At this table we celebrate the miracle of forgiveness that Jesus won for us through his sacrifice at Calvary.  This bread signifies his body, and this cup his blood, shed for us on the cross.

 Now like me, you may have skeptical friends who demand to know exactly how this miracle worked, why it was done this way.  Our limited human intellect may not fully comprehend the how of this, but we can see the proof in what our world is like without God’s grace in Jesus.

 A friend recently told me about his nine-year-old grandson.  His mother is into all the weird beliefs of the modern Godless world. At Halloween her house is full of spider webs and horrible creatures, and those weird and scary ideas occupy her interest throughout the year.  The grandson cannot sleep alone in a room, he needs someone nearby to calm him in order to rest.  For that boy the world is a terrifying place, ruled without any sense, reason, or compassion.

 As we talked about this, we agreed that is exactly what the world was like for people of ancient times who had turned from God and had no knowledge of him.  Their imaginary pagan gods were irrational and unreasonable, and needed to be placated with horrible practices, like human sacrifice.

 Such people tend to become like the gods they worship.  As Psalm 12:8 says, “The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men”.  And this had turned God’s good world into a world of sin.

Jesus came into that frightening world of chaos and horror to save us. He took the suffering due to our sin upon himself on the cross, to restore us as God’s righteous children.

We don’t need to know the how to accept this gift, but we have been given the why.  1 John 3:16 reads, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.”

This miracle shows the true nature of the one real God, and His infinite and unconditional love for each one of us.  We truly live by this miracle, as God gives his Holy Spirit to transform our lives into real life in Him.  And as people live by faith, that changes our world into one of reason, mercy, goodness and hope.

 So we come to this table with simple humility and thankfulness to Jesus, who has saved us.  All are welcome to this meal, you don’t need to be a member of this or any church.  All you need is a hunger to be made whole, and restored to our Heavenly Father through Jesus..