WEBVTT 00:00:09.609 --> 00:00:11.990 Hey, welcome back here to the Semi -Seminary, 00:00:12.109 --> 00:00:14.410 and I'm Pastor Jim, preacher, storyteller, and 00:00:14.410 --> 00:00:17.469 fellow traveler on the long road between hunger 00:00:17.469 --> 00:00:20.649 and grace. Today, we're talking about what happens 00:00:20.649 --> 00:00:24.250 after the meal, that holy quiet when the cup's 00:00:24.250 --> 00:00:28.929 empty but the taste still lingers. Today is the 00:00:28.929 --> 00:00:32.329 first Sunday in October. That means it's World 00:00:32.329 --> 00:00:37.030 Communion Sunday. So, from Stillwater to Seoul 00:00:37.030 --> 00:00:40.460 to San Paolo. Somebody just whispered the same 00:00:40.460 --> 00:00:44.359 words Jesus said in that upper room. Do this 00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:48.600 in remembrance of me. Somehow, cross time zones 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:51.679 and tired souls were all sitting at the same 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:54.899 table. If the spirit moves while you're here, 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:58.820 and she just might, go ahead, like, share, subscribe. 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:02.240 Not for fame, not for clicks. But so this gospel 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:04.420 in the static might find somebody who still believes 00:01:04.420 --> 00:01:07.879 in the taste of grace. to linger long after the 00:01:07.879 --> 00:01:10.719 service ends. I'll see you on the other side. 00:01:15.480 --> 00:01:18.659 Maybe you can still feel it in your mouth, the 00:01:18.659 --> 00:01:22.980 faint sweetness of the grape juice, that last 00:01:22.980 --> 00:01:29.120 crumb hiding by a molar. The room hasn't quite 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:32.280 remembered how to talk yet. Cough, a sniffle. 00:01:33.209 --> 00:01:35.590 The rustle of bulletins, but mostly the kind 00:01:35.590 --> 00:01:41.069 of silence that's earned, not enforced. You look 00:01:41.069 --> 00:01:43.189 down at your empty hands. You still remember 00:01:43.189 --> 00:01:45.590 the weight. Bread pressed into your palm, the 00:01:45.590 --> 00:01:49.950 cup toward your lips. And you heard the story 00:01:49.950 --> 00:01:53.489 again, the one from Luke 22. You saw it land 00:01:53.489 --> 00:01:58.629 in real time, just now. He took bread, gave thanks. 00:01:59.370 --> 00:02:01.950 broke it, and gave it to them, saying, this is 00:02:01.950 --> 00:02:05.370 my body given for you. Do this in remembrance 00:02:05.370 --> 00:02:11.710 of me. And you did it. You remembered. You participated. 00:02:12.849 --> 00:02:16.949 And now, in the soft hum that follows, you realize 00:02:16.949 --> 00:02:20.669 remembering isn't always about just nostalgia. 00:02:20.689 --> 00:02:24.789 It's about digestion. You taste mercy while you 00:02:24.789 --> 00:02:28.879 breathe. Maybe the air smells a little like lemon 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:34.259 oil and candles. Welch's grape juice and furniture 00:02:34.259 --> 00:02:37.300 polish. The pew beneath you is warm from your 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:40.719 own weight. For a heartbeat, you think, this 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:46.280 is what presence feels like. You came in hungry. 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:51.439 You're still here. Not quite full, but satisfied 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:55.120 enough to remember what hunger's for. And maybe... 00:02:55.719 --> 00:02:59.039 Maybe if you listen close, you can hear the echo 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:02.680 of kitchens and sanctuaries all across the world. 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:07.960 Someone in Nairobi is washing the chalice. Someone 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:13.180 in Seoul humming a hymn. A pastor in Peru is 00:03:13.180 --> 00:03:17.000 drying the plate with a linen cloth. The same 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:19.699 smell of grape and bread has crossed oceans. 00:03:21.129 --> 00:03:24.870 You realize you are one heartbeat in the global 00:03:24.870 --> 00:03:30.449 pulse of Thanksgiving. Maybe you close your eyes 00:03:30.449 --> 00:03:35.530 for a moment and imagine that upper room. The 00:03:35.530 --> 00:03:38.169 table there wasn't fancy. The air smelled like 00:03:38.169 --> 00:03:42.229 sweat and oil lamps. Maybe one of the disciples 00:03:42.229 --> 00:03:46.009 still chewing on some olives. Maybe another staring 00:03:46.009 --> 00:03:51.400 down at his feet, ashamed. Jesus looked at that 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:55.219 ragged circle of friends, fishermen, zealots, 00:03:55.360 --> 00:04:00.219 tax men. Jesus looked at them and he called them 00:04:00.219 --> 00:04:04.759 beloved. And you sit in a pew here in Oklahoma 00:04:04.759 --> 00:04:07.680 and you realize you're part of that very same 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:13.580 circle. Their bread is your bread. Their redemption 00:04:13.580 --> 00:04:17.560 is your redemption. Their table is your table. 