I really like the collect for today. It is a picture of what communion and the broken bread is all about. Let’s look at it again:

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

0When we come forward and share the bread and wine that represents the life and blood of Jesus, we are ac0cepting our family, and our relationship with God the Father, the Holy Spirit and Jesus the Son, the 0blessed Trinity.
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We are also recognizing our brothers and sisters in Christ, accepting each other for who we are. As it 0says in our reading from Ephesians, this life we have in Christ is a gift of God, not by something we ha0ve done, but something Jesus has done for us.
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The gift is free. It is not about how much we or anybody else deserves to share at the table. It is a 0gift of God, just in case somebody wants to brag about how worthy they are to receive. All are we0lcome at the table.
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But, you know it does not stop there. The communion table continues long after the service is over and the deacon dismisses you from the service. When we leave from this place we become the broken bread a0nd body of Christ. We become the evangelists sharing the bread, (which stands for the good news of Jesus Christ). We want to share freely with those outside of our church because they too should be blessed by the broken bread, the testimony that we bring.

And, when we all go out of this gate from our “church on the green+, we carry this bread with us. And, guess what, this bread will never run out. Remember the testimony of Jesus feeding the crowds when they were hungry? He instructs them to sit down in the grass, and then He blesses the bread and fish. and then his follower’s receive it and distribute it to others. There was enough for everyone in the crowd. Remember, at one of the gatherings they collected 7 baskets of broken bread left over and at a different gathering they collected 12 baskets of left-over bread, after everyone had eaten.

What is the message of those two meal stories? The message is that there was more than enough bread for everyone and a whole lot of bread left over. What is the lesson we learn from the stories? Is it the difference between seven and twelve baskets? No! The message is this:

When the bread is blessed and broken and handed out there will be more than enough for everyone, when you walk out of this church service, you become the broken bread of Christ.

You are now the blessed and broken bread, and you carry the good news of salvation. You will be bringing hope to people in so many different ways. Some of you are going to your jobs on Monday morning, wherever they may be.

Wherever you are going from this place, you are called to be a blessing to others. You are called to share the gospel wherever you may be, sometimes with words, but most of the time by your actions and how you conduct your life. As someone once said: Preach the gospel, and sometimes use words.

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen