Webers, Oroweat, Or Jesus?

Reflections
August 23, 2009

One of my favorite hymns for Communion is One Bread, One Body. An original composition by John B. Foley written in 1978. It appears on page 620 of The United Methodist Hymnal. Using 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; Galatians 3:28 and 1 Corinthians 12, Mr. Foley provides a beautiful musical setting for understanding the meaning of a gathered community.

The refrain of the hymn both invites into and offers us a way to live. One bread, one body, one Lord of all, one cup of blessing which we bless. And we, though many throughout the earth, we are one body in this one Lord."

When we gather in worship, we each bring (as the tortoise) our very lives on our backs. We come from different places with different frames of reference, and different understandings and perhaps expectations of life. Yet, we come with a common hunger. A similar hope. A like desire. We seek to nourish a spiritual need. We want to know the will of God for ourselves. We yearn to be more complete as people of faith. In worship, (especially when we celebrate Communion), we can accomplish all of those things and more.

We come knowing all have been invited. The Open Table we celebrate as United Methodists is based in the belief that the invitation comes not from the household of faith but from The Lord of Life. We come knowing we are not alone. Others, like ourselves, frail, and fractured people, come seeking grace and assurance. We, are believers within the Body, stand with and for one another; thus strengthening the fabric of faith, individually and corporately. We come knowing our differences make no difference to God. Our ancestry, income, real estate holdings, schooling, or station in life is not the question God asks of us. Whether we seek justice and act in loving kindness is more likely.

When we gather in One Spirit, one in God, we can become one in deed, indeed. Then we, as many, can go throughout the earth proclaiming the hope of a God who gathers us at table, then sends us forth to share the love and hope we have known in the breaking of the bread and sharing of the cup.

Dr. Joey K. McDonald
First United Methodist Church
4832 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601