Two years, 8 months and 12 days. That is how long it has been since this community has gathered at the table for communion. The last time was March 1, 2020.
Can you remember what your life was like then?
It is almost incomprehensible how much has changed in our lives, in our world, and in our church. We come to this table as different people. As individuals, we are changed. As a community, we are changed.
March 1st of 2020 also happened to be the one and only time I have led communion here until today. What was clear to me then and is clear to me now is that in this church there are people with a wide variety of experiences of communion – from moving and meaningful to rote and boring; and some even wounding.
Here, among us, we grew up with different names for the ritual: Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, and Eucharist. For some of us it is a sacrament, for others it is not.
Some of us come from traditions where communion is held daily, others weekly, others monthly, others once or twice a year, and some none at all.
Some of us see the bread and wine symbolically; others as a remembrance of a past event, and others perceive the consecrated elements as the real presence of Christ.
Some of us love the Eucharist – it is at the center of our spirituality – and others feel no need for it – or may not even think about it.
Last November, given the diversity of our experiences, understandings, and appreciation for communion, I invited anyone in our congregation who was interested to a deep and wide exploration of this foundational Christian practice. Twelve people from a variety of backgrounds (Congregational, Catholic, Episcopal, Evangelical, Lutheran, Methodist, and Quaker) explored everything from how communion is connected to Passover and the Last Supper, to how it is connected to sacred meals in Hindu and Native American traditions. We looked at ancient practices of this holy meal and emerging practices, like Dinner Church. We reflected on our own experiences of communion and its meanings to us.
Out of all this, more study, and more prayer I created a draft of today’s liturgy that has been reviewed -and improved- by the people in that study group, the Board of the church, and other beloved members of this community.
My prayerful hope is that what we will experience today will be deeply rooted in the heart of the scriptural witness and spacious enough so that whatever your experience and understanding has been up to this point, you will be able when we gather at the table to feel a connection to the presence of God in a way that is meaningful to you.
Mindful that we are doing this as a hybrid experience – in the room and on Zoom – when it is time to partake of the bread and cup we will do it in unison. Since this liturgy is different than what has been done before, there likely will be kinks to work out in the future. (When Jesus gathered people at table, it probably wasn’t a perfectly smooth process either.)
After this last year of study and reflection about communion, what is clearest and most significant to me is this:
It is Jesus who invites his followers – all of us, no matter who we are, no matter what we have done or will do – to the table. It is Jesus who gathers us and builds us into a united community at the table. It is Jesus who serves us at the table, modeling what we are to do for each other and the world. It is Jesus who keeps loving us even when he knows that there are people at the table like Judas, whose intentions and agendas are not pure. It is Jesus who hopes that our inclusion at the table will help us make better choices, loving choices, in the future. It is Jesus who wants us to remember him not merely through the lens of his death, but through the lens of his life, most especially joyous gatherings at the table. It is Jesus who gives himself to us at the table that we might give ourselves to others when we go out into the world. It is Jesus who promises to be with us here…at the table, gathered by love, through love, and for love.
At the table today, what you will experience and what it will mean to you won’t be the same as it was before and it won’t be the same as anyone else in the room. What happens at the table today, gathered in beloved community, will be between you and God. Amen.