Pass The Bread

 

taking a look at the

Communion. The Lord's Supper. The Eucharist. 

All ways of describing what we are doing as we remember what Christ has done for us. 

What we will look at today and next Sunday are the matters surrounding this sacrament. We have Catholic and Protestant views to hash out. There are specific terms and understanding to take to heart. In this morning's message, we want to focus on the bread and it's meaning for us. Next week we will looks at the wine. 

How many of us grew up in church with the communion elements passing us by because we had not gone through church membership class yet? Maybe that is less of an issue here in the United Methodist Church. When we get to our next Communion Sunday on February 6, we will bring to the surface our open table policy and why we serve the elements to everyone. 

There are some distinctions between the terms you have heard above. These three ways of describing the sacrament need some explanation. I have to admit that I was not fully educated on the differing ways of looking at the Grace that is being extended in this moment. It was a pleasant surprise to come across the writings of author and journalist Joseph Serwach. He is an award winning writer with degrees from Michigan State and Michigan universities in journalism, history and education. He also has focused a particular large part of energy on writing about Catholic beliefs and issues in the church. His blog, "The Catholic Way Home", seeks to bring people back to the faith in the Catholic tradition. His post titled "Who Gets Jesus?" caught my eye and was a big help in defining these terms for the message today. Serwach's article helped to understand the grammatical way of looking at these terms. He would state that Communion is the Verb side of the moment while the Eucharist is thought of as the Noun side. Verbs are, of course, action words. We are doing something with our hands or feet or going somewhere. There is some sort of movement, perhaps. What are we doing in Communion? We are communing, simply being with Christ. It's not a major, heavy action, but it action nonetheless. We are participating. When we come to the altar and take of the elements, most people are encouraged to spend some time with Christ in prayer. It is that much needed One to One time that we need to center ourselves on. So, the Noun part of this would be Christ himself. Christ is here in this moment. Our Catholic friends would explain Holy Communion with an emphasis on the actual person of Christ in the elements that are being presented. For them, this bread and this wine are actually His body and His blood. I'll make more to do about that in a minute. As Protestants, we do not take it that far. We would focus on the presence and person of Christ being here with us. The Holy Spirit is present and we know that God communes with us in person. It is not simply a ritual or rite of passage. It is a personal moment with God. The Verb and Noun explanations can go far in helping us understand what we are doing and being. 

If you take the time to read Serwach's blog post, you will no doubt find yourself at odds with the Catholic beliefs surrounding the actual elements. Our Catholic friends would present the bread and cup as Christ's actual body and blood. They find opportunity to bring control and command to all who would follow the Catholic way in Jesus' words. "This is my body and my blood." As Protestants, I would like to think we see more of Jesus' truth through the power of parable and illustration. That is how Jesus spoke to through who would listen. We should see that continuation when he lifts the bread and the cup. They are not his actually body and blood. To suggest so seems morbid. When Jesus says that this bread is his body, I see opportunity to do exactly what he does command. "Do this in remembrance of me." The real command in the Lord's Supper lies here and not in the reference to the bread and cup. I would suggest to you that the real emphasis in our partaking of Communion lies not in the actual elements that are being served. The true source of Eucharist is in what we are doing as we take the bread and the juice. We are remembering. That's what he asked of his disciples. As Jesus would break that bread it in front of them at the meal, it seems as if he is saying "My body is going to be broken just as this bread is broken in half." A solider would later come and poke a spear in his side, blood and water spilling out and pouring to the ground. His hands and feet will have nails driven through them. Every time we partake of the bread we have a moment to remember what we have learned about what Christ did for us. 

If our Communion is real and true and we are partaking in the Eucharist, actually realizing that Christ is here with us, then the remembering should not simply be biblical and historical, but also personally relevant. What do we remember about what he has done for us? How has God touched our lives? How has He spoken to us? What strength have we gained and what insight has been given? "Do this in remembrance of me." This meal. This breaking of bread. I would plead the case that it is not so much about the elements as that which we are doing with them. 

Especially during this COVID time of worshiping at home in front of a television or computer screen is where you might find yourself in a place with no bread or juice readily available. Through the end of 2021, many of our area UM Clergy were gathering for a weekly meeting surround the book "United Methodists and the Sacraments" by Gayle C. Felton. In the courseof talking through of scriptural focus on the sacramental meal, we had some good rousing discussion about the use of other elements outside the bread and juice we habitually consume. Paul, a lay speaker and recent Course of Study beginner shared how tough it was for him being stuck at home during those months when we were out of the in-person mode of worship. "No one was really thinking about ever having to take communion at home in front of the TV screen," he shared. It was Communion Sunday and at his house he found nothing more than some carrots that were drying up and some apple juice. That would have to do it. Paul shared that the Lord was present with him in the moment. The Lord did not look down upon him on that cold winter morning in December 2020 and say, "Hey, you don't have bread and juice. I can't meet with you." If our Lord truly is a God of Grace, then he meets with us despite our circumstances. He comes to us when we are at our lowest. He comes without legalistic fury or demand for exactness. In return, he asks us to simply come. Come to him regardless of where we are at in life. Come to him without first thinking about what needs to change. Let him handle the change, if there needs to be any at all. "Come unto me all you who and weak and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest." He does not ask us to come to him so he can lay more on our already tired shoulders. He comes to us with glad tidings of great joy. He wants to be with us. If we understand what we are doing around the table, then we want to be with him also. 

There was a service back in my Nazarene days up in Shelby, OH when the Reverend Jay Hawes was our pastor that we took the bread and broke it and shared it. We were encouraged to take a chunk of bread off the loaf and go find someone in the sanctuary to just sit and talk with for a bit. I recall it feeling a bit weird. We didn't focus on the cup that morning. Just the bread. There was an emphasis to remember, but to do in more of a community fashion. It was not a solo partaking of kneeling at the altar. Some groups of two or three that were sharing did wind up going to the altar, all together, in order to pray about something that was on their hearts. Ecclesiastes 4.12 says to us, "though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken." Yourself. A friend. And, Jesus. We come together in the moment. We stand together. We care for one another. And, we find the hope we need.