American Church in Paris - Sermons

ACP HOME - About Us - Weekly Church Activities - Music at the ACP - The Women of the Church - FACC Activities

Sermon Archives - Past ACP Sermons

Behind Every Table Stands an Altar by Dr. John Rogers, Interim Associate Pastor 5 May 2002--- Easter 6 TEXT: Genesis 22:1-14; Luke 22:14-23

BEHIND EVERY TABLE STANDS AN ALTAR

MANY YEARS AGO, WHEN BARBARA'S MOTHER DECIDED TO GIVE UP HER HOME IN FAVOR OF A MORE MANAGEABLE APARTMENT, SHE MADE OUR DAY BY NOTIFYING US THAT SHE WOULD BE SHIPPING US THE FAMILY'S CHERISHED DINING ROOM SET. THUS BEGAN A SAGA WHICH WOULD TAKE MORE THAN SIX MONTHS TO COMPLETE.

TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT(ER) THE DINING SET WAS PICKED UP BY A REPUTABLE MOVING FIRM AND PLACED IN STORAGE UNTIL SUCH TIME AS IT COULD BE FITTED TO ACCOMPANY ANOTHER LARGER LOAD DESTINED FOR OUR REGION OF THE NATION.

WHEN THE FURNITURE DIDN'T ARRIVE, AFTER SEVERAL WEEKS OF ANXIOUS

ANTICIPATION ON OUR PART, WE BEGAN TO WORRY. FOLLOWING SEVERAL PHONE

CALLS, A TRACER WAS PUT OUT ON THE FURNITURE. LO AND BEHOLD, THE ENTIRE

SET HAD BEEN MISPLACED! [ALL WE COULD THINK OF WAS THE INDIANA JONES MOVIE WHERE THE ARK WAS STORED -- UNMARKED -- IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, NEVER TO BE FOUND AGAIN.] THE MOVING COMPANY WASN'T EXACTLY CERTAIN WHETHER IT HAD BEEN LOST SOMEWHERE IN THEIR MASSIVE NETWORK OF WAREHOUSES, OR WHETHER IT HAD BEEN DELIVERED TO SOMEONE ELSE WHO SIMPLY HADN'T BOTHERED TO INFORM THE COMPANY OF ITS ERROR. THE FACT OF THE MATTER WAS THAT THE MOVING FIRM HADN'T THE SLIGHTEST IDEA OF WHERE OUR PRECIOUS FURNITURE WAS! BUT THEY PROMISED TO CONTINUE SEARCHING.

DURING THE REMAINDER OF THAT YEAR, THE MOVING COMPANY ASSURED US THAT THEY HAD LOOKED HIGH AND LOW FOR THAT DINING SET, BUT COULD FIND IT NOWHERE. WE WERE SICKENED BY ITS APPARENT LOSS MADE ALL THE MORE PAINFUL BY THE FACT THAT THE FURNITURE HAD NEVER BEEN ADEQUATELY-INSURED. WE BEGAN TO TAKE STEPS TO FILE A CLAIM, CONVINCED THAT WE'D NEVER SEE THAT DINING SET AGAIN.

THEN CAME THE FINAL SURPRISE. THE VERY DAY THE MOVING COMPANY RECEIVED OUR CLAIM, THEY PHONED TO SAY THAT THEY'D LOCATED OUR FURNITURE! THEY HAD, INDEED, FOUND IT IN THEIR OWN WAREHOUSE WHERE IT HAD BEEN STOWED SAFELY AWAY ALONG WITH THE FURNISHINGS BELONGING TO ANOTHER CLIENT. WHEN THE OTHER FAMILY WAS READY TO RETRIEVE ITS FURNITURE, OURS WAS ALSO FOUND.

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THE FEELING OF FINDING SOMETHING WHICH HAS BEEN LOST, AND PRESUMED GONE FOREVER, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS HIGHLY-PRIZED.

