Communion as a meal
Communion has been the central act of worship for the Christian church through the last 2000 years. Only recently have some parts of the church eschewed it but it's a ritual which is mean to bring us closer together - both within our own churches and as diverse Christians.
At Change Agents this year we're thinking about doing it as a meal - as it was originally celebrated in the early church. This has logistical challenges, of course - how do you get everyone (250+ people) together over a mealtime? And once you've done that, what needs to be done so that we can say, "That was communion"?
We're thinking of using a basic liturgy which will include everyone and to then have people serve the elements to each other. Here are some resources which have helped us think this through:
spirituality of the table, from Jonny Baker
Some great thinking on mealtime liturgy from urbanseed.org. Two of their questions are:
How will our meal reflect the Eucharist as practiced through history?
How will our meal reflect peace, justice and joy by making reconciling connections with God, others and the earth?
They've also included the following table liturgy:
3. Tablelife Eucharist (Tablelife, Oxford)
Bread and wine are placed on the table
While they were at the table Jesus took a loaf of bread and after giving thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying “Take; this is my body”. Then he took a cup of wine, and gave it to them. “This is my blood – which is poured out for many.”
Thank you God that ordinary things can become special when placed in your hands. Thank you that that which is broken may be made whole, and that which is given is not wasted.
In the silence we think about things in ourselves and in the world that we would like to change
Bread is passed around
Be grateful when you touch bread
Let it not lie uncared for, unwanted.
There is so much beauty in bread;
Beauty of sun and soil, beauty of patient toil.
Winds and rain have caressed it.
Christ often blessed it.
Be grateful when you touch bread
We eat bread together
Wine is poured
Be loving when you drink wine-
Let its colour, life and joy be appreciated.
There is so much beauty in this wine
Beauty of self-giving, beauty of forgiving
Winds and rain have caressed it.
Christ often blessed it.
Be loving when you drink wine.
We drink the wine and say together…
Thank you God, for love, for food, and for friends to share it with.
Communion is both a looking forward and a looking back. We look back and remember Jesus and the pouring out of his life for us. We look forward to when God makes all things new.
Affirmation
The prophet Isaiah writes: On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food, a banquet of well-aged wines – the best of meats and the finest of wines. God will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; God will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces, and take away the disgrace of the people from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. In that day they will say
This is our God; the one in whom we trusted, the one who saved us. This is the Lord for whom we waited, let us rejoice and be glad.
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It would not have been God's
It would not have been God's table
Also see this prayer from Cheryl Lawrie:
I think the idea that
I think the idea that communion be shared as a meal is GREAT because that is what it was meant to be!! Jesus kept things simple & reproduce-able for the ordinary person. Sadly through history the "church" - by this I mean 'church-as-we-know-it' has made it so complicated that it is no longer reproduce-able for the ordinary person. The beauty, simplicity and spirituality of sharing a meal, within a loving relationship with Jesus and each other, has been lost.
If you want to a simple liturgy to follow, lets take it back to Scripture - Luke 22:14 - 21. Things are plain and simple: they reclined around the table; before supper ( v17) Jesus took the cup, blessed it and said divide it among you; broke the bread (probably the main element of supper and the only source if carbohydrate for the meal - not just a little wafer) and passed it around; I know there would have been a lot of sharing and talking during the meal; after the meal he then took the cup.
Lets keep things simple, just the way Jesus created and intended them to be! I look forward to seeing how this will turn out at the conference. Well done !!
God bless,
Rory Marais.
Thanks, Rory - your
Thanks, Rory - your suggestion is well taken! I've almost finalised the liturgy we'll use. We'll get everyone together on the grass after they've got lunch, then we'll have a simple welcome which will recognise some of the diversity we have amongst us. Then we'll proceed into this bit from the Iona liturgy:
This is the table,
not of the Church, but of the Lord.
It is to be made ready
for those who love him
and who want to love him more.
So, come,
you who have much faith
and you who have little,
you who have been here often
and you who have not been for a long time,
you who have tried to follow
and you who have failed.
Come,
not because it is I who invite you:
it is our Lord.
It is his will that those who want him
should meet him here.
Then we'll proceed into the communion "proper" with the following:
For on the night that he was betrayed he took bread, and when he had given you thanks, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, "Take this and eat; this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
So too after supper he took the cup, and when he had given you thanks, he gave it to them saying, "Drink of it all of you; for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins; whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me."
People will have the elements in their groups (matzos/grape juice) which they'll serve each other by saying, "The body of Christ...the blood of Christ." Our hope is that this is a meal which will affirm our diverse unity within the body of Christ and will be - especially for those who are in traditions which do not practice communion - refreshing and sacramental.