Communing.
Tonight the sun hit the mountain and lit the valley. Our view from the park made the city seem close and beautiful. Tall evergreens formed a canopy to shield us from the lingering rays of sun, and friends lined both sides of the long picnic table. We took Communion, ate soup and played volleyball. Eventually the darkness and mosquitoes chased us home.
Body of Christ, Bread of Heaven. Blood of Christ, Cup of Salvation.
posted by Erin 11:06 PM
6 Comments:
It was lovely... the park and the people. It made me grateful for the simple pleasures of living: friends, food, nature.
Having come from a very low Protestant & fundamentalist backgroud, I have had to work/learn/figure out this whole symbolism mystery so prevalent in Christianity. My church culture took Communion once a year -- juice cups and dry cracker bits -- and it was always so strange to me. It was never really explained and it was some strange formality before we began the other strange formality -- the old-fashioned foot washing. Yes, it always stank and no, don't ask me to explain much.
But thanks Erin for sharing your experience of sharing with the rest of us. I appreciate your sensory-based description of what seems to have been a beautiful evening of communion, on so many different levels. Reflections such as yours allow me to further bask in the mysteries of God, Godliness, the God-Life, and my life with God. Peace....
(smirks a bit at brother's competitive spirit. If only I were a typical, Alpha-male oldest brother....)
Yes Bethany, Babette's Feast is a great example of what Communion can be. Together we are more a reflection of Christ than we ever can be alone.
N, "symbolism and mystery," I think those two words define the sacrament for me.
Just once a year? I can understand why that would be difficult to process. How do you encounter Communion now?
Erin, have you read Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography by John Dominic Crossan? These comments reminded me of my favorite part, the author's term "open commensality." It was unthinkable then, he said, to sit down at a table with someone who was below your social class. That was one of the beautiful things of his life, welcoming everyone to the table.
I encounter Communion weekly where I worship. The church is called Ecclesia and we partke of Communion through the practice of intinction -- you take a piece of bread from the communal loaf and dip it into either the cup of juice or cup of wine. It's beautiful and I'm not sure how I've ever worshipped without it.
Nancy, I haven't read it, but I just looked it up on Amazon. It sounds like a book that I would really enjoy reading. Jesus did touch the untouchable. In contemporary society we often don't picture him as the radical that he was. One of the favorite titles I have heard him given was "Jesus, disturber of Israel."
N, I am also glad that Communion is central to our weekly service at Vibrant. It has become a defining point of worship for me.
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