THAT DINING ROOM SET WAS PRIZED, NOT SO MUCH FOR ITS MONETARY VALUE, AS FOR ITS SYMBOLISM AND ITS MEMORIES. IT WAS AROUND THAT TABLE THAT BARBARA'S FAMILY HAD GATHERED DAILY FOR MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS -- TO THANK GOD, TO BREAK BREAD, TO SHARE THEIR DAILY LIVES WITH ONE ANOTHER. HERE, THE FAMILY DISCUSSED THE LATEST WAR, THE DEATH OF WORLD LEADERS, THE DEATH OF FAMILY MEMBERS, BANGED SHINS AGAINST MISPLACED TABLE LEGS (GUESS WHO'S BANGING THEM NOW?), CELEBRATED BIRTHDAYS, GRADUATIONS, WEDDINGS AND BAPTISMS -- AND CRINGED WHEN 96-YEAR-OLD GRAMPA OVERCOMPENSATED FOR HIS DEAFNESS BY SHOUTING FOR THE POTATOES TO BE PASSED HIS WAY.

IT WAS AROUND THAT TABLE THAT HUSBAND AND WIFE, BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

FRIENDS AND RELATIVES, NURTURED ONE ANOTHER, QUARRELED AND MADE UP, GRIEVED AND WEPT, LAUGHED AND CELEBRATED THEIR LIFE TOGETHER.

THE FAMILY TABLE IS, PERHAPS, THE MOST SACRED PIECE OF FURNITURE IN MOST OF OUR HOMES. IT IS IN OUR CHURCH, AS WELL. BUT'S IT'S NOT THE ONLY PIECE OF SACRED FURNITURE IN THE CHURCH'S HOME. OUR CHURCH IS ALSO BLESSED WITH AN ALTAR.

EVERY PROTESTANT CONGREGATION PLANNING TO BUILD A NEW SANCTUARY, OR TO REMODEL AN OLDER ONE, IS INEVITABLY FACED WITH THE DECISION OF WHETHER IT SHALL CENTER ITS WORSHIP AROUND AN ALTAR OR A TABLE.

IN THE EASTERN ORTHODOX AND ROMAN CATHOLIC TRADITIONS, IT'S NOT A BIG

PROBLEM. THE ALTAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE FOCAL POINT OF THE CELEBRATION OF THE MASS. BUT IN PROTESTANT CIRCLES, THAT DECISION IS NOT ALWAYS AS CLEAR-CUT. WE SOMETIMES WAFFLE BETWEEN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TABLE AND THE ALTAR. WHEN IN DOUBT, AS WE PROTESTANTS USUALLY ARE, A CHURCH CAN ALWAYS HAVE ONE OF EACH! SO WHAT'S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TWO?

TECHNICALLY-SPEAKING, AN ALTAR IS PERMANENTLY ATTACHED TO A WALL, WHILE A TABLE IS FREE-STANDING. BUT, SURELY, THERE'S MORE TO IT THAN THAT.

THE TABLE SYMBOLIZES FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS. ONE BELONGS AT THE TABLE. THE TABLE IS A SYMBOL OF LOVE & HARMONY, UNITY AND GOOD MANNERS. ONLY FOR THE MOST SERIOUS OF INFRACTIONS IS THE CHILD EVER EXPELLED FROM THE FAMILY TABLE. THERE, AT THE TABLE, IS BREAD & WINE, AND FELLOWSHIP. THE TABLE SYMBOLIZES FAMILY. IT CONVEYS WARMTH. IT SPEAKS OF CARING AND SUPPORT. IT'S WHERE NEEDS, SPIRITUAL AS WELL AS PHYSICAL, ARE MET.

THE ALTAR, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS HISTORICALLY-REMEMBERED AS A PLACE OF

SACRIFICE. AT AN ALTAR SET IN THE WILDERNESS CENTURIES AGO, ABRAHAM STOOD READY TO SACRIFICE HIS SON, ISAAC, IF THAT'S WHAT WAS REQUIRED TO CONVINCE GOD OF HIS TOTAL DEVOTION AND UTTER FAITHFULNESS. OF COURSE, IT WAS NOT.

AT THE TEMPLE ALTAR IN JESUS' DAY, THE BRAYING OF ANIMALS AND THE

SCREECHING OF BIRDS COULD BE HEARD, ABOUT TO BE SLAUGHTERED BASED UPON THE PRIMITIVE NOTION THAT IT WOULD SOMEHOW RESTORE HUMANKIND'S ESTRANGED RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

THE ALTAR IS LIKE AN ALIEN LAND WHERE THE PRIEST IS PRESENT, WHO IS NEITHER FATHER NOR FRIEND, BUT WHO SERVES AS OUR INTERMEDIARY TO GOD. ONE APPROACHES THE ALTAR AS WE MIGHT TREAD UPON HOLY GROUND -- WITH FEAR AND TREPIDATION.

