Gregg DeMey 0:09
Good morning friends and welcome to Elmhurst CRC's daily dose of the Word of God. It's Thursday, April 18, it's the season of Easter and we are walking the Emmaus road with Jesus. This is Gregg DeMey, Lead Pastor at the church and today we're going to talk about the sacrament of communion.
Gregg DeMey 0:24
In Luke chapter 24, Jesus' interaction with two disciples on the road to Emmaus ends in a communion scene. The Bible says, "As they sat down to eat, Jesus took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them and suddenly their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. I grew up thinking of communion - Jesus sharing his body and blood through bread and wine - as a weighty, serious and even sad experience. In my little head, it was linked exclusively with Jesus suffering and death. I had a little fear that if you received communion wrongly, you'd be eating and drinking God's judgment on yourself (because I misunderstood some other scriptures). It never occurred to me that communion was also linked with Jesus resurrection - his n ew body or as a sign of the eighth day, the new heavens, the new earth and the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Gregg DeMey 1:28
Now it was in the breaking of bread in Emmaus that these two disciples finally recognized their risne Lord Jesus. Later in Luke chapter 24, Jesus eats again with his other disciples, and in a beautiful scene in John chapter 21, Jesus actually makes breakfast including baking bread beside the Sea of Galilee for his disciples. Meal time with Jesus was transformed after his resurrection. It was for this reason that many early Christians included (in addition to the basics of bread and wine in celebrations of communion) a dish of milk and honey.
Gregg DeMey 2:08
Why milk and honey? When God's people leaned into the promise of the promised land, they described it as, "A land flowing with milk and honey." These days, where is the promised land? You might love your hometown or your home country, but I believe that the promised land is no other place than in the presence of Jesus. To live under his banner, in his kingdom wherever and whenever that happens. So we trust and pray that this very Sunday, as we come to Jesus table together again, that we might have the same capacity to recognize his presence, his love, and his nearness. While there will only be bread and juice served, I encourage you to see if you might also be able to detect the notes of milk and honey.
Gregg DeMey 3:05
Let's pray. Jesus, how amazing that you came to serve. We are eager for you to host us and be at your table this very Sunday. Amen.