The Eucharist
29 Jun 2007
Whilst serving our children’s ministry workers Holy Communion, the children asked if they could have some bread and grape juice (we use grape juice in deference to those who have a problem with alcohol) my reply ‘of course, if you can tell me what it means?’…they smiled but couldn’t answer my question.
“Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself†1 Corinthians 11:27-29 NIV
Holy Communion and The Eucharist are both terms that have been seemingly abandoned in many modern churches. I wonder if in our modern church context we still understand the significance of The Eucharist and the special part it plays in our lives.
So I’d like to spend the rest of this post exploring with you what the passage in 1Corinthians may mean to us today..?
1. If we take Holy Communion with an ‘unworthy manner’ we will according to St Paul be guilty of sinning against the body and blood Jesus. I believe that the meaning here for us in the modern church is what they represent, the sacrifice of Jesus.
2. In the past this realisation of our guilt in front of Christ has resulted in the lifelong burden of self-reproach because of a perceived ‘unworthy manner’ being heaped upon believers. Some congregations and individuals have been very damaged by this process and we have to be mindful of this especially in light of the words of Christ according to Matthew.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest†Matthew 11:28 NIV
If people feel too guilty they may actually consider themselves unable to take Holy Communion and therefore would lose that very important connection to God that Christ left us with and whilst we should feel regret over our sin we to need to be able to stand back, come face to face with it, hand give it over to God and to seek forgiveness. Sometime the words are not there but the very act of Holy Communion, the receiving of the Body and Blood can give us that forgiveness when words are not enough.
3. So we need to think about preparation for partaking of this special time. Most churches have The Eucharist each week, my home church is once a month, so in some ways this time is even more special. And how should we prepare?
4. Maybe we can spend some time gathering our thoughts before God; maybe we could just stop, be silent for a few minutes and contemplate where we are in our lives or where we are with Christ and God. Some people may want to set aside a number of specific prayers or readings to contemplate or maybe thoughts will turn to reconciliation and forgiveness for others. These will of course differ according the situation in each of our lives.
5. There is a sacred time after receiving Holy Communion. It is a special time when we have a deep connection with Christ it as we try in humility to contemplate what has just happened, how Christ is present within us and within our lives and to silently thank God for the chance of forgiveness and to express sorrow for short comings, for when we miss the mark.
6. And out of The Eucharist we may learn about our unworthiness to partake of Holy Communion. Christ will teach us that nothing we can say or do makes us worthy of this sacred gift and that only Christ can convince us that the confession of our unworthiness to partake permits us to participate in a worthy manner he ask for.
7. And finally it will lead to the realisation that the Eucharist will be for the forgiveness of our sins, for the healing of our souls, our bodies and for our salvation and not for our own condemnation and judgment.
What do you think? What does communion mean to you? Do you think there should be any rules about who takes communion? What is the practice of your own faith community?
36 comments
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Comment by Peter@aschoff-net.de
12.24 pm on 29 Jun 2007
I thought about the issue last week and read 1 Cor 11. There, Paul is referring to groups within the church that seem to be in conflict about who has the proper theology (ot the most powerful apostle), about whose gifts and knowledge are more important and in this chapter there is a painful and embarrasing separation between the poor and the affluent at the meal table. If communion does not result in true community that brings different people and social groups together, then we ignore what that symbol is all about: Christ reconciling people to God and to each other. And if we ignore the apparent sickness of the body of Christ as i this case, no wonder it materializes in the sickness of various individuals (who are, by the way, not necessarily more sinful than the rest). So I am afraid that the whole discussion about “unworthiness” has gone in the wrong direction for a long time.
Comment by Marc
12.51 pm on 29 Jun 2007
Hi Peter
Holy Communion should be inclusive of everyone no matter what their status or standing in life, we all drink from the same cup which is humbling in itself.
I think maybe we can forget exactly what The Eucharist really is and what it represents in our lvies and witihn the Body of Christ
Comment by simone
1.31 pm on 29 Jun 2007
I’m part of CofE where eucharist is celebrated every Sunday. I love taking communion, it’s a celebration of what Jesus did on the cross; he died for our sins.
Surely anyone who beleives that can take communion, if we truly repent of our sins, they are forgiven so we are ‘worthy’ through Jesus.
If you don’t believe it, don’t take it.
