Table Talk

The church expresses its most authentic self when it gathers around the table for the Holy Meal.  In such a moment the crucified Christ and the cross is squarely in the midst of its life.  There is no whitewashing the gathering.  It is not a social gathering, but one where the centerpiece is the bloody sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the One known as Jesus. It is a moment made necessary because of the sinfulness of those who gather in that holy place.  Were we not sinners in need of divine forgiveness, no one would need such a Table on the center stage of the sanctuary.

 

How we talk about that moment has always seemed important.  How we talk about it reveals much about those who partake of the holy meal.  In my United Methodist tradition, the meal is served to those who kneel at an altar surrounding the table.  There have been times when folks have talked about "taking communion."  Yet, the truth is that the Table is not a place for taking, but for receiving.  The things people take at the Table are not worth having.  It is what we receive that matters.  What is taken are things like being seen by others, the benefits of pietistic posturing, and a personal sense of spiritual worth.  What is received is an abundance of grace that leaves us overwhelmed and grateful.

In the teaching moments which were afforded to me over the years, I always encouraged people to kneel with open hands as the holy meal was offered.  Open hands cannot take, they can only be filled.  Only hands do not demand, they can only receive.  It is a remembrance this old preacher remembers with such clarity.  An altar lined with open hands spoke of hearts being opened to receive those abundant spiritual blessings being offered and freely given by the Broken One of the Cross.  There was no greater privilege than to stand in that place as the one who served Jesus by serving those who were waiting.