Some background: One of the holy traditions (sacraments) in the Christian faith is that of communion. In remembrance of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, we eat bread and drink wine as He did, and as He instructed his followers to do. The bread represents his broken body, the wine represents his shed blood. (Gospel basics: He died in mankind's place so that the sins committed by mankind could be atoned for, despite mankind's inability to atone for these sins itself.) Here, though, is Luke's account of things:
14And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
Today churches act out this sacrament in various ways, and place differing levels of importance on both the act, and its elements. In my experience though, when my church takes communion it has never resembled the act performed by Jesus and his followers. The only similarity, even, is that we're eating things that are vague approximations of what Christ ate. (that is: oyster crackers, King's Hawaiian(tm) bread, pita, wafers of unknown origin/makeup, etc. and, invariably, non-alcoholic grape juice from the smallest vessel you can imagine)
Now I understand that Jesus and the twelve did not sit down to a table of bread and wine. They ate these things over the course of a meal made up of other things. Even so, I'm reasonably certain that they did not partake of these things the way that we do today. It was surely not a thimbleful of grape juice and a tiny wafer of bread each.
Furthermore, Jesus and the twelve were not partaking of this in the context of a church service at all. It was a passover meal, yes, but it was not something to be done after the sermon and before the closing song while the worship band plays. It was in an altogether more intimate, and less congregational atmosphere. It was thirteen guys around a table, and not a couple hundred sitting in rows (or worse, performing it casually on the way back to their chairs).
I wonder how much of the impact of this act we lose as a result of the way we perform it today. I'm saddened that I don't even have an answer to that question because I've NEVER performed it any other way.
How different would communion feel if we actually had a mouthful of bread. What if we each actually had a large piece, and it finishing it actually took a conscious effort. What I'm not saying is "what if we had so much bread that it was difficult to finish it all (though... what if?)" I'm saying: what if we actually received enough bread that if we swallowed it without chewing it we'd NOTICE? Imagine if we had a tall glass of grape juice, or even (gasp!) wine! How would communion change if it were actually taken around a table? If it were actually taken with, and after, a meal? How would it change if there were actually time to contemplate it while we were partaking, instead of in the moments before and then (ten seconds later) in the moments after?
I think it's a real shame that I have absolutely no idea what the answer to these questions are. I can hazard a guess, though. I'll bet it takes on a bit more depth. I bet it's a bit less forgettable and feels a lot less like empty ritual. I want to try this. Soon. Who's in?
