Communion
Sharing Communion as a Family
Evangelical United Church of Christ
November 2008
At Evangelical United Church of Christ, we share a ritual with bread and juice that we call “communion”. Although most Christian churches share communion, there are distinctly different understandings not only of the words to use as we share the bread and juice, but also of its very symbolism and significance.
Typically Christians are in agreement that the bread shared (whether a loaf of bread or wafers) represents the body of Christ and the cup shared (whether wine or grape juice) represents the blood of Christ as described by Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). But it wasn’t always this way.
One of the earliest stories we have of the ritual practice of communion is from a book called the Didache. The Didache is an ancient Christian manual from late in the first or early second century. Chapter 9 of the Didache describes Eucharist (communion) as something that needs to be shared each time the community gathers for worship. In the Didache there is no mention of Jesus’ body or blood in the sharing of Eucharist. The meaning of the bread and juice is described like this: The juice reminds us of the ‘fruit of the tree of David’ (which is symbolic of the ethnic and religious heritage of the people) and the bread reminds us the process of transforming wheat into a single loaf (the gathering of people transformed into community). Sharing communion with these ancient images, then, is about remembering our heritage and celebrating our oneness in community.
Even for those who interpret the bread as representative of the body of Christ and the cup as representative of the blood, the differences are profound. We can trace some of this difference within our own United Church of Christ back to two of the most influential Reformers, Martin Luther (1483-1546) and John Calvin (1509-1564). Luther and Calvin shared many beliefs including concern for the institutional church and the importance of an active faith grounded in biblical scholarship. Luther and Calvin also had many differences. Luther’s chief concern was the fate of the individual, whereas Calvin had much passion around communal formation and social concerns. Luther modified the liturgy of the Church, but largely embraced the form. Calvin emphasized a more simplified ritual life, modest worship spaces, and the singing of psalms (rather than hymns). One of the ways in which the differences are embodied is in their understanding of Communion. For Luther the body and blood of Christ are present “in, with, and under” the bread and wine of communion and the individual partaking of the sacrament is experiencing the transcendent. For Calvin, Christ is present in the community as it gathers to share in the bread and wine.
For the members and friends of our community, the definitions and experiences of communion are remarkably diverse ranging from images evoked in the Didache to remnants of the theologies of Luther and Calvin. Our ritual, however, has settled into a sustaining pattern.
As we gather each Sunday morning around the table, we begin with an invitation to the table in which we celebrate the welcome of our still speaking God. We are invited to participate regardless of our age, our race, our orientation, even our beliefs. Having reaffirmed that no matter who we are, we are welcome at this table and in this community, we are ready to remember the story that Jesus’ friends tell of his last holiday meal with them (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:13-20). At the Passover table, in the midst of both celebration and betrayal, Jesus is remembered as having invited his friends to the table to share the tangible symbols of bread and cup. Bread is broken, reminiscent not only of Jesus’ death but of the brokenness of humanity; but when gathered in community, we become whole and experience the sacred. The cup is poured out and shared, reminiscent of the presence of the sacred alive not only in Jesus but in all creation; the spirit which moves within us even now.
As we process to the table, taking bread and dipping it into the juice, we come together as a community and experience the sacred within us and around us. Often we chose to honor this encounter as we light a candle in prayer.
Our Table Prayer
Evangelical United Church of ChristAs we come again to this table
we remember the story that Jesus' friends told.It was a night of celebration and also betrayal
when Jesus took the bread left over on the table
blessed it and broke it and shared it with them saying,
"When you eat this bread, and remember me,
you become one in my body."On that same night in much the same way
he took the cup after supper saying,
"My very lifeblood will be poured out
but when you drink this cup, and remember me,
I will be in you."Come Holy Spirit, come.
Bless this bread and bless this fruit of the vine.
Bless all of us in our eating and drinking
that our eyes might be opened,
that we might recognize the risen Christ in our midst,
indeed, in one another.
Come, Holy Spirit, come.