communion. the sermon series had to switch, so we chose to preach through the first part of Paul's letter to the Romans. I tried to take my sermon ideas from the other series and mesh it with the Romans text. Did not work very well. In my run through on Sunday morning, I had to cut the "table" illustration I had in my original notes, which meant that the sermon title did not fit as closely to sermon title as I would have liked (the title still worked since the sermon was on the Lord's Supper). I threw in Paul's comments about the Lord's Supper from his first letter to the Corinthians and forced a sermon, but in fairness to Paul, I don't think the Romans text really should lead to a sermon on the Lord's Supper. But, here it is....
Romans 8: 8-17 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, 10 asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I want you to know, brothers and sisters,that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish 15 —hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”
“The Table” August 6, 2017; Romans 1: 8-17; SAPC, Denton
Introduction: We move from the rich, fun narratives of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac to the letter Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome. Until Labor Day, Lisa and I will be preaching on the half of Paul’s letter.
The Christian community in Rome is the only church Paul writes to that he has not visited in person.
in other words, the Romans knew him by reputation only and the gospel Paul preached came to them as rumor, what they have heard from others about what Paul has said.
In his letter, he will try to share with them directly some of his thoughts about faith and the gospel.
Move 1: Paul begins his letter, like he does most of his letters, with a welcome and some gracious words.
a. Putting his best foot forward.
1. Start off with the positive.
2. Make a good connection.
3. He tells them that he thanks God through Jesus Christ for all of them because their faith is proclaimed throughout the world.
4. It’s not that the Romans were the first to be faithful; it’s not technically their faith that is being proclaimed; but Paul links their faith to the faith that he proclaims.
b. Paul also begins by telling the Romans that he prays for them.
1. In fact, they can be assured that he always prays for them.
2. Paul often begins his letters by noting that he prays for the people, and then when he describes what he prays for about them, they discover that theme of the letter.
3. Sort of like the young girl who wanted a bicycle, but had been unable to successfully convince her parents to buy her one. One night as she kneeled to pray by the side of her bed, her parents heard her pray: Dear God, thank you so much for caring about my education and wanting me to have energy for school work. Please send me a bicycle so that I will not get too tired walking all the way to school and will be able to concentrate on my schoolwork.”
c. When Paul reveals his prayer for the Romans, he shares his for the Christians in Rome to mutually encourage one another.
1. This is important given the context of the Christian community in Rome at the time.
2. Years earlier, when Christianity first arrived in Rome, there were groups that met in people’s homes. the groups were both Jewish-Christians and Gentile Christians.
3. When Emperor Claudius came along, he forced Jews to leave Rome. he did not distinguish between Jews and Jewish-Christians, so most of the Jewish-Christians had been forced to leave Rome.
4. Consequently, most of the Christians in Rome were Gentile-Christians.
5. At the time of this letter, however, Roman Jews were being allowed back into Rome, which meant that Jewish-Christians like Priscilla and Aquila are coming back to Rome.
4. Paul is hopeful that these two groups, Gentile-Christians and Jewish-Christians, can co-exist, or as Paul writes, they may be may be “mutually encouraged by each other’s faith,”
Move 2: It seems appropriate that we begin Paul’s letter and its focus on mutual encouragement by coming to our Lord’s Table.
a. Paul does not explicitly mention the Lord’s Table in this letter, but we have heard his words from his letter to the church in Corinth.
1. we have heard him point out how the Corinthians come to the Lord’s Table in ways that divide them.
2. we have heard him call the Corinthians to a new way of celebrating the Lord’s Supper.
b. Reminder who prepares the Table.
1. Shim, our custodian may place the communion table in its proper place.
2. Catherine and Connie or other members of church may prepare the bread and wine and juice and set the trays on the Lord’s Table.
3. All necessary and helpful. could not do it without someone in the background preparing the elements each month.
4. But the Table is prepared first and foremost by our Lord and Savior.
5. Without Christ’s death on the cross, the bread and juice have little meaning.
6. Without Christ’s resurrection, the table has little power.
7. The power of the table comes from the Risen Christ who invites us into a new covenant: a covenant marked by forgiveness and grace; a covenant that has if foundation in the woe of God to resurrect.
8. This is our Lord’s Table prepared by him in his life and death and now hosted by him as the Resurrected Christ.
c. We are also reminded that this Table is about our community, our fellowship with one another.
1. Karl Barth in his classic study of Paul’s letter to the Romans, comments that Paul reminds us in this opening section of his letter that fellowship by itself is an “empty and trivial thing.” But, we cry out for fellowship with it joins us by the power of Holy Spirit to the risen Christ.
2. the fellowship we discover at our Lord’s Table is not just the good feelings of doing something together with someone else; it is community that allows us to live into the power of God to resurrect.
3. Robert McAfee Brown in his book Spirituality and Liberation (p. 142): “It is my[Brown] first communion service after ordination. It is taking place on the after gun turret of the U.S. Navy destroyer during WW II, and I am there because I am a navy chaplain. there is only room for three communicants at a time to come forward and receive the elements. The first three to respond to the invitation are a Lt. commander, captain of the vessel; a fireman’s apprentice, about as low as one can be in the ordinary naval hierarchy; and steward’s mate, who, because he is black, is not even included in the ordinary naval hierarchy. all blacks can do then in the the Jim Crow navy is wait table where the white officers eat. An officer, a white enlisted man, a black enlisted man. day by day they eat in separate mess halls. There are no circumstances in which they could eat together at a navy table. But at the Lord’s Table, not even Navy regulations can dictate who eats with whom.”
1. As you pass the tray of bread or the tray of wine and juice, look at the person to whom you hand the tray.
1. the person to whom you turn may be a loved one to whom you are delighted to hand the tray.
2. the person to whom you turn may be a loved one with whom you are displeased this morning and your’e not sure you really want to give him or her anything this morning.
3. the person to whom you turn may be a stranger who is hesitant and tentative about participating.
4. the person to whom you turn may confidently receive the trays, sure of what is happening in a a way that you are not.
5. and in all instances, you will pass the tray to the person.
6. Look them in the eye and see someone whom you encourage in their faith, even and they encourage you. Someone to whom you are tied because both of you are invited to the Lord’s Table to meet the resurrected Christ.
d. A final thought: Karl Barth, in his comments on this opening chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans notes that “The Gospel is not a truth among other truths. Rather, it sets a question-mark against all truth.”
1. The Lord’s Table becomes the question mark against all our relationships.
2. Are we in welcoming relationships?
3. Are we in relationships where our mutual faith helps each of us grow?
4. Do our relationships reveal the risen Christ and the power of God to resurrect and bring us into new life?
Conclusion: Come to our Lord’s Table to meet the Risen Christ. Amen.
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