BUT THERE'S MORE OF SYMBOLIC VALUE TO THE ALTAR THAN THIS. FOR IT ALSO

REMINDS US OF THE SACRIFICE OF THE SAINTS AND MARTYRS BEFORE US. IT IS A

STARK REMINDER OF GOD'S ULTIMATE SACRIFICE OF HIMSELF IN THE CRUCIFIXION

AND DEATH OF JESUS THE CHRIST. AND IT REMINDS US OF OUR OWN WITNESS, AND SOMETIMES, THE SACRIFICE WE ARE CALLED UPON TO MAKE AS FOLLOWERS OF THE CHRIST.

IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE, GIVEN THIS CONTRAST BETWEEN TABLE AND ALTAR, WHY MORE AND MORE CHURCHES WHICH HAVE A CHOICE, WOULD OPT FOR THE TABLE OVER THE ALTAR. BUT, TOO OFTEN THEY DO SO WITHOUT REMEMBERING THAT BEHIND EVERY TABLE STANDS AN ALTAR.

BEHIND THE LOVE & SECURITY WHICH CAN BE OUR EXPERIENCE AROUND THE FAMILY TABLE, LIES THE STRUGGLE & SACRIFICE, AND THE SHEER HARD WORK WHICH IS ALWAYS EXPENDED IN THE BUILDING OF A MARRIAGE AND A FAMILY.

BEHIND ALL THE GOOD THINGS A NATION REPRESENTS TO THE REST OF THE WORLD, GOD KNOWS THE COST OF HUMAN LIFE AND SACRIFICE THAT NATION HAS BEEN REQUIRED TO MAKE.

BEHIND THE WARMTH AND SUPPORT WHICH CHARACTERIZES OUR LIFE TOGETHER AS A CONGREGATION, LIES TERRIFIC SACRIFICES MADE BY GENERATION-AFTER-GENERATION OF MEMBERS GONE BEFORE -- MODERATORS, CHURCH SCHOOL TEACHERS, MEMBERS OF COMMITTEES AND THE CHOIR, PASTORAL AND SUPPORT STAFF -- THE FAITHFUL OF EVERY AGE AND STRIPE. IT CAN BE SAID, AND FAIRLY SO, THAT THE TABLE DOES NOT CREATE THE ALTAR, BUT THE ALTAR MAKES POSSIBLE THE TABLE.

THE DAY THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY CELEBRATES AS "MAUNDY THURSDAY", IS

REMEMBERED AS THAT TIME WHEN JESUS GATHERED TOGETHER IN AN UPPER ROOM FOR THE LAST MEAL HE WOULD EVER SHARE WITH HIS CLOSEST FRIENDS. THAT NIGHT, BATHED IN SEMI-DARKNESS, WE NOW KNOW THAT JESUS ALREADY CONSIDERED HIMSELF A DEAD MAN. HE FORESAW THE ABRUPT END COMING TO HIS ABBREVIATED MINISTRY.

HE SPOKE OF BLOOD BEING SHED -- HIS BLOOD -- AND OTHER TOPICS GENTEEL FOLK WOULD CONSIDER INDELICATE FOR TABLE TALK. HE, HIMSELF, WAS NO DOUBT FILLED WITH GRIEF & CONFUSION, EVEN AS HIS DISCIPLES COULD NOT YET GRASP THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION.

YOU SEE, TOGETHER WITH ITS HORROR AND CARNAGE, THE ALTAR CAN ALSO BE A

PLACE OF COMFORT, A PLACE OF REFUGE AND OF STRENGTH. FOR THE ALTAR

SYMBOLIZES, AS WELL, GOD'S VERY OWN LOVE SACRIFICE.

