Ponderings

Christians around this country and beyond will celebrate “World Communion Sunday” on the first Sunday of October. The day was initiated in 1936 by the Presbyterian church as a response to our world’s warring madness. The goal of the founders was to help us look beyond our own parochial borders and recognize as sisters and brothers the Christians of the Sudan, China, Bosnia, and Israel. Traditional for this celebration are using different ethnic variations of bread, multi-cultural music, and readings in languages other than English. Although the Christian label is placed on a wide array ethnic packages, the celebration wants us to remember that we are the same on the inside. But for the same reasons that many Christians are not celebrating World Communion Sunday, I realize that I am having to rethink the “who” of my unity.

In reality it is the diminishing pool of so-called mainline Christians (the members of the National Council of Churches – UCC’s, Presbyterians, Methodists, etc) that will celebrate World Communion Sunday, and we will talk about how we are united with all Christians. Meanwhile the growing para-church organizations like the Family Research Council are growing in numbers, dollars, and influence. Their goal is not Christian unity but rather Christian nationalism, legislating a particular version of Christian morality and economics. And while my mainline colleagues twist themselves into pretzels to point to our commonalties and unity, the mega church just down the road is handing out voter guides that focus on divisive and partisan issues.

As we come to this Sunday, in the midst of Ramadan and the eve of Yom Kippur, I find that I am much less concerned about the labels of religion and much more concerned with the contents. I want to celebrate my unity with my sisters and brothers who seek to follow the God that I know in the healing, feeding, and teaching ministries of Jesus, not the ones who use Jesus’ name to bomb abortion clinics. I want to build on the unity that I share with others who recognize God’s kingdom as one of justice, peace, and inclusive love, not those who use Jesus’ name to preach hate. I no longer trust that a container is labeled “Christian” has contents that I’m willing to share. It’s time to look past the labels and read the list of ingredients.

The problem, of course, with this plan is that the list of ingredients is filled with words that are foreign to us. Wall Builders, Patriot Post, Concerned Women of America, and Patriot Academy are just a few of the names that are new to us. The names sound innocuous but do we know what values they bear? And though we would like to say that all Christians share the basic values of God’s love, it is in the name of Jesus that the Alliance Defense Fund trains attorneys “to battle the radical homosexual legal agenda.” Also in the name of Jesus American Vision’s leader, Gary DeMar, writes that another “long-term goal” should be “the execution of abortionists and parents who hire them.” The ingredients may be hard to understand, but they are undeniably toxic.

We will share communion on Sunday and we will talk about believers around the world. But we won’t limit our inclusion to those who bare the name of Christ and we won’t pretend to have unity with those who use our Lord’s name to promulgate hate. As we break the bread and share the cup, we will pray for God’s wisdom and learn to read the strange new words in the list of ingredients.