Saving Paradise: Reflections on the Eucharist (Communion)

Last weekend, Rita Nakashima Brock, co-author, along with Rebecca Parker, of the book "Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire visited with our congregation.  It was a marvelous, eye-opening two days.  We considered what a transformed/transforming church might look like as we come to a understanding of our spiritual community as Paradise on earth, a community steeped in the here and now reality of the Resurrected Christ. Since the weekend, I have been thinking a great deal about communion. 

Communion

The earliest Eucharists were celebrations of the abundance of life available to us in the Resurrected Christ.  These Eucharists focused not on the "night of his betrayal and desertion," or in memorializing Jesus' death, but rather were shaped by remembrances of  the signs of abundance present in the ministry and life of Jesus Christ.  In particular, many of these liturgies focused on Jesus' feeding of the 5000.   The earliest Christian liturgies were concerned with Paradise and eternity as it broke through into the world and into human life. The Eucharist was not a sharing in Christ's death. Rather, it was a remembrance of eternity as it breaks through in the here and now of human life, a life transformed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

As I learned of these ancient celebrations of the abundance of life I thought of our own communion service.  We celebrate communion every week at our 8:30 service and every month at our 10:30 service.  The order for those services follows the order handed down in the church over the last 1000 years.  It is a commemoration of the last supper that Jesus had with his disciples.  It is here that we remember the words "my body broken for you," and "this is my blood.' These are the  words not used in the earliest liturgies of the church, just the words used as the church shifted from its focus on the resurrected Christ to the dead Jesus.  In Saving Paradise, Brock and Parker suggest a return to the earliest liturgies.  What would this mean?

1. It would mean that the the Eucharist would not be a remembrance of "death, betrayal and desertion," but rather a celebration of the already present Paradise on earth opened by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  
2. It would mean that the words used to celebrate communion would be words of life, resurrection, abundance, courage in adversity, justice, peace and joy.  
3. It would mean that the communion might not be solely a bread and grape juice/wine communion. Rather, our communion might include other gifts/signs of abundance -- signs of God's immediate presence. 
4. It would mean that all the people would be welcome to bring gifts to the table.  God is abundantly gracious to all people -- all people bring gifts to the table.
5. There would be gifts left-over -- and we can't hold the gifts of God for ourselves.  We would share our abundance with the poor.  In this way we would open the table for all. 

Over the next weeks, the 8:30 service will be a "lab" for re-imagining/re-constructing our communion service.  People are invited to bring their gifts to the table, as we avail ourselves of the blessings of eternity sharing these blessings with all.  If you would like to help in this re-imagining come to church at 8:30 or stop me for a conversation.  

Blessings, 

David