IN KURT VONNEGUT'S NOVEL, SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE, A GROUP OF ALLIED PRISONERS OF WAR ARE HERDED INTO A DEFUNCT MEATPACKING PLANT IN DRESDEN, GERMANY TOWARD THE END DAYS OF WORLD WAR TWO; A SLAUGHTERHOUSE IN WHICH THEY ARE TO BE INCARCERATED. HOW THEY DREADED DESCENDING INTO THE DEEP, DANK BOWELS OF THAT STINKING VAULT OF DEATH WITH ALL THAT IT SYMBOLIZED FOR THEM. IT WAS LIKE BEING MARCHED INTO THEIR VERY OWN GRAVES. BUT WHEN THE FIREBOMBING OF

DRESDEN COMMENCED, THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE NO LONGER SEEMED COLD AND

INHOSPITABLE. SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE BECOMES, FOR THEM, A SAFEHOUSE; A PLACE OF REFUGE -- THE PLACE WHICH PROTECTS THEM FROM CERTAIN DEATH ABOVE GROUND.

WE ARE DRAWN TO THIS PLACE OF SLAUGHTER, THE ALTAR -- THIS SYMBOL OF

SACRIFICE, AROUND WHICH SO MANY CHURCHES ARE BUILT. AND, AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE REPELLED BY IT. THE ALTAR IS BOTH A PLACE OF DEATH AND, AT THE SAME TIME, IT IS OUR SHELTER FROM IT. THE ALTAR GIVES US OUR SPIRITUAL FREEDOM, JUST AS THE TABLE IS THE PLACE WHERE WE EXPRESS OUR NEW LIFE IN CHRIST.

THE TABLE AND THE ALTAR: WE EACH GIVE ONE MORE PROMINENCE THAN THE OTHER. THOSE WHO LEND GREATER IMPORTANCE TO THE TABLE, VALUE THE CHURCH FOR ITS FELLOWSHIP; FOR THE SENSE OF BELONGING TO GOD AND TO ONE ANOTHER. BUT, SOMETIMES, THESE SAME FOLK MAY NOT GRASP, IN FULL, THE CHURCH'S TANGIBLE MISSION TO THE POOR AND HUNGRY.

THOSE WHO ATTACH GREATER IMPORTANCE TO THE ALTAR, AND ALL IT SYMBOLIZES, ARE SOMETIMES REPELLED BY THE CHURCH BECAUSE THEY CAN SEE ONLY SACRIFICE AND PAIN. OR WHO ARE REPELLED BY THE CHURCH'S FELLOWSHIP BECAUSE THEY FEEL THE CHURCH NEEDS TO GET ON WITH ITS MISSION TO THE WORLD. BUT THERE ARE ALSO THOSE WHO SEE IN THE ALTAR, GOD'S SACRIFICIAL LOVE FOR US; THOSE WHO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF GRACE; AND THOSE WHO FEEL CALLED TO FAITHFULLY CARRY OUT GOD'S MISSION TO THE POOR AND THE OPPRESSED.

THE TASK FOR US ALL, IT WOULD SEEM, IS TO HOLD THESE TWO TRADITIONS OF

TABLE AND ALTAR IN CREATIVE TENSION. LET US REJOICE IN THE WARMTH OF OUR FELLOWSHIP, BUT NOT LOSE SIGHT OF OUR MISSION. LET US EMBARK UPON THE INWARD JOURNEY, BUT LET US ALSO BE LED OUT INTO THE WORLD WHERE PEOPLE HUNGER TO HEAR AND TO KNOW GOD'S HEALING TOUCH.

THE ALTAR AND THE TABLE: TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SYMBOLS OF OUR COMMON FAITH. SYMBOLS OF THE COST, AS WELL AS THE JOY OF DISCIPLESHIP. AS WE GATHER AROUND THE TABLE THIS MORNING TO RECEIVE THE HOLY SACRAMENT, LET US BE MINDFUL OF THE ALTAR OF GOD. FOR IT STILL STANDS. IT IS A PLACE OF SACRIFICE, BUT IT IS ALSO A PLACE OF REFUGE FOR ALL. AND IT IS THE ORIGIN OF OUR TABLE COMMUNION WITH ONE ANOTHER. AMEN.

  ACP HOME - About Us - Weekly Church Activities - Music at the ACP - The Women of the Church - FACC Activities