The Table: Why it Changes Everything

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 11, Luke 22

• Sermon Summary

  Summary: In this Eastertide series called, Strange New World, Jeremy invites us to The Lord’s Table as we wake up in the light of resurrection. He explores Eucharist by looking closely at Jesus’ ask, intention, and presence at the table.

  All Our Symbols: Jeremy surveys some of the earliest Christian symbols including the Cross, Chi Ro, the Icthus fish, the eight-spoked wheel, and The Lord’s Table. Of these symbols, the Cross has become the most recognizable Christian symbol, yet as Jeremy points out, it is not one that Jesus chose for himself. The symbol of The Table (or The Lord’s Supper) is perhaps the most apt symbol for Christ.

  Jesus’ Ask: Jesus asks us to “do this in remembrance of me.” Something that the earliest Christians did and passed on to us. We engage in the very core of Christianity when we practice Communion together. Although practiced in different ways in different traditions, Eucharist has been at it’s most basic form, a variety of people gathering around a table to eat together with Christ.

  Jesus’ Intent: Jesus’ installation of Eucharist as a ritual for us to practice came at one of his lowest points of his ministry. Ignored, misunderstood, and soon betrayed—Jesus invites us into the raw reality of his life. Jeremy says that this challenges all the ways we misremember Jesus. By causing us re-assess our illusions of him, it allows us to open up the table up to everyone.

  Jesus’ Presence: The Lord’s Table is complicated and can be interpreted in many different ways. More than just a belief or theological claim, it reminds us that we are welcome with every failure as we sit next to Christ and others who are trying to grasp the reality of resurrection.

• Discussion Guide

  Community is shaped by the conversations we share. These questions and reflections are a tool to help you meaningfully engage with the themes of this week's teaching.

  Connect: What symbols of the Christian faith do you hold dear? Do you resonate with any of the ones mentioned in the sermon? Or does a particular piece of Christian art, music, or architecture stand out to you?

  Share: how you feel knowing that The Lord’s Table is one of our earliest faith practices. This sacrament, having been instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper, passed along from the first Christians to Paul, and later ending up in the gospels, is still a core part of the Christian faith.

  Does the way you approach or think about The Lord’s Table change in any way, knowing that it’s what Jesus asked his closest friends to do and something we’ve inherited even before all of our scriptures were written down?

  Reflect: on Jesus calling us back to the real, intimate, raw moment of The Last Supper. Ideas of who Jesus is can overshadow the Jesus who was sharing a meal with people who didn’t hear his words, vied for power around him, and betrayed him. Consider Jeremy’s words,

  “Well Jesus seems to want to go out of his way to destroy all these illusions we build for ourselves about him:

  And it’s not because Jesus is flawed,
  Not because Jesus will ever let us down,
  That's not what I'm saying here.
  What I'm saying is that, our illusions about Jesus:
  The ways we want him to be fearless and untouchable,
  The ways we want to be the perfect leader, never misunderstood,
  Always getting the best out of those around him,
  How those fantasies inevitably will fall.

  And so Jesus chooses to call us back:
  To Jesus at his most vulnerable, opening up about his fears,
  To Jesus at his most misunderstood, even by his closest friends,
  To Jesus at his most graceful, inviting even his own betrayer to come and sit and eat with him.
  Jesus calls us back to this moment so that we might—just like the disciples were forced to that night—let go of our illusions about him.”

  What does it mean for our illusions of Jesus to be dispelled by his invitation to the table?

  Engage: with Jesus’ invitation to at the table, despite our understanding of it. The Lord’s Table has many meanings, but what might it mean for you to invite Judas to the table?

  Takeaway: What is your takeaway from the message or today’s conversation?

  Benediction based on the sermon
  We are invited to the table where the Lord sits,
  knowing that we are welcome with every failure;
  Seated and standing,
  next to brothers and sisters,
  that are, like us, struggling to grasp resurrection.

  Might we begin to view our Lord’s invitation,
  as more than just a belief.
  More than a theological statement.

  But, as an encounter with the spirit that animates all things,
  in the light of Easter morning.
  May we enter this strange new world,
  with open hearts, minds, and bodies,
  Amen.

• Service Songs & Prayers

  CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 42

  MUSIC Curated by Rebecca Santos
  Cody Carnes - Firm Foundation
  Elevation Worship - Sure Been Good
  Brandon Lake - Gratitude
  Brooke Ligertwood - Holy Song
  
  EASTERTIDE PRAYER FOR RESURRECTION PASSION
  Written by Bobbi Salkeld
  
  The Christian calendar rolls from Lent into Eastertide. While Lent was 40 days of fasting and introspection, Eastertide is 50 days of celebration and observation. 

  In Eastertide, we attune our spiritual sensibilities to life in all its joyful forms. 

  So today, we’ll pray an Eastertide Prayer for Resurrection Passion. What we’re doing is shifting our experience in the world away from cynicism and despair toward delight and transformation. 

  Let us pray. 

  Resurrected Christ, together with you, 
  We pause to consider: deep joy. 
  For the memories of loved ones, 
  For the thrill of past adventures, 
  For the simplicity of small delights that make us who we are.

  May we see in deep joy, 
  The Spirit’s work to clarify our passions into their truest form. 

  Resurrected Christ, together with you, 
  We pause to consider: life-giving change. 
  For the new ideas that shift our thinking,
  For a fresh season we can feel just beginning, 
  For bodies that adapt and require tender care.

  May we see in life-giving change,
  The Spirit’s work to reshape our passions toward their truest form. 

  Resurrected Christ, together with you, 
  We pause to consider: Easter’s confidence. 
  For the trust we have that love never dies,
  For the mystery of your divine endlessness, 
  For the intimate care you offer each of us by name.

  May we see in Easter’s confidence,
  The Spirit’s work to bring all creation into its truest form. 

  Amen. 
  
  SERIES BUMPER
  Strange New World