My kids (3,5) take communion because they believe Jesus died for their sins and when they say sorry Jesus forgives them and are made ‘worthy’
Comment by Marc
2.29 pm on 29 Jun 2007
Simone
I think it is a lack of explanation in the Evangelical churches I have been too that leads to the Eucharist being taken quite likely, it is one of the most important events in a Christian life and seems to be taken like people are queing for a MacDonalds.
I’m sure you children know the importannce of it and I have done from a very young age having been raised as an anglican but that now seems to be over looked nowdays.
Comment by Lindsay Cullen
2.51 pm on 29 Jun 2007
If you read through all Paul’s letters, you’ll find that “the body of Christ” invariably applies to the church. So it seems likely to me that the same applies in 1 Cor 11, especially given the context which is Paul’s concern about practises which highlight inequalities and cause division in the body (the church) at just the time when the church ought to be celebrating its unity.
So I believe that, using a nice play on words, Paul is saying that if we eat and drink of the elements in such a way that we reveal our lack of care for the body (of the church) we are thus showing ourselves unworthy of the very unity which is symbolised in the Communion feast.
In practise then, we ought to be more concerned about whether our eucharistic practise models the love and acceptance of Christ (thus living out our calling as his body), than we should be about whether any or all participants can assent to some list of ‘required’ beliefs.
Comment by Jamie G.
5.01 am on 3 Jul 2007
I am surprised at how little attention Lindsay’s comment received. I think it bonds wholly and completely to Ron’s later comment, post #5. I am with you Lindsay, thank you for sharing. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Comment by Marc
8.08 am on 3 Jul 2007
I think that’s an interesting point you make. I wonder though we seem to live in a world where we do as we please and maybe there are requirements for taking communion such as be baptised?
I am slowly coming to the conclusion that anything goes because Jesus loves us attitude is mistaken.
Comment by GMD
5.44 pm on 29 Jun 2007
At our church each week the pastor calls for anyone who is a member of our church or another evangelical church AND is baptised can come forward to receive communion. Each week we go forward and there are people sat in their seats who I know full well are entitled to take communion but don’t.
I guess this brings in a new set or arguments and isn’t’ strictly to do with kids but the way I see it is that Jesus didn’t lay down those rules when he first gave out communion at the last supper as a meal so why do we impose them now?
I see myself as the member of one world church and I do firmly believe that baptism is for all and is part of the journey without a doubt but why the barrier, why can’t people make their own choices to take communion? I’m part of a reformed calvanist church community here in Riga, they are a great bunch of people but it really really frustrates me at times :)
Comment by Paul
7.57 am on 30 Jun 2007
that’s a good point – was Judas around at this point or had he already slipped out?
Comment by marc
7.53 am on 1 Jul 2007
Hi GMD
Have you ever asked why these people don’t go up to recieve communion?
Some churches believe to recieve Holy Communion you need to be baptised in other words filled with Holy Spirit.
Jesus had some ritual when he had the passover meal as he was recognised by the way he lifted up the bread. Maybe it is not a case that we can just decide what we can and can’t do.
Paul was rebuking this church for allowing people to take communion who were not prepared, he says ‘For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself’.
Maybe this is why your minister asked for those who are baptised only as they recognise the body and the blood as they have recieved the Holy Spirit.
In todays world of consumerism and attitude seems to be of ‘we can do what we like’ but maybe not in this case.
Comment by GMD
8.39 am on 1 Jul 2007
By Baptism they are referring to a watery one.
I think maybe my point was why is there such diversity from church to church on who can and who can’t take it which maybe was your point too. Is this right and what is more important; To make sure no one takes it who shouldn’t or to make sure that all take it who should/can?
How do you do it in your community, what rules (if any) are imposed on those taking communion, how do you make sure that all taking are ‘prepared’ to do so?
How do you feel about the ‘membership’ issue, I think Paul spoke of being member in the context of belonging to a church but not an administrative procedure? How does it work at other churches, or yours even? Does turning up on a regular basis and actively taking part in the church life = membership ?
Comment by ron cole
6.07 pm on 29 Jun 2007
Jason, somtimes I wonder if we haven’t taken something so profoundly beautuful and simple…and ritualized it. Something that is the greatest revelation of what life is…we in a sense have taken it right out of the context of life.