00:04:19.079 --> 00:04:22.579 When you open your eyes, you see the same Christ 00:04:22.579 --> 00:04:26.439 looking back through the eyes of the people around 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:29.240 you, the young, the old, the ones who sing too 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:33.839 loud, the ones who don't sing at all. And most 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:37.439 weeks, you chase meaning like wind -blown paper. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:41.439 You scroll, you drive, you plan, you hold a phone 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:45.500 more often than someone's hand. You fill the 00:04:45.500 --> 00:04:49.740 hours, but not your soul. You know the taste 00:04:49.740 --> 00:04:54.500 of busyness, but not belonging. And there are 00:04:54.500 --> 00:04:57.060 tables everywhere, kitchen counters, coffee shops, 00:04:57.259 --> 00:05:00.500 conference rooms. Hardly any of them feel like 00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:05.040 this one. Out there, you pay for your meal and 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:08.360 clear your own plate, but in here, the meal is 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:12.540 handed to you like mercy you can't afford. And 00:05:12.540 --> 00:05:17.180 you think of how Luke told it. The Son of God 00:05:17.180 --> 00:05:20.199 taking bread in his own hands, giving thanks 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:23.639 when he knew betrayal was already walking the 00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:28.000 hallway. You can't help but swallow hard at that 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:33.939 detail. He gave thanks anyway. He broke the bread 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:39.800 anyway. He poured that cup anyway. You realize 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:42.920 how easily you can skip Thanksgiving when there's 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:47.220 pain in the room. How quick you are to reach 00:05:47.220 --> 00:05:51.540 for distraction instead of doxology. You remember 00:05:51.540 --> 00:05:53.920 times you bowed your head before a meal and muttered 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:58.139 thanks like a reflex, but not a revelation. But 00:05:58.139 --> 00:06:02.699 here, at this table, Thanksgiving isn't a prelude 00:06:02.699 --> 00:06:09.379 to anything. It's the point. The table unmasks 00:06:09.379 --> 00:06:13.629 you. It shows the gap between how often you say 00:06:13.629 --> 00:06:17.009 you trust God and how rarely you pause to taste 00:06:17.009 --> 00:06:21.170 his provision. Maybe you think of those first 00:06:21.170 --> 00:06:24.490 Christians in Acts. They devoted themselves to 00:06:24.490 --> 00:06:27.269 the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the 00:06:27.269 --> 00:06:31.009 breaking of bread and the prayers. They weren't 00:06:31.009 --> 00:06:33.370 building cathedrals. They were building communities. 00:06:34.410 --> 00:06:38.959 One loaf of bread at a time. You think of the 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:42.819 time the table has saved you, the weeks you nearly 00:06:42.819 --> 00:06:45.779 gave up, but the bread reminded you you are still 00:06:45.779 --> 00:06:48.959 invited, the time someone pressed the cup into 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:51.300 your trembling hand and you knew you belonged 00:06:51.300 --> 00:06:54.819 even if you couldn't sing the hymn right now. 00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:03.079 So this meal exposes you, but gently reminds 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:07.259 you what's been missing, not food, but fellowship. 