Let us gather at the…table

In our congregation’s weekly Bible study recently, we considered   Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  It is a wonderful invitation, and I could spend a lot of time on it.

But what captivated my interest in that hearing was that it transported me to a time long ago.  In the church where I grew up, the first Sunday of each month was Communion Sunday.”  Our method in that observance was to follow the direction of the ushers and queue in the outside aisles between the pews and the sanctuary walls.  We would then go to the chancel rail and kneel.  There we received the little morsel of communion bread and the individual glasses of grape juice.  The pastor would usually move down the row with the tray of bread, and someone else would follow with the tray containing the cups.  When he had served everyone, the minister would give a table dismissal.  This was usually a short scripture verse and then the phrase, “Rise, and go in peace, and the peace of God go with you.”  We would all stand up and return to our seats by the center aisle.

One of the verses that our pastor would employ as a dismissal was Matthew 11:28.  Whether I was kneeling at the chancel or sitting in my seat, I sort of felt like I had completed the communion act when I heard, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

As time went on, I was exposed to a number of alternate approaches to serving communion.  I found many (most) churches have the worshipers approach by the center aisle and return by the side passages. 

Many congregations, particularly those that have a larger number of worshipers, will serve the elements as the people stand at the head of a line that forms at the chancel.  In this same vein there are churches that use multiple stations to serve people, usually as the recipients stand. 

Of course, there are denominations that serve the elements to people while they remain in the pews.  Ushers or deacons or people with other designations serve the trays of bread and multiple cups to worshipers at the end of each seat and then these folks pass the trays to their neighbors.

It is the fashion in recent times to receive the elements by means of intinction.  In this method the communicant receives a morsel of bread and then dips the bread into a common cup.  This allows the entire worshiping body to share in the one loaf and single cup.  It sounds terrific in theory.  In practice it can be problematic.  For one thing, there seems to be a lot of people who cannot dip the bread into the cup without also getting a bit of their hand in the liquid as well.  Or, they pinch the very end of the bread by as few grains as possible, so that when they lower the bread into the cup, only about half of their bread comes back out.  Two or three floaters can put others off their feed very quickly.  This approach is unaesthetic as well as unhygienic. 

Churches that use true wine for the sacrament avoid a lot of this, of course.  The tradition is that the church serves wine in a gold or silver chalice.  After the priest serves each person, they rotate the vessel and wipe it with a clean napkin.  Studies show that this is an essentially risk-free method of approaching communion.

There are congregations that offer any combination of element forms or options for posture to communicants.  I am not of a mind to pass any judgment on the “right” way or “wrong” way to serve communion.  But I will have to admit that for the above-mentioned reasons and others I am beginning to lose my attraction to intinction.  The commonality is a plus.  It is also among the most time-efficient methods of serving.  However, I am beginning a campaign to put this practice in my rear-view mirror, at least for a season. 

I have spent no little time considering this and I believe it is time to move on it.  I’ll let you know how it goes.