Our God is a Stingy God??
July 3, 2005
Let’s talk communion. Meal. Fellowship. Grace. Feasting with one another and with our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer (hello divine trinity). Imaging the kingdom to come. Telling and Showing of God’s love for us. God’s grace.
It’s a rich ritual. We’ve all sat through blah communions where we just eat the bread and drink the juice and think about what we have to do that day and whatever. . . we’re just not there. I know. But if you think about it, it’s a rich symbol. Whether or not everyone is fully present, we say something about God and the Church every time we serve communion.
So I wonder then what it says when you pass the trays full of pita bread cut up so small you can barely pick them up. I’m talking a fraction of the size of your pinky nail. Small. Teeny, tiny. Barely enough to taste. Our God is a stingy God? This is all you’ll get in the kingdom? God’s grace is this big?
Good grief. This was not a poor congregation by any means. Nor was it a large congregation. Therefore, I feel like they could have afforded to cut the pieces a little bit bigger. Goodness.
As a side note, one of the really irritating things about a seminary education is that it ruins you for visiting churches, you can’t really worship the first time around, you must critique - and there are so many things . . . like small pita bread . . .
Posted in uncategorized by Sarah
Amanda said:
July 3rd, 2005 at 11:15 pm
Rod says that he can’t even sit through regular worship services, or any kind of service anymore. He has to be a part of it in some way or he feels restless. He has spent many weddings in the back of the church pacing and feeling lost and not paying attention because he has spent so many years being a part of things.
Becca said:
July 4th, 2005 at 10:35 am
I was totally thinking the exact same thing yesterday! How in the world do we rationalize serving Christ’s extravagent feast of his body and blood with tiny little cruton-sized pieces of bread?
Jesus says, Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” Just once, I would like to respond to that invitation with the appropriate enthusiam… by all of the church members running down the church aisle, ripping off the biggest chunks of bread we can handle, drinking deeply of the wine/juice, and then sitting back and sighing sighs that are full and content. THAT is what Christ offers us in the gift of communion- fullness and satisfaction in Him.