Today is “Communion
Sunday” in most United Methodist Churches in North America. There may be
several things about Communion Sunday that just might surprise you. First,
while other faith traditions such as the Roman Catholic church recognize seven
sacraments, Holy Communion is one of only two sacraments that we celebrate (the
other is Holy Baptism).
Many denominations
celebrate this holy meal with unleavened bread and fermented wine, but we use
what appears to be regular dinner bread and unfermented grape juice. When Jesus
celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples, it was the season of Passover.
The regular dinner bread during that season was unleavened matzah bread (it
looks a lot like saltine crackers). But we are not Jewish and we do not
celebrate Passover. The regular dinner bread that we have at our tables looks a
lot like … well, regular dinner bread. It is important that the bread looks,
tastes, feels and smells like bread. At a communion celebration earlier this
week with our District Superintendent and some other clergy, we used flour
tortillas.
I believe that Jesus
used real wine in his meals. But before Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch (yes, Welch’s
Grape Juice), communion steward at First UMC Vineland,
NJ, perfected the Pasteurization of grape juice in 1869, unfermented grape
juice could not be stored. We use unfermented grape juice as an expression of
pastoral concern for recovering alcoholics, and to enable the participation of
children and youth.
So when we take the
bread and the “wine,” they may be different than the bread and the wine that
was served at the Last Supper, but Christ is the same yesterday, today and
tomorrow. The table is still the table of our Lord and Savior and ALL are still
welcome!
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