Last night, I participated in an alternative Eucharistic worship service. The theme of the 'table of Christ' was repeated but the reality was there was no table (it didn't have to be a physical table). Each person stood up, went alone, received the bread and wine/grape juice, sat down, prayed alone, thanked God alone, confessed alone, and then there was a corporate prayer at the end.
Is the Lord's Supper or communion or the eucharist meant to be a lonely McDonald's experience?
Have you ever eaten alone at McDonald's? You get your food, sit down, eat quickly (maybe with something to read or now some McDonald's have TVs to watch). You are only concerned about yourself and what you are getting from the meal.
My recent experiences would lead me to answer affirmatively to the question "Is the Lord's Supper like a lonely McDonald's experience?". I have been challenged by a reading from Martin Luther where he reminded his readers that the Lord's Supper was not just for individuals. The problem is that many Christians approach the Lord's Supper only with a personal "me and Jesus" mindset in our individualistic world. I was taught as a kid to give thanks for Christ's sacrifice on the cross and to confess my sins while meditating on the cleansing blood of Christ. I still believe that this is a necessary part of the experience but is there more? If the purpose of the Lord's Supper is to thank and confess, then can't I do that at home or by myself somewhere else?
Here are some ironic observations that I (and I hope others) have made...
- we speak of gathering around a table but we 'eat and drink' alone in our thoughts
- we speak about the body of Christ but only in terms of what Jesus did for me while others are sitting right next to me (many of whom I do not know at all)
- we speak of Jesus dying 'for many' but again we only think about individual selves in the many
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 "The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread." This passage is often overlooked in favor of the "do this in remembrance of me" passages. The focus in 1 Corinthians 10 includes the idea of the body of Christ as opposed to a single member of that body. Martin Luther challenged his readers to also consider the "other" that is sitting right next to you. We need to reconsider how to lift up the prayer "forgive us our sins" with "as we forgive those who sin against us."
Look around the room the next time you 'take' communion or the Lord's Supper or celebrate the Eucharist. Consider those who are around you. Pray for them. If needed, ask forgiveness and/or forgive others. Remember, we are the body of Christ, not a bunch of individuals... Remember, we don't want to look like the guy eating alone at McDonald's...
"I'll take a number 1 = bread with wine via dipping"
"I'll take a number 2 = bread with grape juice via dipping"
"I'll take a number 3 = wafer with wine from a single cup"
"I'll take a number 4 = wafer with grape juice in a cup"
"I'll take a number 5 .....
3 comments:
It is quite possible that in the course of a worship service (such as the alt.worship service or any service for that matter) one serves communion there is going to be a level of individualism which could be experienced. This is probably the case because the whole worship experince has a certain level of indiviudalism that is inherent in the American church experience. I speak from the position of a white male as well so that definitely needs to be taken into consideration.
But you responded to me on my blog asking if there is a way in which an authentic communal experience can be had during/through a communion/eucharist experience. A neat thing to try would be having everyone huddle around the table and in this position one would then consecrate the elements. Then you would pass out the elements in a totally random manner and each person would just serve the person standing next to them or behind them and so forth. This would make the process really "organic" or "messy." Does that make sense? Nobody would be going anywhere because they would be participating in the whole event. I would suggest that everyone would wait to go back to their seats until all had been served.
The other way that one could really make communion communal is to have it be a part of a fellowship meal and not part of a worship service. One would need to explain how the last supper was not just a meal of bread and wine. This might be a really cool way to shake things up a little bit. Let me know what you think?
Two ways I have experienced communal Lord's Supper...well as much as you can because it will always contain the mysterious particaptor.
1) at Davidson we had a thursday night service and on Maunday thursday we passed the elements in a haphazard manner through the sanctuary with the person next to you saying the words of institution (or whatever)...of course this would not be very PC.
2) at Warehouse242, rather than coming forward one at a time, we would gather in groups of twelve, the elders would distribute the elements, and then pray as a group of twelve, we would then joureny back to our seats for silent reflection as another group of 12 came forward...Of course this also had an element of a football huddle as well.
So since the Lord's Supper is a transcendent event-involving the Lord-there will always be an element of the selfmeditation involved.
But I agree that the current plastic cups and precut wafers is not meaningful for me. Often I will look at my watch and think, "Great it will take the ushers 10 minutes to get to balcony..." not very communal focused I guess.
JDL,
I wish you could've been with us Sunday night. It was amazing, our first worship service. Everything about it was communal, emphasizing the body of Christ (in its many levels). We focused on the significance of the bread and wine, the preaching that the Lord's Supper can do in a way that human preachers never can. We focused on the history that the LS reminds us of and the promises it offers of a big party in the future.
It was a dinner party more than anything else, while keeping the focus on Christ - not just his death, but his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. I tried to emphasize the ongoing incarnation - something we don't emphasize enough (or believe?). I've been overwhelmed by the importance of the ascension and have been focusing and teaching on it a lot since being in H-town.
So, we made it communal by including both preaching and an actual meal as part of our worship service, by squeezing everyone around an actual table for the sharing of the bread and wine, and by focusing on how the Lord calls us to 'extend the table' by seeing to it that others are fed (many levels there, too).
Post a Comment