Jesus took to of the most common things in the everyday life of his friends, bread and wine. These were the staples of there life, likely eaten at every meal. Jesus took the bread revealing the brokeness of all life, breaking the bread he revealed his life would be broken for all life. Taking the wine, Jesus revealed his blood would be poured into the brokeness of all creation. This bood poured into ” ALL ” the broken places of life…would reveal the act of the new creation. In forgiveness, grace, mercy, redemption and restoration…life would be come whole again. This is a covenant of everyday life, of all of life…revealing Christ holds it all together.
I wonder in the context of our life today…if Jesus would have chosen bread and wine for these scaramental elements…would he have chosen something different?
I know in my own life i’ve tried to make communion almost apart of every meal…whether with family or friends. ” When ever you gather…” so radically everyday, such a life giving covenant.
Thats probably quite heretical for alot of folks…and if this is an unworthy manner, ” Lord forgive me. ”
I can’t help think about the guy throwing the feast, that was so desparate about having his table full, he sent his servant to the back alleys, the countryside, gutters and ditches with invitations.
Years ago, I think it was Paul Roberts said to me, ” you can tell the size of a persons ” christianity ” by the size of their table. I think there is a little bit of wisdom there.
Comment by Paul
8.02 am on 30 Jun 2007
Hi Ron, this post was written by Marc, one of our guest posters, not Jason. Thank you for your great comment.
Comment by maz
12.25 pm on 5 Jul 2007
amen…
we have shared bread and wine with our kids since they were little, as they are part of our family…’made holy’ as we are (somewhere int he Epistles) (until old enough to commit deeper, as they are now).
One of the best memories I have is leading our son, then 3, (now 17), down stairs after his sleep to join me and my husband and baby daughter in bread and wine on the floor of the living room, with the rest of our lunch around..
of course he was given the tinyest sip and she was only given bread to nibble, but it’s the unity that it symbolises, because of Him that is important I think.
Just a point, bread and wine were used because it was actually the annual Passover
hmmmm
Comment by ron cole
6.39 pm on 29 Jun 2007
I also want to affirm what Peter said in the first comment, there was, excuse the langauge, a whole of shit going on in the Church of Corinth at the time. There was a separtion from the poverty that surrounded them. Gathering became often drunk and disorderly. There was an air of spiritul superiority in the church…heirarchy, spirtual gurus…who was in who was out? They is a sense had turned the Lord’s Supper into something so unlike which Jesus revealed. Communion above all is about relation(ship)…not theology or rules. One look at the story of the prodigal son and we discover relationship precedes everything. We are ” always ” brothers and sisters, and He is ” always ” our father regardless of behavior. Don’t get me wrong, behavior is important, but it changes and is transformed first by relationship.
Sorry, for being long winded…I could share a interesting true story around communion here. But my daughter is tapping me on the shoulder for a ride to work. I shall return…Pax Ron+
Comment by marc
8.00 am on 1 Jul 2007
Hi Ron
I would like to hear your story!
Ritual would’ve been something that was very much a part of the life of Jesus being hat he was a Jew and a Rabbini.
We can see that as I have mentioned earlier when he was recognised by the way he blessed the bread, so he must of done this every time to be recognised by this action.
Holy Communion is so counter cultural, so different from anything else thatanyone can expereince is I think our context today is still very much the bread and wine because of what they symbolise, because they are so counter culture.
Comment by Paul
8.09 am on 30 Jun 2007
Thanks Marc. On the idea of worth i find myself unworthy when i try and compare my worth – like i can say i’m good but then when i compare myself to Jesus ‘good’ i come up short. But at the same time i find the cross gives me worth, it shows me to God how precious I am…
Comment by edward pillar
9.18 am on 30 Jun 2007
hmmm
Comment by edward pillar
9.29 am on 30 Jun 2007
a couple of thoughts:
1. It seems to me that when jesus offered bread and wine to his disciples, he was offering the ordinary, the every-day, even the mundane… I wonder whether what jesus was about was saying that whenever we eat bread of drink wine – in the normal run of our lives – rather than just in a Eucharist Service – we are to remember and honour Christ. Jesus was engaging with the ordinary, the mundane etc – there is to be a sacredness to our ordinary – Christ in all things, Christ with us at all times… a wonderful thought.
