When did communion become an obligation? I must confess it has been one for me as long as I can remember. I grew up in a small-town, conservative Church of Christ. If we missed Sunday morning worship, it was vital that we make it to Sunday evening services so we could take communion. We HAD to take communion every Sunday; it was our duty. (This blog is not about what communion was intended to be or if our modern communion is really what Jesus had in mind. That is another blog for another day.)
I remember one particular youth retreat my senior year of high school. The youth ministers decided that we would have a midnight service on Saturday night. Instead of waking up Sunday mid-morning for worship, we would do it at 12:00 a.m. and therefore, it would technically still be on Sunday. Several churches had a long drive home and this way, we could just wake up and head home first thing in the morning on Sunday. Now, you would think that I would have been satisfied with this arrangement: communion on Sunday, worship service on Sunday and getting to sleep in a little longer. I was not satisfied at all. In fact, I was very upset. I remember going down front Sunday evening to take communion at church because I did not have communion during regular Sunday morning services. I had a long discussion with my parents about my stern disapproval of what happened that weekend regarding communion.
I participated in communion 3 times from September 2008 until April 2009. I attended many different churches while in Europe, and only received communion once while there. The other two times were in Artesia while I was home for Christmas.
I will admit the only reason I am sure that we took communion last Sunday is because I noticed they were using a different kind of cracker. These were easily broken into tiny squares. "Where are the Matzos? I love Matzos! Dang it. I hope all churches don't stop using those. They taste so good! I wonder if it would be ok to just buy those in bulk and eat them for a snack? Hmm...I mean, there is nothing actually sacred about the cracker. How would I go about buying some Matzos?" Yes, those were my thoughts during communion on Easter Sunday.
As with many things in life, I didn't appreciate it until it was taken from me. I was really excited to return and have the opportunity to take communion. I promised myself it would be more meaningful than ever before. Two weeks have gone by and I fell right back into the routine of passing the trays and thinking about how much I hate the taste of grape juice.
It is a privilege and an honor to participate in communion. I have been given this privilege hundreds of times in my life. Most times I have failed to recognize the opportunity that lay before me. I can't promise I will never take communion for granted again, but I do know that I will try extra hard this next week to appreciate the opportunity I have to commune with my Savior and fellow Saints.
Mandy, thank you for your honesty and experiences. I, for the first time in awhile, participated in a communion service this last week that didn't seem "routine" and "ritualistic." A girl in our youth group was baptized Sunday evening and asked to have a time of communion afterward. Our preacher was asked to share a few thoughts and he beautifully presented Annelise with the idea of communion as a privilege to share in something with Christ and our faith family. It reminded me, as you so eloquently have, how important it is to treat this time of communion as special as it truly is.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, you can buy Matzo crackers in any grocery store. However, they will be with religious foods, not crackers. So look for health and kosher sections ... they'll be there. It may surprise you, even Matzos have brand names and generic labels!