This is the body

Over the holidays Chris and I were asked to serve communion to our fellow church members. (basically we were asked to hold the plates). ;)
I wasn't super exicted to do it, mostly because I'm not a fan of being up in front of lots of people, but I really wasn't too concerned about it.
Well... I had no idea that it would be the experience that it was.

I LOVED serving my church family. I don't know the best way to explain why it was so cool, but just seeing each individual person and holding out the tray of bread (aka stirofoam) for them, was so great. It felt like we were not only serving each person - but also joining with them all to remind ourselves that we are about something so much bigger than ourselves. We were in it together! Make sense?

That's something that I don't often feel when I take communion. Yes, we all wait to eat and drink at the same time, but this was a totally different experience. It felt like we were actually "in communion" with each other. (what a concept, I know). Isn't that the point anyway?

As a child, that wasn't a part of my understanding of communion. Maybe I just wasn't bright enough to comprehend exactly what it was all about, but I don't remember the commuity part being explained. My understanding was - we eat bread that represents Jesus body and drink juice that represents his blood to remind us of Him because He died for us and He told us to do it. I don't mean anything disrespectfully in that statement and I don't mean to make it sound like that isn't a vital point in communion either. But even as a young adult I don't think I gained much deeper insight in this area.

I read a sermon about communion recently.
The pastor said that in some ways you can consider communion to have a two fold purpose. The first purpose being memorial - we remember what Jesus has done for us and we give thanks for it and set ourselves in line with His heart. The second purpose is fellowship - we are united in our purpose and coming together as the body of Christ to remember why we are here and what we are about as a group.
He even went on to discuss the difference between the way they took communion in the bible and the way we normally do in our churches today. In biblical times they were often gathered around a table for a meal as opposed to sitting in a pew facing the minister.
He weighs the idea that this little difference could actually have a significant impact because instead of looking our community in the eyes (which provides more sense of connection to each other) we are all looking at the director of the communion.
I wouldn't really have thought about that making much of a difference, but after experiencing communion from a different standpoint, I can say that it totally does.
It can be easy to get into the routine of church & the activities that surround it and still get sort of disconnected from each other -especially when your church has multiple services. I miss that community and I think it is so so important.

There is something powerful about taking time to remember and realize that we are united. That the story behind this ritual is why we are here. That this is what brings us together.
We are all in need of the savior that gives us true life. We are all seeking to serve him - together.
There are a lot of things that people (even in the same church) differ on. It's nice to give adequate attention to what makes us stand together.