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:15.540 Not talk, tenderness. Table confronts us with 00:07:15.540 --> 00:07:20.680 the simplicity of grace. No screens, no slogans, 00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:25.740 just bread and the cup. A promise that does not 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:31.160 expire when you mess up again. You sit there 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:34.300 tasting confession without words. Lord, I forget 00:07:34.300 --> 00:07:39.649 how to be grateful when I'm afraid. And you feel 00:07:39.649 --> 00:07:42.670 the answer come back to you, quiet but sure. 00:07:42.790 --> 00:07:46.350 That's why I keep inviting you week after week 00:07:46.350 --> 00:07:51.870 to dinner. You've heard that line over and over 00:07:51.870 --> 00:07:57.110 again. He gave thanks and broke it. Maybe you 00:07:57.110 --> 00:08:01.350 caught it this time. Gratitude comes before the 00:08:01.350 --> 00:08:06.029 break. The fancy word for communion, Eucharist, 00:08:06.029 --> 00:08:10.949 means Thanksgiving. And maybe you're beginning 00:08:10.949 --> 00:08:15.990 to understand that now. Every loaf starts with 00:08:15.990 --> 00:08:21.050 praise. When you whispered thank you before eating, 00:08:21.129 --> 00:08:23.449 you weren't being polite. You were participating 00:08:23.449 --> 00:08:28.930 in the divine order of things. Blessing before 00:08:28.930 --> 00:08:32.669 breaking, gratitude before giving. You can smell 00:08:32.669 --> 00:08:35.490 it even now, yeast and grace rising together. 00:08:37.230 --> 00:08:39.269 Maybe you remember how your grandmother gave 00:08:39.269 --> 00:08:41.990 thanks over cornbread or how your grandfather 00:08:41.990 --> 00:08:44.710 bowed his head before supper, even when he'd 00:08:44.710 --> 00:08:50.769 lost that job. Thanksgiving like that is resurrection 00:08:50.769 --> 00:08:55.289 rehearsal. It's hope baked right into the crust. 00:08:56.830 --> 00:09:00.210 Gratitude is rebellion against despair. Every 00:09:00.210 --> 00:09:06.289 thank you you utter. defies the lie that life 00:09:06.289 --> 00:09:10.309 is somehow meaningless. Every loaf shared is 00:09:10.309 --> 00:09:15.330 a small act of resurrection. You realize that 00:09:15.330 --> 00:09:21.009 Jesus' thanksgiving wasn't optimism. It was trust 00:09:21.009 --> 00:09:24.230 in the Father's goodness even when the cross 00:09:24.230 --> 00:09:30.269 had begun casting its shadow. He said, this is 00:09:30.269 --> 00:09:35.340 my body given for you. You felt that for you 00:09:35.340 --> 00:09:38.240 slide across the room like light across water 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:45.179 until it reached you. For you. Not the crowd 00:09:45.179 --> 00:09:53.740 in general. Not humanity in principle. You. You 00:09:53.740 --> 00:09:57.840 took that bread knowing the same Jesus who handed 00:09:57.840 --> 00:10:03.700 it to Judas is handing it to you too. You understand 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:06.399 now that grace doesn't discriminate by performance. 00:10:06.539 --> 00:10:09.879 It finds you where you sit, and it feeds you 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:13.759 before you've earned it. You can feel the loaf 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:16.899 in your memory, the grain soft but solid, a texture 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:22.740 that says incarnation. God became chewable. Heaven 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:26.240 put on flesh so you could touch it. You remember 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:29.059 the way it stuck to your tongue, how it dissolved 00:10:29.059 --> 00:10:32.610 into... sweetness, and salt. That's what grace 00:10:32.610 --> 00:10:36.309 does. It dissolves self -hatred into belonging. 00:10:37.590 --> 00:10:40.649 And maybe you think of all the saints who came 00:10:40.649 --> 00:10:45.529 before you, those who served this mill when lights 00:10:45.529 --> 00:10:49.289 were dim, with whispered prayers through tears, 00:10:49.830 --> 00:10:53.210 carried trays through hospital rooms and prison 00:10:53.210 --> 00:10:58.279 wards. You realize every time You take and you 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:01.059 eat, you're joining that unbroken procession 00:11:01.059 --> 00:11:07.019 of grace bearers. When he lifted the cup and 00:11:07.019 --> 00:11:10.039 he said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood, 00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:14.639 which is poured out for you. That sentence did 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:20.620 not stop at the upper room. It kept pouring until 00:11:20.620 --> 00:11:27.600 it hit this sanctuary this Sunday. This, you. 00:11:29.620 --> 00:11:32.580 You remember the taste, sweet and warm. It's 00:11:32.580 --> 00:11:36.240 what covenant tastes like. Joy, honesty, perseverance. 