2. I think that the 1 Corinthians 11 passage is more about people and relationships than about reflection on the atonement. The rich are ignoring the poor, the wealthy are eating plenty and the poor leaving hungry. Of course, the sharing of bread and wine would have taken place within the context of a ‘love feast’ most likely the single significant meal for many folk in a day. So if the rich were ignoring the poor, the master ignoring the slave then there was a denial of the gospel going on. I think that the Apostle Paul is calling on folk to recognise the face of Jesus in each and every person (Matthew 25) and to honour them as if they were Christ himself. This is an extraordinary vision: the rich with the poor, the soldier with the revolutionary, the master with the slave…
I think that communion should be a welcome to share in the life of Christ…
many blessing
Edward
Comment by Paul
7.52 am on 1 Jul 2007
Edward, I like the idea of Jesus honouring the mundane – but then again i think here we have Jesus in the context of the passover meal – it wasn’t any old chow down but a significant impactful meal, where bread and blood would be linked to the unleaven bread baked ready for food in the face of the impending liberation and the blood of the lamb smeared around the door way, marking this as a house for the lord for death to pass by…
I love what you said Edward about Paul encouraging the corinthians to find equality in Christ, to recognise that in him they were all equal and the communion meal should reflect that radical new dynamic…
Comment by marc
8.10 am on 1 Jul 2007
Paul I tend to agree, the passover was a very ritualised time but that is not to say we should take on board ritualisation or dispose of it completely.
Maybe ritual is seen as rules and having to abide by a few rules to take partake in Holy Communion is tto much in todays ‘do as you want society’.
Maybe we’d rather ignore the words and warnings of St Paul so we can do as we please?
Comment by edward pillar
9.31 am on 30 Jun 2007
just to add – Ron – I think you are spot on…
Comment by richard
10.21 am on 1 Jul 2007
In contrast to the view that I’ve held for many years, I’ve become increasingly convinced that Paul is not referring to understanding or being able to articulate bread=body, or to being “prepared” by making sure we’ve confessed all the sins we can remember (both of which would be good of course). The context is saying that when we fail to recoginse the body of Christ, of which we are a part.. the church. When we excluse children (even those who don’t yet ‘understand’) we are failing to recognise the body of Christ and are drinking judgement on ourselves.
That judgement seems pretty obvious in our churches!
Comment by Marc
8.10 am on 3 Jul 2007
Hi Richard
Do you think we should recognise who Jesus is before taking communion or be filled with Holy Spirit to be able to understand the spiritual impact of the body and the blood?
Comment by Paul
10.11 am on 3 Jul 2007
Good Qs Marc, I have some more on the back of them… Did the disciples at the first communion recognise Jesus? will we ever fully recognise Jesus? What if breaking the bread becomes an act of recognition/reconnection/remembrance i.e. a way to start recognising? Is it both a way in and a way on, part of seeking as well as receiving?
Comment by Paul
10.13 am on 3 Jul 2007
on another note, i came across this on Jonny B’s blog…
it would not have been god’s table
On their own, the bread and wine are nothing.
To become a foretaste and a promise
of love made real and a world made whole,
they need a story and a blessing
and a people who believe…
It would not have been God’s table
if they hadn’t all been gathered around it:
the betrayer and the friend
the power-hungry and the justice seeker
the faithful and the fickle.
When Jesus poured the wine, and the bread was broken;
when everyone could eat -
the outcast and the beloved
the arrogant and the gracious
the wrong-doer and the wrongly done by -
the table became a foretaste
of love made real
and of a world made whole.
Your company at the table, Ross,
will include the betrayer and the beloved
the wrong-doer and the wrongly done by.
It would not be God’s table without them.
And the promise is
that when you are together,
when you tell the story and give the blessing
when you break the bread and pour the wine
you will discover a foretaste
of love made real
and of a world made whole.
Comment by Paul
10.13 am on 3 Jul 2007
http://jonnybaker.blogs.com/jonnybaker/2007/07/it-would-not-ha.html
Comment by John Watson
5.16 pm on 3 Jul 2007
It is quite clear that even as adults we are not in unity in describing what the Eucharist is, let alone asking children! I wonder if the same question would have been asked by Marc to someone suffering from Alzheimer’s, or has learning difficulties, or can’t speak English?
As a parish priest in the CofE – I see baptism as the key signifier for receiving Communion – baptised into the Body, we can receive the Body.
