The chalice at the table this morning is part of these stories. It was used from 1968 to 1969 to share the Lord's Supper with soldiers on isolated mountaintops and hidden valleys. It sat on altars made of C-ration boxes, ammunition crates, and the fronts of armored personnel carriers. We can assume with certainty that many who once shared the bread of heaven from those altars and the cup of salvation from this chalice are now named on the Wall in Washington. The chalice is therefore very special to me and to Carol and to the others in our group. It is used for Communion in our Spiritual Healing Retreats. Last fall one of our members took her final vows as a Roman Catholic nun and this chalice was used in the Mass. The chalice commemorates in a special way the stories of all those who have suffered on behalf of others, from the recent past all the way back to Jesus' death on the cross. Stories of suffering remind us of our own vulnerability and we often don't want to hear them. But Holy Communion doesn't let us avoid the reality of our world. That night in the Upper Room, that night of Jesus' last Passover seder, that night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread and wine and said, 'this is my body; this is my blood.' In communion we face the memories of past stories and make them part of our own.
In Communion we honor the past and enrich the present. Luke reports that Jesus "was known of them in the breaking of the bread." (24:35) On this day of ordination when we seek the presence and power of the Holy Spirt on Carol's ministry, we do the thing Jesus' disciples through the ages have always done: we share together in Christ's bread and cup.
Communion not only honors the past and enriches the present, but it rehearses the future, especially on a day like today, when the point of our gathering is the future of Carol's ministry. In describing that first Lord's Supper, Luke brings us great treasure in simple words. "Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." (22:19). Luke's words report four actions in the story of the bread - Jesus took it; he blessed it by giving thanks for it; he broke it; and he shared it. These are also the four significant actions in Jesus' own story: he was taken when he heard God's call; he was blessed in baptism at the River Jordan; he was broken on the cross, and his life has been shared with humanity for 2000 years.
What happens to the bread and cup before us follows the same pattern: taken, blessed, broken, shared. And the point of it is the call to make Christ's story our own, the call that we too participate in this same profound pattern of life. This call comes to all Christians, and so of course it comes to clergy as well.
Taken, blessed, broken, shared. Carol, you were taken when you received your call to ministry. Today in this service of ordination we bless your ministry by giving thanks to God for all that you are and all that you are called to be.
And then there is the part that we often don't want to hear. The experience of those who have preceded you is that you will be broken in your service to God and to others. Amidst the joys of service, you will experience pain. You will be hurt. You will be wounded. You will even at times feel abandoned by God.
And to the extent that you can offer up your pain and your wounds as a gift to God, they will be a gift to others. Connect with God's pain, and you will connect with God's people. You will be shared. You will be a source of healing for others. You will be shared. You will be a source of life for others. You will be shared. You will be a bridge to God for others.
Taken, blessed, broken, shared. It's what happens to the bread and the cup. It happened to the life of Christ. It can happen to you. Out of the Good Fridays of your life, many will share your Easters. And Jesus speaks to us through Matthew, "Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (28:20)