This is our text for the morning, the words of Saint Paul to the church in Philippi:

But this one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. . . let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind.

Let us pray.
Startle us, O God, with your presence and by your Spirit open to us new truth revealed in Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, Amen.

This morning we gather with our sisters and brothers throughout the world around this table where Jesus Christ is host.
This communion table in the chancel is a link in a chain of tables stretching around the world.
Pause for a moment and picture in your hearts the diversity of people who will join us around this table before the day is over.
Thanks be to God for the privilege of taking our place at this table today.

There are at least three aspects or dimensions of our celebration of the sacrament of Holy Communion; they are past, present and future.

I.
As we take the bread and cup we look to the past and we remember.  We remember the life and ministry, the death and resurrection; of our Lord.

We remember Jesus on the last evening of his life asking his friends:  “Remember me,” “Don’t forget me.”  “Do this in remembrance of me.”

We who claim the name of Christian and try to be His followers in the world each day, come to this table this morning to remember and give thanks.

II
Another aspect or dimension of our celebration of Holy Communion is we gather here to celebrate the presence of the living Christ in our midst.

In the doctrine of transubstantiation our friends in the Roman Catholic Church believe that in the miracle of the Mass the bread and wine are transformed in the body and blood of Christ.

In our faith tradition, and this would be true of most mainline Protestant denominations, we hold to the doctrine known as consubstantiation.  We believe that Christ is present not in bread and cup, which are signs of God’s love and grace, but Christ is present in the midst of this faith community as we are open to his presence, to one another and our calling to be His disciples.

As Jesus promised: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.”

We come together about the table of our Lord this morning to celebrate the presence of the risen Christ in our midst, and give thanks.

This is the good news of the gospel. Whatever you are struggling with this morning: grief, illness, loss, unemployment, a broken relationship.  You are not alone:  God in Christ is with you!

III
The third aspect or dimension of Holy Communion is future. We gather about the table of our Lord and look to the day when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God.

Now to some this smacks of triumphalism.  In our day it has become out of fashion.  It happens nonetheless, to be a central part of the Christian faith.

After all, was this not the faith of Jesus when he taught us to pray:  “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?”

This is the faith to which Paul testifies in his letter to the Philippians.

He tells them:  “I have impeccable credentials:  a member of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews in regard to the law, a Pharisee as to righteousness under the law, blameless. . .

As if to say, “I have an MBA from Harvard, a Law degree from Yale, a Master of Divinity from Princeton.”

But I have come to regard everything as lost because of Christ. . . in fact, Paul says, I regard these things as rubbish. . . in order that I may gain Christ.

You hear what he is saying – get your priorities straight, put first things first, otherwise you are just circling the parking lot, getting nowhere.

Then these words, which might well be posted on your bulletin board:  But one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and looking forward to what lies ahead I press on to the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. . .let those of you who are mature be of the same mind.

At this table this morning we bear witness to the conviction that faith faces forward. Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.

Christians who have lost faith in God’s tomorrow have not only lost their way, they have literally lost their faith.

Here at this table with one another, with our sisters and brothers throughout the world, we take bread and cup and, Lo, I tell you a mystery. A miracle happens.

We find the faith and courage to face the future unafraid because God in Christ is with us.
We are empowered to make our witness for justice in an unjust world, to be peacemakers at a time when talk of war dominates the news, here with bread and cup we are nourished and strengthened to live the Christian life, the life of love.

Thanks be to God, who invites us now to the table where Jesus Christ is host.  In His spirit. Amen.