Comment by Jason Reid
12.12 pm on 4 Jul 2007
We break bread and have wine (juice for the youngest) with our children often before dinner in our home. We do this to symbolise and remember that Jesus is the centre of our life as a family. These are very special times and even though they don’t quite understand, they are covered by the righteousness of us parents. What is important is the act of worshipping Christ together as a family, and the prayers that are provoked from young and old in response. Communion is important not just on Sunday mornings and feast days but as a mark that Jesus rules all of our lives, not just that we choose to call the spiritual.
PS: My children are not baptised, does this too exclude them from remembering Christ by breaking bread and drinking wine?
Comment by John Watson
9.47 am on 5 Jul 2007
Hi Jason
Your family tradition sounds exactly how we started with our children (then I was a Baptist) – I soon asked myself – if I am encouraging them to take communion – if I am making that decision for them, even without expecting them to make a profession of faith, what am I saying communion is? It was not long before I started to see that the theological link with infant baptism was not a very big one to make.
I would just simply ask, with respect, why you see the two sacraments differently? Interestingly the Orthodox church has communion as part of their baptismal rite for infants, as they see the link being explicit.
Comment by Marc
11.03 am on 5 Jul 2007
Hi John
‘if I am making that decision for them, even without expecting them to make a profession of faith, what am I saying communion is? ‘
It’s an interesting point. Are we saying that communion is for everyone regardless of what they believe?
Comment by Jason Reid
12.10 pm on 5 Jul 2007
John – thanks for your comments. Unfortunately I don’t think I can do justice to your question here. We would need to start with what we understand sacraments to be and their place in the soteriological process. For me baptism is a one off event for the adult believer to make a public statement of faith. And communion is an ongoing statement of worship and faith in Christ and his work. Christ willing, my children, when old enough (another debate), will be baptised into his death and resurrection. Until then it is my duty as a Father to teach, instruct, lead and serve my children primarily demonstrating that Jesus is the Christ (an everyday story of a gospel of deeds and words). Part of this process and since my children are included in the Church because of my faith, they can participate in communion. I understand your point about making the decision for them, but seen in this context, didactic rather than dictatorial spirit, I feel it is a sensible way forward.
I hope that makes sense.
Comment by John Watson
12.25 pm on 5 Jul 2007
Hi Marc
‘Are we saying that communion is for everyone regardless of what they believe?’
I am not saying that – which is why I see baptism as the ‘doorway’ for want of a better word. And also why the issue of wanting our children to share our faith in communion, logically and naturally, led us to see infant baptism being right. The two sacraments are implicitly and explicitly linked.
Comment by Marc
12.31 pm on 5 Jul 2007
Thinking back to my childhood.
I was raised in an Anglican church and we could not take communion but we would be blessed by the vicar…
If Jesus is saying do this in remembrance of me and we do not know who he is…
Comment by John Watson
1.12 pm on 5 Jul 2007
You may know that there is a current debate going on in the CofE about the issue of children receiving communion – some Diocese have agreed, some not, some parishes yes, some no – all to do with differing views of when ‘faith’ can be ‘evidenced’ – usually cerebrally. This is not yet resolved in the CofE -which will explain some differing practices.
On the topic of ‘remembering’ – I simply ask myself “when do I first remember knowing Jesus?” Yes I made a profession of faith at 16, was soon baptised – but actually I remember knowing him before that public profession in a sports hall. I remember at the age of 9 having conversations with him, even earlier in fact. What I also remember is that this strange event went on after the main service, which made everyone’s breath smell funny afterwards, and that if we did it without being checked out first – we could die. Is this what Jesus meant?
The bread and wine are a call to remember who he is, as well what he did – if we are in Christ (baptised) he is in us. At the altar/table we remember who he is, but we also remember what we could be, for he lives in us. There is untiy and in fact a re-membering of the Body – to exclude our children on the basis of waiting to hear the right words – we are in danger of reducing that Body to be made up of a certain IQ level and cognitive ability.
My original questions still stands here – what about those who can’t voice it due to medical or learning or development challenges? How do we them ‘knowing’ Jesus?
Comment by Marc
1.59 pm on 5 Jul 2007
John, I in some ways are quit ethe opposite. Whlist I have always known who Jesus is I would have to say I only ‘knew’ him in any relational sense about 13 years ago…
I can recall going up to take communion as a child, kneeling and putting my hands on the cold brass rail and being blessed by a vicar.
Personally I would go along with the idea of blessing and then when they are baptised as an adult then full communion…seems to make sense really…to remember Jesus surely you need to know him in the first place?
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