sermon excerpts: "The Church Is Sinking"

I ask the question, is our church built on a solid foundation? It seems that a great deal of energy and effort goes into maintaining the systems of governance and bureaucracy. We have a great commotion over the move to a new mandatory payroll service or the keeping of our church archives or who the President-Elect will be, while overlooking earthquakes in China, cyclones in Burma, the crystal meth drug crisis in Perth County, not to mention the increasing pressure put on decreasing numbers of church-goers in our communities.

Sometimes, often, as an organized religion we spend too much time worrying about ourselves rather than the world around us. Is our house built on the sands of self-preservation or the rock of service and action to which Christ calls us?

This is the point Christ is making when he challenges us with the notion that not everyone that calls on his name is known as a faithful follower. The core of our actions, the motivation needs to be rooted in humility and service, out of genuine concern for others and not for gloryseeking.

Again, what is the foundation of our faith? There have been times when swinging at my golfball stuck in a sandtrap, the ground seems quite hard and solid. So how do we know what we are standing on? It all comes to bear when we find ourselves in a time of storm and turmoil.

When life is raging all about us, what do we find under our feet? Is it sand, like God’s conditional favour, suddenly shifting, resettling, slipping away? Or are we planted firmly on a belief system of God’s eternal love that withstands the whims and fancies of the world?

The ritual of communion is built upon the ageless tradition of breaking bread with family and friends. Sharing a common meal is the foundation of our time together. It has been reduced to a single wafer or cube of bread and a shot of grape juice, but at its heart is a remembrance of a feast that Jesus shared with those closest to him.

I have a friend who once offered a communion service with pop and Doritos, which unnerved many people, including the youth for whom it was designed. But the intent was there – sharing a common meal with common food with common people. It was something that was special in the ordinariness of it. You’re likely relieved that this morning we celebrate the sacrament with traditional bread and grape juice. Regardless, it is in moments such as this, we find unchanging foundation of God’s love. For this we give thanks and praise. Amen.