00:11:37.580 --> 00:11:40.700 You know now every time you swallow it, you're 00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:43.379 signing your name again on a promise that he 00:11:43.379 --> 00:11:47.419 has already sealed. And the aftertaste isn't 00:11:47.419 --> 00:11:50.120 guilt, it's glory. Sign the truth that went down 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:55.250 deep. You realize maybe. for the first time, 00:11:55.250 --> 00:11:57.590 that the table isn't about what you did this 00:11:57.590 --> 00:12:02.389 week. It's about what Christ keeps on doing. 00:12:04.289 --> 00:12:09.070 This is not a museum meal for saints. It is a 00:12:09.070 --> 00:12:11.970 refueling stop for sinners who've run out of 00:12:11.970 --> 00:12:17.490 strength. So you whisper to yourself, grace doesn't 00:12:17.490 --> 00:12:23.240 run out, it refills. You hear chairs move. Someone 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:25.360 breathes out the long sigh of the satisfied. 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:28.399 The pastor says a few words of prayer, but you're 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:31.200 not done praying. You're praying with your senses 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:34.960 now. You look around. Every face carries that 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:37.860 same quiet glaze, the calm of people been fed 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:42.919 by something they didn't cook. See their farmers 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:46.820 tan, the nurses' tired eyes, students' handbook 00:12:46.820 --> 00:12:52.460 half open, widows' hands folded like wings. and 00:12:52.460 --> 00:12:54.759 all of them smell faintly like grape juice now. 00:12:55.799 --> 00:13:00.580 That's the perfume of belonging. You think about 00:13:00.580 --> 00:13:03.440 the road that waits outside, gravel, sun, the 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:07.519 sound of wind in the cottonwoods. You drive home, 00:13:07.740 --> 00:13:11.659 maybe fry some okra, maybe watch a football game, 00:13:11.820 --> 00:13:15.519 maybe call someone you've been avoiding. But 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:19.460 before you do, you let the truth settle. Worship. 00:13:19.980 --> 00:13:22.539 Didn't end when the cups got put back into the 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:28.299 tray. Worship started when you swallowed. And 00:13:28.299 --> 00:13:32.679 you realize you've been given a portable altar, 00:13:32.779 --> 00:13:37.480 your very own body. Every kindness you extend 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:40.740 this week will be an echo of what you just did. 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:45.519 Every word of patience will be a drop from the 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:50.049 cup you drank. Every act of mercy will taste 00:13:50.049 --> 00:13:54.669 just like that bread. You remember Jesus' table 00:13:54.669 --> 00:13:58.190 manners. He fed the betrayer, forgave before 00:13:58.190 --> 00:14:03.470 confession, thanked before rescue. You promise 00:14:03.470 --> 00:14:06.250 yourself you'll try that kind of thanksgiving 00:14:06.250 --> 00:14:11.309 out there in the wild. Maybe you picture yourself 00:14:11.309 --> 00:14:14.309 in the grocery store line behind someone short 00:14:14.309 --> 00:14:17.740 on change. and you hear a whisper, break bread 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:23.179 again. You imagine this same congregation scattered 00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:26.139 by Monday teachers, welders, nurses, caretakers, 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:29.139 each of them carrying crumbs of grace into their 00:14:29.139 --> 00:14:33.019 own corners of the world. And maybe, maybe that's 00:14:33.019 --> 00:14:39.480 the real miracle. Meal doesn't stay put. It multiplies 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:43.669 as it's remembered. When you step outside, the 00:14:43.669 --> 00:14:46.690 sun hits your face like benediction. The wind 00:14:46.690 --> 00:14:50.149 smells faintly of dirt, maybe even distant rain. 00:14:51.570 --> 00:14:54.509 The taste in your mouth meets the taste of Oklahoma 00:14:54.509 --> 00:14:58.870 air. The combination feels like communion continuing. 00:15:00.330 --> 00:15:03.809 Smile because you know the truth. You're leaving 00:15:03.809 --> 00:15:06.230 the sanctuary, but the sanctuary isn't leaving 00:15:06.230 --> 00:15:11.100 you. Maybe you understand something now you didn't 00:15:11.100 --> 00:15:15.360 understand when you walked in. The do this in 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:18.460 remembrance of me doesn't stop at bread and cup. 