(This is a photo of the way sunlight transformed the shadow of a glass.)
That being said, here goes:
The minister said that all were welcome at the Table. No restrictions. So I felt encouraged to explore over the next few minutes whether I would participate and why.
I do not see myself as a worthless sinner. I see myself as someone made in the image of the Divine, trying through all spiritual means possible to get to my truest expression of that image. I study, I meditate, I participate in communities where I can explore my thoughts and goals.
In the past, I had come to think of communion as a way of confessing my sins and starting over. The way I could think of it now was that every time I take the bread and the wine, I make a commitment to continue in my attempts to shed the parts of me that aren't working and nourish the parts that I want to be stronger.
The bread is a symbol of the body of Christ the liturgy says. If I eat the bread as this symbol, then I become a part of that Body. I believe that Christ taught us how to live, and so if I take his teachings seriously, make them a part of me, then I will be on the right path. I will also be a part of a larger body of people moving in this direction.
The wine is a symbol of Christ's blood. Again, by taking this wine, I am making His heart, his life-blood a part of me.
In its broadest sense, the word "communion" means "intimate fellowship." Specific to the church it is a "Christian sacrament in which consecrated bread and wine are consumed as memorials of Christ's death or as symbols for the realization of a spiritual union between Christ and the communicant" (Miriam Webster Dictionary).
"This is the body (and blood) of Christ given for you," the celebrants said as they gave me the bread and wine. Both of them looked me in the eye and smiled. I felt renewed.
Communion.
No comments:
Post a Comment