We call it communion.
Most Sundays, we stand in a circle and pass the bread and cup around. The body of Christ. The cup of forgiveness. It goes from hand to hand. It’s funny when she has trouble pulling off a piece of bread, or when he forgets what to say. The symbols are sacred to us, but it is also the meal of a family. We smile conspiratorially at one another, affectionately.
As the bread is passed around, I sometimes catch a glimpse of something deeper going on. A flicker in the lines around the mouth. A brief expression of the eyes. A deep inhalation. A signal that this is one of those thin places, where we are closer to God’s holiness. I have seen it before when I served communion, but when we pass it around in a circle, we experience that closeness together. People can see it on my face, too, if I let down my guard enough. When we pass it around in a circle, I am reminded that I am not supposed to do life on my own.
We call that communion, too.
My faith community has loved one another well this week, and I have been proud to be a part of them. This week, what is saving my life has been that communion of the saints.
What is saving your life this week?
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4 Comments
The churches I’ve gone to have pretty much always distributed the elements by passing plates around. It leads to a very individualized “experience” – i.e. it’s one of those times when apparently you’re supposed to just “examine yourself” and then sit there quietly and ignore everybody else.
For one year, though, we attended a church where everyone came forward and partook by intinction, with someone at the table verbalizing that this was the body and blood of Christ. That experience changed my perspective on communion quite a lot. With everyone up and participating, suddenly it’s a shared family experience rather than an internalized, self-centered one. For me, it turns communion from being this weird thing we do into, as you said, one of those thin places.
I wish my church did communion that way more than just on Good Friday.
I’m so pleased to have found your blog through Emily’s blog. You write so beautifully… it’s quite thought provoking!
Janelle
Oh, I love this. We’ve never done it in big church, but it’s how we do it on youth trips. Lovely.
Community… when it is beautiful, it’s so transformative.
I long for communion, actually. In our mega church you have to go to a saturday service to particpate, and I rarely make it. I wept when I took it on Sunday when visiting my sister in Chicago.