A Reminder That We Are Part of Something Larger

There are moments in life that impinge upon us in dramatic fashion. Certain things take place that force us to get out of ourselves and our narrow inner circles of family, friends, routine, and responsibilities.

Some of those events are truly huge; others are significant but in the big picture of things they are in reality transient. The former would include the landing of the Apollo 11 spaceflight on the moon, when the entire world moved beyond itself and its individual and national loyalties long enough to comprehend that human beings, for the first time in history, were walking on the far away heavenly sphere. The latter would include when the Ohio State Buckeyes won the National Championship in football a few years ago (with my apologies to Michigan fans). We Ohioans were caught up in a celebration in which even people we never met were cheering along with us. The point is that there are moments and special happenings that take us beyond our narrow individualistic focus and we are transported into a larger world.

Today Christians all over the World celebrated World Communion Sunday. We followers of Jesus are very divided over the meaning of the sacrament and how often it should be celebrated (I for one would like to have it weekly). But today, we disciples of Jesus are reminded that God is at work in his people the church in a way that goes beyond our local congregations. God is at work in the church universal throughout the entire world. Each individual church plays a small but quite significant part in the divine workings in history. Whether we call ourselves Methodist or Presbyterian or Baptist or Catholic or Pentecostal we are first and foremost the church, God's people in this world through whom God's kingdom is being revealed.

Today, as we took Holy Communion all around the world, it was a moment when we were invited to peer over the horizon of God's kingdom and view our place as God works in this world in ways that are larger than our often myopic perspective. The Church of Jesus Christ is God's beachhead in this world as he works to make this world his once again.

"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15).