How Communion Shapes Us

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I enjoyed our communion time on Sunday. We had 12 small tables scattered throughout the auditorium. Bread and grape juice trays were on each table. When it came time for communion, we all went to the tables nearest us to partake not as individuals but as family.

This wasn't a gimmick or some slick attempt to get people's attention. We were talking about Christian families from Eph 5:21-6:9. When talking about this passage it's tempting just to either (a) hone in on the rules for each person in the family; or (b) to psychologize this and make it a Sunday about seemingly healthy & happy families.

But it's hard to read Ephesians without noting that Paul's Christology dominates. Paul is not interested in families being happy or healthy -- though he's not arguing they should be unhappy or unhealthy. It's just not on the radar screen for him. The focus for him is not on our happiness. His focus is Christ! Christ is the one in whom we are fully alive. Christ is the one who pulls all of us together -- black, white, male, female, rich, poor. He is the peace that makes us one. It's about Christ.

We tend to make families into idols. We sacrifice Christ for the "happiness" of our families. But instead of producing true happiness, we ironically end up producing narcissism and emptiness. We try to make our kids happy by getting them what they want no matter the cost, letting them sleep over with friends & skip church, not emphasizing spiritual development. When we focus on rules or on psychology, we miss the mark. Being like Christ is the goal. Growing into Him who is the head: that is our aim.

So I say this to affirm how much I loved our communion on Sunday. We may never do it this way again, but it signalled something meaningful. Our weekly observance of Jesus' death & resurrection should call us out of our individualism and away from the idols of the world (security, happiness, prosperity, etc.). Too often, though, our observance of the Lord's Supper is an inward-looking exercise that fails to challenge anything significant in our lives. It fails to call us into real community -- with each other or with Christ. I don't mean to suggest that we experienced everything perfectly in 5 minutes on Sunday. But we did make a positive statement that I hope resonates and echoes in the weeks and months ahead.

Comments

Thurman8er said…
I was sorry to miss it. I didn't wander far from the couch this weekend. So I DO hope we do it again. Mostly I hope we remember each week the remarkable truth that we commune with each other and with our Creator.
June 3, 2009 at 12:43 PM
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