Into the Cup of Life

Sermon Title: “Into the Cup of Life”
Text: I Corinthians 10:14-22
By Rev. Frank J. Hernando
World-wide Communion Sunday
02 October 2005 Seoul, Korea

I Corinthians 10: 14-22
/14/ Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. /15/ I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. /16/ The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? /17/ Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. /18/ Consider the people of Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? /19/ What do I imply then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? /20/ No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. /21/ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. /22/ Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

INTRODUCTION
I am thankful indeed for the invitation of your pastor to share with you the message on this World-wide Communion Sunday. For the ten (10) long years of pastoring a local church in my Presbytery in central Philippines, my wife Gloria and I always ensure that World-wide Communion Sunday would be a meaningful experience for the members. Even here in South Korea, my wife and I normally prepare a special kind of worship service for this very important Sunday in the life of the Church.

In our migrant workers community in Kang Nam Presbyterian Church we are celebrating World-wide Communion Sunday as well. In the light of this occasion let me share with you insights into the text written by Paul for the first century Christians in Corinth.

ONE
Into the cup of life, believers are poured in as catalysts for transforming the character of life in society. There are many people including Christians who are indifferent to the plight of the suffering ones. Thus it is not wise for Christians to maintain its bystander attitude or go on with their sheer indifference towards actual life situations in society.

Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians thinks that the worship of idols is irreconcilable with the worship of God in Jesus Christ. The idols that Paul refers to are those which demand obedience and replace God in the life of believers. These gods are not represented as sculpted images or icons in temples. These are things, spiritual and moral values that oppose God. The attitude of Corinthian Christians toward these gods is one which competes and even displaces belief in God in Jesus Christ. This is disgusting before the community of faith in the church in Corinth. Christian unity was disrupted in the Church in Corinth.

It is within this purview that Paul admonishes the Corinthian Christians to stay away from idolatry or the paying allegiance to things such as wealth, money, prestige and icons of power and politics. It is not right for Christians to be enslaved by idols, rather their life as community of faith must show forth the life of Jesus Christ. He asked them, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? “(v.16).

The point of unity of among Christians is the sharing in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, every time we bless the cup and break the bread, we are reminded that we had been redeemed by the life of Jesus Christ. In drinking from the cup of blessing that we bless is sharing in the sufferings and death of many people in our world today. We bleed with those who are wounded of the wars of aggression. We are in solidarity with those who are hungry and sick in our world today, because we are all poured into the cup of life. The bread that we break today is participation in the life of Christ—the life that anticipates the realization of a peaceful and abundant life for all.

I had the chance to participate in the 90th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) in Gwangju, Jeolanamdo. Gloria and I had the chance to chat with the Rev. Samuel Muriguh, general secretary of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. We asked him about the extent of HIV-AIDS infection in his country and other nearby countries in Africa. He mentioned that in Kenya alone 400 people die of HIV-AIDS everyday. Life expectancy in his country is only 45 years old. He is personally saddened by the reality of this pandemic disease which has infected even his relatives.

There are many people in our world today who feel the dread of this disease, yet unable to do something to help. Rev. Samuel Muriguh has best hopes that someday healing will surely come to his own people. He believes that God has a plan for the healing of peoples. While listening to this young church leader, I was challenged. My hope is reinvigorated in the saving power of God in Christ. But neither I can hope alone nor act by myself for I need the great number of committed Christians like you to hope and act in synchronized manner to overcome difficult situations. You are part of this. If we can act for the poor family next door, we can as well act for the hungry, sick and dying in other parts of the world.

TWO
Furthermore, from the cup of life we are being poured out. We who have received the power of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are expected to serve at our best. This means that, as Paul has reminded the Corinthian Christians we are not to participate in idolatry whether to offer sacrifices to gods or to act in a ways that violate the Spirit of Christ in us.

Inasmuch that we profess the Lordship of Jesus Christ in society we are expected to live out our monotheistic belief and initiate community oriented programs that enhance our faith and witness. By giving allegiance to gods of modern times such as wealth, power, prestige and comfort we are in fact making sacrifices to them. The only possible means of restoring our affinity and identity with God in Christ is by being poured out. When our lives are poured out, we become means of inspiration to live an exemplary Christian life.

Working with migrant workers coming from different countries in Asia has given me a deeper understanding of my faith in the context of Korean society. I am saddened by the experiences of many migrants workers who have worked in factories but their wages are not paid by their employers. The phenomenon of migration is a result of uneven economic development in the world. For many migrant workers their lives are being poured out or sacrificed for the sake of their families and relatives. They continue to endure long hours of work in the factories. They let pass the demeaning remarks of their Korean managers and supervisors. There are times of homesickness but they resist it. There are many other types of unexpected circumstances like arrest and deportation which I as a pastoral counselor can only assure migrant workers that there is life after South Korea. Migrant workers’ identity is so molded by their struggle for abundant life and not by the amount of money they have earned in working abroad.

People’s identity is formed by culture and the political economy of a family, tribe or nation. For Christians their identity is grounded on their faith in Jesus Christ. This means that human constructs such as culture and political economy can be transcended when Christians live in love and unity. When Christians pour out their lives not just for their own selves but for those who are in dire need, Christian unity is not far from reality. While there remain distinct cultural heritages, we strive to live in solidarity with struggling peoples in the world.

THREE

Finally, Christians all over the world ought to have the collective consciousness of being part of the one loaf—the body of Christ. Paul said, “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (v.17). The broken bread and the poured wine are the rich theological Christian symbolism that must be never oversimplified in the nice pictures of freshly baked bread or by the advertisement of gentlemanly effect of expensive wines. What I’m saying is that even our theological symbolism such as bread and wine and the unity of the Body had been co-opted and used by the market place—and clichés of capitalist advertisements. Thus our community life has become captive of the consumerist values. I even heard people measuring love for the other person or loved ones in terms of monetary value. It is not only awkward, but shameful for Christians to think that way.

There is one loaf—the Body of Christ. As members of Christian communities we participate in the life of Christ in the world. Christian unity is expressed in various ways. Prior to my appointment as UCCP mission co-worker to PROK 2004 I was teaching the Old Testament and Contemporary Theology at Saint Paul’s Theological Seminary of the Philippine Independent Church in Iloilo City. This Christian Church has a type of Anglican tradition. Our dean Rev. Father Larry Herrera would complain to me when I would skip the Eucharist. He would remind me that I have missed half of the service because I did not take the communion. I would reply to him saying, “That’s my concern Fr. Larry, because as one coming from the Presbyterian tradition, I would only take communion once a month and not as frequent as you do.”

My dear sisters and brother in Christ: our lives are poured out for the healing of those who are sick and dying. We are poured as a balm that not only soothes the pain, but cures the disease. Our lives can truly be the cup of passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, where our lives are joined together with the Spirit. Our lives reach out to hundreds and thousands of people near or far because of the enduring faith and committed service we have to the struggling and suffering peoples. We should never take for granted our witness and service to the life of God in Christ. In doing of our Christian witness we are in forefront of the overcoming the demonic powers of our times. May God bless you all. Amen.