Reoriented Identity: Communion's Power to Unify Us

Notice that he doesn't say remembrance of Christ, but a participation. As good as it is to remember the great sacrifice Jesus made for us, only doing that is like looking at the photograph of a meal. Now, it's an accurate representation to be sure, but it lacks the texture, the flavors, the experience of the true meal. It won't provide the nutrition that it was made for. [00:22:27] (37 seconds)  #ParticipateNotJustRemember

But the Emmaus Road story continues with the risen Jesus knowing their hearts and coming to their rescue. Notice Jesus didn't wait for them to come to him. Jesus met them where they were, seeking to make sense of it all, looking for a solid foundation to anchor their identity on. They were caught in their own small story of hopelessness. But Jesus gave them another story. It says, he opened the scriptures to them, explaining what was said in all the scriptures about him. The Jesus story, especially his resurrection, brings hope to our story, wherever we are in it, because Jesus is alive and in him we have a new identity and an eternal hope. [00:11:45] (53 seconds)  #JesusMeetsYou

By believing in Jesus, we tie into the power of his resurrection and become adopted children of God, part of a great family and part of his cosmic, epic story. Our identity comes from the source of all identity. Jesus gives us, we don't choose, an identity that transcends time and space and pulls together everything about us, allowing us to rest in who he made us to be. Our many pieces can become unified and become one in him. [00:13:48] (38 seconds)  #AdoptedInChrist

It was even the message of the animated movie Toy Story, one of the greatest box office successes of any animation of its time. Many adults actually missed the point of the movie, but it was an allegory of identity and community. In the essential moment of the movie, we see this scene, the bottom of Woody's boot. Did you miss it? It was the message of the movie. You belong to the one whose name is written on your soul. Who you are is about whose you are. [00:14:55] (46 seconds)  #YouBelongToHim

So what's the connection between that and identity? These disciples were lost. They could no longer recognize Jesus. Have you ever felt that way? Your life adrift with Jesus seemingly nowhere to be found? These disciples had rallied their identity around one particular dimension of their story that was bubbling to the top of their soup. It was the dimension of being Israelites with an established kingdom. This was their Jewish identity, who they were. But in a matter of hours, the death of Jesus was like their anchor had broken. They were now adrift. [00:10:22] (46 seconds)  #IdentityAdrift

In Jesus, the puzzle of our lives can come together because he gives us the whole picture of what life truly is. In Jesus, the disciples found joy in the middle of pain and hope in the middle of loss and hopelessness. Going to our soup analogy again, just because a bean bubbles up doesn't mean that you're chilly. A piece of meat doesn't make you stew. You are a flavorful, nutritious, and delicious soup made by loving hands. [00:12:53] (32 seconds)  #MadeWholeInChrist

Remember the breakdown of the word liturgy, people, and work? The communion story is actually directly tied to creation through the experience of food. Grain and fruit are the natural elements of creation that we can cultivate and we infuse with our labors to make bread and wine. In eating and drinking together, we participate in a seemingly ordinary act that God fashions into a sacred and holy meeting space for us for us to be in His epic story. [00:26:55] (36 seconds)  #CommunionIsCreation

Our worship service is designed to rise above the cultural currents. It is experiential in that it connects knowledge and emotion in a beyond rational way to create deeper meaning. Liturgy provides a binding, common, and communal experience and storytelling to, as we will see, reorient ourselves with an encounter with the God who transforms us to become what we were created to be. [00:18:22] (36 seconds)  #WorshipBeyondCulture