The Holy Place

In the church tradition of which I am a part, Holy Communion is still offered to folks who kneel at the altar with outstretched hands.  Of course, expediency has taken hold in many places as people file by the servers and have a walk by experience.  There is no question about the walk by communion being quicker, but some things are not meant to be hurried.  This morning the Sacrament was offered at the church where I worshiped.  Even though the Table ritual began at noon, I was grateful for a moment to kneel at the altar and receive the holy meal.   

When I was growing up, altars were used much more than they are today.  Back then preachers were more likely to invite people to use the altar as a place of response to God.  It was a place where people gathered to pray.  It was a place where people knelt in life changing encounters with Jesus.  It was a launching place for many who responded to God's call to ministry in the church or in some mission field.  It was a place where people knelt to receive anointing oil and prayers for their healing.  When some tragedy touched the community, people not only gathered in the church, but also around its altar.   

As the years went along, I began to see the altar of the church as a place which provided an intersection between God's grace and human need.   If I could change one thing about today's church culture, restoring the altar to an important place in the life of the church would be one of the things high on my list.  Though getting down and getting up is not as easy as it was when I was young, I still love to kneel at that holy place.  I love to see the gathered people become the kneeling people.  I am reminded as  people  kneel in a place made sacred by generations of praying people that the Spirit who has worked in the hearts of those of the past will work in the hearts of those in the present day.  I love being there when He does.