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July 15, 2007

Living Bread

I love Communion.

Growing up Baptist, we had the Lord's Supper about once a month, and it was a very different experience than I have now as a Presybterian. We had unleavened wafers and grape juice. It was open to members of the church who had made a confession of faith. I think visitors were welcome to take it, but I can't remember exactly. Anyway, the pastor usually spoke beforehand about the importance of confession and repentance. I'm sure he spoke of other things too, but there was a clear emphasis on bringing judgement upon ourselves by taking the Lord's Supper unprepared. I always worried that I wasn't properly penitent. I half dreaded it, to be honest.

As I got older, my understanding of Communion changed, and whether it is due to natural maturity in my Christian walk, or to a different denominational interpretation of the sacrament, I do not know. But I do know that now, it is a much more powerful experience for me.

We observe the Lord's Supper every Sunday. We use a large, round loaf of sweet bread, and actual wine (much to the surprise of my mother that first time she visited! ha!) As the plate for the bread is passed around, you take your own portion. You are encouraged to take a good sized piece, enough to chew and satisfy. The wine is rich and warm in your throat. You would be surprised at the difference that these textures bring to the experience. Their tactile delights reflect the joy and abundance to be found at the Lord's table. They are the foods of feasts, celebrations - they are reflective of the blessings God pours out on us. Not the sober, tasteless, white wafer of my childhood. No offense intended, but that is an apt description.

I am not saying that our wild and crazy leavened bread makes us irreverent or unrepentant. But you will not hear many words of warning before the Lord's Supper. More often, you hear words of encouragment, of thankfulness. Come, let us sing before the table of the Lord, for He is good and merciful! We are not worthy of the Lord's Supper, not ever. No amount of repentance and confession wipes you white as snow. That's what makes Communion so amazing, that despite our pitiful state, we are welcomed to His table, because of Christ's work through us. He has made us acceptable in God's sight. When I began to approach the Lord's Supper with this mindset, it became a great joy to me. I was no longer afraid to eat and drink. Instead, I found great peace in this weekly joining with Christ.

Another major difference is that we include our children in the Eucharist. (ooh, look at me using big holy words!!) Now, this isn't specific to all Presbyterian churches, but it is something our particular church adheres to. I can go into the why of it, but that's another post. Anyway, this is a beautiful moment to me. To see my children partaking of the body and blood of Christ, it is a shared fellowship we have. We take their portion of bread, ministering to them as Christ ministers to the church. They hold it in their palms, sharing in the anticipation, in the reverence and importance. I am moved to hear my daughter singing the words of the Communion hymn, to see my sons eager for their piece of the Lord. It is soothing to a mother's heart, it is a living Promise of God's covenant with his people. It stills me, quiets my restless, anxious spirit.

I love to love Communion. I feel as the apostles of old must have felt as they pulled their chairs into that wooden table in the upper room. Awe, that they broke bread with their Savior, that they had been chosen, invited into His presence, though they knew for certain they didn't deserve the welcome. Warm and full, as physically satiated as they were spiritually. Comfortable, in the gentle, ordinary sounds of plates and glasses clinking around, the fullness of conversation and laughter. Or solemn, as Jesus spoke heavy words that they couldn't quite grasp until after His death.

Communion is more than the wine and bread and the words. It is remembrance of Him, His life, His works... but it is also remembrance of Him in OUR life, in OUR works. Communion prepares us for a week of remembering Him in every thing we say and do. It is a nourishment that extends beyond the table and into our very lives, which is exactly what He intended.

Well, that's all. I can't think of a snappy ending to my thoughts, so I will end here. Enjoy your day of rest.

Spiritual Places | By WonderGirl | 6:00 PM

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Comments

Posted by: haley at July 15, 2007 6:58 PM

Posted by: Moriah at July 15, 2007 11:43 PM

Posted by: RevJATB at July 16, 2007 9:20 AM

Posted by: Debby at July 17, 2007 12:00 PM

Posted by: Brandy Sexton at July 25, 2007 10:00 PM

Posted by: joyce terry at July 25, 2007 10:34 PM

Posted by: Jerry Hampton at July 26, 2007 1:03 PM

Email "Living Bread" to a friend!