What is Communion?

Sermon Transcript by Rev. Ernest O’Neill

What is communion? What is the heart of communion? I’ll tell you a story that I think will bring
it home to our hearts, really. There was once a little man who found himself in the position that
many people do in these days when inner cities are being developed more and more. That is, he found
himself on a quarter of a city block with his own little wooden house and all the other buildings
had grown up all around him. And he was left on this quarter of a city block that he inherited from
his mum and dad with this little two bedroom house built of wood with ordinary shingles on the roof.

One day a millionaire developer came along and asked him how much he wanted for the house. And the
fellow thought he would be pretty shrewd and he said, “Well, how much will you give me for it?”
Because it was worth all of $26,000 to him and he reckoned with a little bit of shrewd dealing maybe
he’d get $30,000 for it instead. And the millionaire developer said, “I’ll give you half a million
dollars.” So the poor fella just stepped back and then stepped forward and said, “Done.”

But after the millionaire had left he felt a little guilty making all this money out of just a
hovel. So, he being an honest kind of guy went to work, went to Sears, got new shingles, took off
all the other shingles, put new ones on, got to work with aluminum siding, started to put it on over
the old wooden stuff, put new doors on, new windows, everything that he could think of to make the
house at least worth nearer the $500,000 that the developer had offered him. And so at last after
weeks and weeks of work he reckoned, “Well now, I don’t know that it’s worth $500,000 but it
certainly looks worth a lot more than it used to be.” And so he proudly handed the keys over to the
millionaire developer and he went off and bought himself a little piece of land in the suburbs.

Then he came back one day and the house was still there and he happened to meet the developer who
was there with some of his architects and he said to him, “Oh, you like what I did with the house,
do you?” And the developer said, “Yeah, yeah, I do.” And he said, “Ah, you’re going to keep it
like that?” And he said, “No, no,” and he pointed over to the side where the bulldozers were
waiting and he said, “No, no, I’m going to sweep that thing right off.” And the fella said, “You’re
going to sweep it right off?” And he was thinking of all the work he’d put into the shingles, and
the money he’d put into Sears and he couldn’t understand it. And the developer said, “Yeah, yeah.
You see, I didn’t buy this for the house I bought it for the site. I’m going to demolish that house
completely and I’m going to put up a marble, steel, and glass high rise.” And the fella just could
not believe it.

And eventually he himself had been involved in construction at one time and eventually he was taken
on the payroll of the millionaire developer and he was just amazed at what he found. He remembered
how he had tried to make his old house worth something and how he was always preoccupied when he was
putting the new doors and the new windows on, the new shingles, he was always preoccupied with the
fact that he was working on an old structure, an old building that didn’t look right and he was
trying to make do, he was trying to improve on it, but he was constantly working on the limitations
of the old structure. And he was amazed when he began to work for this developer because the
blueprints came down to him and he just read them off and he put up beautiful structure in marble,
and steel, and glass just from the blueprints and the plans that this fella brought him day after
day.

And he asked him one day, “Look, how do you know exactly what to do here?” And the architect took
him to his own office downtown and there was a perfect scale model of this massive high rise and the
architect said, “You see, I know what this is going to look like and all you’re doing is following
out my directions and soon what you build will be exactly like this model that I have in my office
downtown.”

Now that’s what communion is about, because there are many of us here that think that communion is
remodeling the old structure with a bit of help from Jesus’ Spirit here in this service. And so at
communion we’re always preoccupied with the old structure, and we come in burdened with the fact
that the old structure is having trouble with temper, and the old structure is having trouble with
greed and coveting, and the old structure is having trouble with depression, and we’re always asking
God, “Lord, as I drink this wine and as I eat this bread will you help me to have victory over this
depression, and victory over this uncleanness in my life, and victory over this anxiety.”

And we’re constantly preoccupied with the old structure and we’re always working within the
limitations of the old structure. And we’re always limited by how little we can really do because
of the shortcomings of the old structure. And that’s not what communion is about at all. Communion
is a clear declaration that in that eternal infinite space/time world that Einstein pointed to, God
took you as you are and he bulldozed you right off the cross and into the grave with Jesus and he
destroyed forever that old structure. And he has a perfect model in heaven that he has already
raised up by the power of his Spirit, of you, and you, and me.

He has a prefect structure created already and what he wants you to do here in communion is to begin
to read the blueprints that his Holy Spirit gives you and he will recreate that new structure on the
site of your old structure this morning. Now loved ones, there are dear verses that say exactly
that but we always attribute them to funerals and of course, the beauty of it is that this is our
remembering a great cosmic funeral that took place.

Maybe you’d like to look at the words, it’s 2 Corinthians 5:1. 2 Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that
if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed,” and it has been in Jesus, “We have a building from
God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Here indeed we groan, and long to put on
our heavenly dwelling, so that by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still
in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further
clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” Not you see, that we might patch up
what is mortal and make it look like life but what is mortal in us will be swallowed up by life.
“He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”

I’ll tell you what I’m going to do this morning. I’m going to come to God and say, “Lord, I believe
that all that I am was demolished by you in Jesus. And I believe Lord, that you have a perfect
model of me, Ernest O’Neil in heaven, and that you intend through the Holy Spirit’s light and life
to me to recreate that model here in my body on earth in this present life. Holy Spirit, show me
what you’re going to reveal to me off the perfect Ernest O’Neil here this morning.”

Loved ones, if your name is John there’s a perfect John that already exists. It’s interesting,
those of you who studied philosophy and Plato, remember that the dear fella, even though he knew
nothing about Jesus, he hankered after the fact that somewhere in the world beyond there were
perfect forms of what is here on earth. It’s amazing isn’t it that he felt after that in some way
and writes of it in his Republic which is the basis of all our university philosophy courses. And
it’s amazing that it’s a shadow of the truth.

Loved ones, if you’re name is Mary, or Peter, or Jean, or Joan, whatever your name is, there’s a
perfect model of you that God has already created in his own presence and he has already demolished
that old structure that you keep on trying to patch. And he is able to reveal more of that perfect
structure to you this morning and if you’re willing he can make it real in your life.

Now loved ones, that perfect you has absolute victory. That’s what communion is about. So, if I
were you, I’d just ask the Holy Spirit, “Show me Holy Spirit how when Jesus died I died and that all
that I used to be was demolished in him and that God has already built a perfect person in heaven
and can erect that on the site of my life this very day.” So do you see that communion is not an in
turned thing? It’s not a preoccupation with the old structure, it’s not a patching up, it’s a
looking up and a receiving what God has already created and that’s for all of us this morning.

So I’d ask you, you know, to join me – that’s what I’m going to do and that’s what can enable God to
create a new person in you this very morning. If you’re willing to take part in that loved ones,
will you stand and receive the invitation. You that do truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and
are in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life following the
commandments of God and walking from hence forth in his holy ways, draw near with faith and take
this holy sacrament to your comfort and make your humble confession unto almighty God. Let us be
seated as we pray.

Lord, we would no longer bother you with the things we were going to bring up. The things you see
in our lives that are so miserable and petty. Lord, we see that there is something underneath
those, there’s a whole self that thinks that we can somehow rectify the weaknesses and shortcomings
that we have and that’s what continues to give these weaknesses and shortcomings their life. Lord,
we would accept this morning that that very old self is flawed and has poor ideas of what you
intended us to be and Lord, that that old self with all its low poor petty ideas of what we should
be like has been crucified with Jesus.

Lord, we gladly would let it go now. All that self that wants to improve itself. All that self
that wants to grow better with a little help from you. Lord, we would let that now go. Thank you
Lord, thank you that that is what was crucified with Christ. Now blessed Holy Spirit, we would ask
you to reveal to us the beauty and the realty of the person that we have now been made in Jesus.
The beauty of the person that has been born again. Now that we have died with him, the beauty of
the person that has been born with him by the Holy Spirit.

Lord, thank you that as there was an old generation of Adam, so there is a new generation of Jesus
Christ, a new race created in beauty and that you by your Holy Spirit can enable us to be part of
that this morning. Thank you Lord. Lord, just show us what we need to let go of so that you can
create anew, the person that you have in mind. Thank you Lord, that we’re not without direction.
Thank you that there’s a perfect model that you have already before you. Thank you. We do not
presume to come to this thy table most merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness but in thy
manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table
but thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy.

Grant us therefore gracious Lord, so by faith to receive thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ that the
bread which we break may be unto us the communion of his body, and the cup of blessing which we
bless may be the communion of his blood and that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us. The
Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was betrayed took bread and broke it and said, “This is my body

which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me.” In like manner he took the cup after
supper saying, “This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. This do as often as you drink it
for as often as you eat the bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till he come.”

[Audio ends abruptly 18:34]