We are Each Other’s Bread and Wine
no. 6

by James M. Lapp
Salford Mennonite Church
Harleysville, Pennsylvania, May 4, 2008

John 17:1-11, 20-24

Recently I participated in a peace witness in Washington DC.  About 3000 of us met on a Friday evening at the National Cathedral for nearly two hours of worship together.  We then went out into the cold wind and rain to walk together to the White House to give witness to the urgent concern we felt about the war in Iraq.  We carried tiny lamps as signs of hope in the darkness of night.  After walking perhaps two miles, we circled the White House singing, holding our small lights as a witness against the dark shroud of war that hangs over our nation.  Likely the President was not at home the evening we encircled his house, but this did not deter the enthusiasm of those who walked in an orderly way to give voice to the depth of their convictions.  It was one small witness for peace in a disordered and fragmented world.

I have occasionally participated in other gestures designed as a witness for peace, such as redirecting that part of my federal taxes devoted to past, present and future wars to ministries of compassion.  I have joined with countless others in writing letters to congressional leaders to call for refocusing of national priorities toward peaceful activities and to give witness to my faith in Jesus the Prince of Peace.  I realize these actions may seem strange and perhaps even reprehensible to some of you.   Many Christians agree that war does not represent God’s intention for humankind, but too often we sit back in helplessness not knowing what to do about it. Continue reading “Communion: a witness for peace” →

We are Each Other’s Bread and Wine
no. 5

by Rev. Joanna Harader
Peace Mennonite Church
Lawrence, Kansas, August 3, 2008

Matthew 26: 17-30

I invite you to dig into your memories and imaginations.  Envision the table. It’s a big table, with all the leaves put in.  The table is covered by Aunt Betty’s table cloth that doesn’t quite reach the ends.  There are lots of chairs around the table—six nice wooden ones, a few wobbly chairs brought up from the basement, a couple of metal folding chairs, and, of course, the piano bench where the two smallest have to sit and share the curved end of the table.

It’s supposed to be a nice meal.  The food is good.  There is an air of celebration. Things are going well.  Grandpa says, “Amen.”  You say, “Please pass the Jello salad.”  But then Uncle Herman says, “Can you believe those anti-family kooks up in Massachusetts, letting gay people get married?”  And your cousin Frank, who is still in the closet, looks intently at his mashed potatoes. Continue reading “Tension at the table” →

We are Each Other’s Bread and Wine
no. 4

by Gareth Brandt
Emmanuel Mennonite Church
bbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, November 11, 2007

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

On Remembrance Day in Canada, our country asks us to remember the sacrifice of soldiers who died and are dying in battle.  “Armistice Day” was the original name given to this national holiday that began in 1919 to remember the First World War as the “war to end all wars.”  Armistice is about the laying down of weapons.

Sadly, World War 1 was not the war to end all wars but the war that began the bloodiest century in the history of humankind.  Guns have not been laid down; rather, more sophisticated weaponry has been invented.  We have a day of remembrance, but it seems we have amnesia.  We forget and repeat the vicious cycles of violence all over again.

Without memory we are bound to repeat the mistakes of history.  Memory is also one of the primary handles we have for understanding the roots of our faith.  Though we experience faith in the present, those experiences are built on the foundation of memory.  Memory keeps the significance of past events relevant and meaningful for the present.
Continue reading “What do we remember?” →