Twenty – Nine Hymns, One Prayer
This upcoming Sunday we will share in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, as is our monthly tradition at First UMC. In last year’s Confirmation class, when we talked about worship, one of the students said, “I wish we had Communion more than once a month.”
I wholeheartedly agree, as did John Wesley. He even preached a well-known sermon titled, “The Duty of Constant Communion,” four years before his death – at the age of 84. We should take note that in the last years of his life, this father of Methodism was so focused on articulating for the Church what Holy Communion means for us.
This Sunday we will observe World Communion Sunday, a time to remember that the body and blood of our Lord is not only for us as individuals bur for the redemption of the whole world. My hope and prayer for all of us is that we never lose our holy and reverent fear of the Sacrament and what it means for us.
One of the best ways to dig deeper into our faith is in our hands every Sunday morning. The United Methodist Hymnal is more than a book of songs. If we look through it carefully, we’ll see how well-ordered it is with songs familiar and new. Beginning on page 612, there are twenty-nine hymns and one prayer in the category, “Holy Communion.” I would encourage you to take a moment in the near future to flip through these 30 pages and pause with a hymn you don’t know. Take a moment to read that hymn slowly. If you can read music, sing along (and join the choir!). If you don’t read music, invent your own tune. These songs both old and new are sure to express something about Holy Communion we haven’t experienced yet.
I look forward to seeing you at the Lord’s table on Sunday – a table set for the whole world, whom he loved deeply enough to give his life.
all good things to each of you,
Pastor Darian
Lectionary Texts for Sunday, October 6, 2019
Lamentations 1:1-6
Psalm 137
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Luke 17:5-10