평화(의); 강화(의)  = “Peace”

애정, 호의  = “Love”

교회, 성당  =  “Church”

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:17-18

Today, the first Sunday in October, is “World Communion Day.” Churches all around the globe make a statement of unity by scheduling communion and – symbolically – sharing the meal with believers worldwide. It’s not a Presbyterian thing, a Methodist thing, a Pentecostal thing or a Baptist thing; it’s a Body of Christ thing and I love what it represents.

If your church didn’t celebrate communion today, or mention World Communion, then it’s most likely because they missed the memo! Of course, some know about it and then deliberately don’t participate – but that’s another symbolic statement that I don’t want to get into today!

Here at First Presbyterian of Brandon we took the opportunity to have a united service with our brothers and sisters from the Springwater Korean Presbyterian Fellowship. The Springwater Church nests in our facility and we join together in a lot of mission activity. The Koreans use the sanctuary for worship in the afternoon. However, once the new building is completed, Springwater will have a dedicated worship space. There will now be three worship services Sunday morning – Praise, Traditional, and Korean language. The Springwater children will be absorbed into our Sunday-school classes.

Tim and pastor Kim preached together, in both languages. They also served communion, trading words and native tongue back and forth. It was really cool. Hymns, too, were sung simultaneously in Korean and English. The blend of sounds was complex and rich, speaking of the love and unity that becomes possible in Christ. Most moving was the Lord’s Prayer; the blend of tongues seemed to lift the prayer to a new level, creating a beautiful sound.

When Jesus instituted the idea of breaking the bread and sharing the wine, he did it in the context of a meal he knew would be his last. Jesus prayed passionately that his friends would present the world with a message of such compelling love and unity that people would see clearly how powerful and transformational and healing the Gospel is.

That’s what love does. That’s who Jesus is. And it’s who he wants his followers to be. It’s what Jesus died for….

In love, and because of love – DEREK