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:23.000 It keeps on going. In the way you greet that 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:26.399 cashier by name, in the way you slow down for 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:30.139 the man crossing the street, in the way you forgive 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:34.559 before anyone asks you to. You can almost hear 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:37.139 him saying it again, but this time it's invitation, 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:41.019 not instruction. Keep remembering, keep doing, 00:15:41.139 --> 00:15:47.159 keep tasting. You take one more deep breath of 00:15:47.159 --> 00:15:49.840 the sanctuary before you go. The air hangs that 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:52.879 strange blend of grape and wax and old hymnals 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:57.250 that could only smell like church. Your eyes, 00:15:57.350 --> 00:15:59.549 you shake the preacher's hand, still feeling 00:15:59.549 --> 00:16:01.929 cups cool echo against your fingers. Someone 00:16:01.929 --> 00:16:04.929 says, see you next week. And you smile because 00:16:04.929 --> 00:16:09.350 you know exactly what they mean. You'll come 00:16:09.350 --> 00:16:14.549 back to eat again. You need to. Not because you'll 00:16:14.549 --> 00:16:17.870 lose your faith between Sundays. Because you'll 00:16:17.870 --> 00:16:19.850 get hungry again. And this is the place that 00:16:19.850 --> 00:16:23.649 feeds what hunger really is. And the table will 00:16:23.649 --> 00:16:28.139 be there. Waiting like an old friend. Same smell, 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:32.059 same story, same grace. And when you reach for 00:16:32.059 --> 00:16:34.200 that bread next time, you'll remember this moment. 00:16:35.419 --> 00:16:38.159 The one where you realize the taste lingers because 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:42.919 the host stays. You walk out into the light with 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:47.940 gratitude caught in your breath. The gravel crunches, 00:16:47.940 --> 00:16:51.659 the sky stretches. And the words, he started 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:55.320 it all, kept echoing soft and sure in your soul. 00:16:55.419 --> 00:16:58.740 He took bread, gave thanks, and broke it. Gave 00:16:58.740 --> 00:17:01.320 it to them, saying, this is my body, given for 00:17:01.320 --> 00:17:04.940 you. Do this in remembrance of me. And you whisper 00:17:04.940 --> 00:17:11.000 back, we did. Then, because that taste still 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:13.839 lingers, you add the only thing left to say. 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:24.690 Amen. Amen. Well, you've been listening to the 00:17:24.690 --> 00:17:26.869 Semi -Seminarian, and maybe right now you can 00:17:26.869 --> 00:17:30.369 still taste it. A hit of grape, a crumb of bread, 00:17:30.470 --> 00:17:33.029 that small reminder that grace is real enough 00:17:33.029 --> 00:17:37.349 to chew. Don't rush past that. Let it sit a while. 00:17:38.170 --> 00:17:40.630 The miracle isn't that you took communion, it's 00:17:40.630 --> 00:17:44.450 that communion keeps taking you. The taste that 00:17:44.450 --> 00:17:47.569 lingers isn't nostalgia, it's covenant. It means 00:17:47.569 --> 00:17:51.250 the host stays. So wherever you go this week, 00:17:51.289 --> 00:17:54.690 into a job that drains you, a home maybe is a 00:17:54.690 --> 00:17:56.710 little too quiet, a world that forgets to say 00:17:56.710 --> 00:17:58.730 thank you, remember the feel of the bread in 00:17:58.730 --> 00:18:01.789 your hand. Remember that you were fed by something 00:18:01.789 --> 00:18:04.410 you didn't earn, invited before you were ready. 00:18:05.329 --> 00:18:07.869 And when you see someone hungry for food, for 00:18:07.869 --> 00:18:10.789 hope, for forgiveness, break bread with them 00:18:10.789 --> 00:18:13.650 again. Because that's how the gospel travels. 00:18:13.750 --> 00:18:17.829 One crumb of kindness. One sip of mercy. One 00:18:17.829 --> 00:18:23.869 quiet you belong. Right time. If the meal meant 00:18:23.869 --> 00:18:26.210 something to you today, help set another place 00:18:26.210 --> 00:18:28.950 at the table. Like, share, subscribe. Not just 00:18:28.950 --> 00:18:30.869 to grow the audience, but to grow the circle 00:18:30.869 --> 00:18:33.970 of the fed and forgiven. Because grace doesn't 00:18:33.970 --> 00:18:38.029 run out, it refills. Until next time, come back 00:18:38.029 --> 00:18:42.029 hungry, leave forgiven, and remember. Taste lingers 00:18:42.029 --> 00:18:47.130 because the host stays. I'll see you next time.