We took communion today. If I have a few complaints about it (hopefully not complaints against God here), I could list one as our calling it the Lord's "Supper." The wafers/crackers/whatever you call them are so small that they get stuck in my molars. Then, with only a thimble of liquid to wash it down, it never gets washed down. Suppers have lots of food. So do "Tables" as in the Lord's Table. "Communion" indicates interaction with another/others, and this would seem to be of a more prolonged nature. The wafer takes a few seconds to chew, and the thimble is gone in less time than that. Then we go home. I'm not an expert in the term "Eucharist" so I can't speak to that word.
If the Supper was a continuation of the Passover feast, and the Corinthian church used enough bread and wine for some to be filled and others to be drunk, how did we end up with such small portions? And if it is a "communion," just who are we communing with? Are we, as separate individuals, simultaneously communing with God? Or are we supposed to be communing with each other to some degree while we feast, and is this an aspect of us collectively communing with God? I've heard some people refer to our tradition sarcastically as "the Lord's snack" because of the small portions and short eating time, but I've had many snacks that were bigger and longer than that. You can't eat just one, after all, just like the commercial says. Our rite even belittles the term "snack."
Okay, my personal preference would be to have a meal with all in attendance, which includes larger portions of bread and wine, but personal preferences aside, I'm wondering if this wouldn't give us a better sense of Jesus and what He did. I'm going to lay my heart open here and be transparent. The wafer followed by the thimble leads me to ask, "this is Jesus?" Shouldn't we make better use of our senses? Shouldn't Jesus' body be something we can savor, feel, contemplate, agonize over? Shouldn't His blood have more substance? I think we can do a better job than this...for Christ's sake.
I'm There.
ReplyDeleteA nice bottle of Pinot Noir at 60 degrees, A crusty Baugette, some friends, the word of God, and a time together talking about his goodness.
That, is communion.
I'll invite you some time.
My most memorable communion experience is when we had a meal and as part of the meal broke bread and drank grape juice (I would do it with wine now)
ReplyDeleteVirtually every member was thrilled with the experience, It "seemed" more authentic, more meaning.
As Baptists we often think of communion as an after-thought. I am a weekly proponent............
We have a full meal every week.
ReplyDeleteEver wonder why Paul told the Corinthians to stop gorging themselves and save some food for the late-comers?
I don't think he was talking about saltines.