Communion 2010

Anxiety: it’s the worry about what might happen. You might lose your job; get smallpox; be hit by a meteorite (hey, it could happen); or for that matter be abducted by aliens. Have I given you enough to worry about? You’re content, right?

So many of us are content only when we’ve worried about everything. But Christ tells us that we are to “take no thought for the morrow.” Rather, we are to live trusting God for the future. So many of us, though, announce that we trust God – and worry about tomorrow anyway.

Permit me an instructive counterexample: Indiana Jones. Snakes, Nazis, giant boulders and who knows what else seem to be his constant problems. One particular instance might suffice. You might remember the scene: the crowd parts to reveal a menacing villain, face wrapped to the eyes, flashing a scimitar. Your first reaction is, “Indie’s in trouble.” Of course, Jones simply pulls out his pistol and shoots the man, but for a moment it looked grim. (I’m told that this was actually an ad-lib by Harrison Ford).

How is it that Harrison Ford gets through the day as Indiana Jones? Easy. He’s read the script. He knows what happens next.

Communion, you may recall, celebrates Christ’s death. If this were a movie, you’d think this was the last scene. But the script had been written before time began; we even have a partial copy in the words of the prophets of the Old Testament. Death looked invincible as well as horrible. But turn the page: there is the Resurrection. It’s just as God wrote it.

So as you take the cup and bread this morning, remember. Remember the sacrifice that made Easter possible. Remember that this happened according to God’s script. In short, remember just who’s in charge of this universe. Do not fear death; the script says you rise too. Remember that.