When you hear 'Communion' or 'fellowship,' what kind of images come to your mind? What do these works mean to you? What kind of memories do they evoke? Today, not only did we have Communion, or the Lord's Supper, during church this morning, but I sat with two of the Chaplains and a Chaplain's Assistant during lunch to talk about various things. While we were talking, I felt God stirring me a bit about how we were communing with each other, after partaking of Communion during worship. Sound a little odd or confusing? Here are some of my thoughts on all of this.
The word 'communion' is defined as follows (from Dictionary.com):
1. (often initial capital letter). Also called Holy Communion. Ecclesiastical.
a) the act of receiving the Eucharistic elements.
b) the elements of the Eucharist.
c) the celebration of the Eucharist.
d) the antiphon sung at a Eucharistic service.
2. a group of persons having a common religious faith; a religious denomination: Anglican communion.
3. association; fellowship.
4. interchange or sharing of thoughts or emotions; intimate communication: communion with nature.
5. the act of sharing, or holding in common; participation.
6. the state of things so held.
Based on the above definitions, communion can mean both the Lord's Supper or Eucharist, as well as the act of being together and sharing things with each other. When you think about it, we are celebrate the Lord's Supper (aka Communion or the Eucharist), we are not just remembering all that Christ has done for us. Like a prayer, we are fellowshiping with Him, as we remember His sacrifice while we were still in rebellion against Him. We are also opening ourselves up to Him on an emotional and spiritual level.
One Scripture verse that means a lot to me is Revelation 3:20. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.“ (Revelation 3:20 NASB). Though God is initiating the relationship, we have to respond. Now, I am not going to get into the doctrinal differences between Election, Freewill, etc. That is for another post. What is important here is two things. One, Jesus comes to us, to where we are, and initiates a relationship (knocking on the door of our hearts, as many interpret to mean). Jesus, who is literately “God in the flesh,” (John 1:14) comes down to our level. The Creator comes down to be with his creation. Even though His creation is in rebellion against Him, He still comes down to us! And, instead of barging in, He lets us know that He is there, and then waits.
The other thing that stands out to me is the '...will dine with him, and he with Me.' Lets think about that for a moment. I do not know about you, but that brings to me many wonderful memories. Not just of church potlucks, but of family dinners, holiday get together, or just having coffee with a friend. It is an image of two or more people sitting down and sharing of joys, concerns, current events, or even just enjoying each other's company without talking a very much. Especially when one person is hurting, the simple presence of someone else to share that time, can be very comforting. In our high tech world, we sometimes get some wrapped up with keeping up with Facebook, Twitter, or what ever, that we forget to spend time face-to-face with those we car about.
As a husband and a father, I knew how challenging it can be to turn the TV off and sit at the dinner table. That way we can talk with each other while we eat. It is so very easy for us to turn on the news or a favorite TV show on cable or Netflix while we eat. It is much easier to allow ourselves to be entertained while we eat instead of sharing with each other our thoughts and feelings while we share our food.
In Acts 2:42-47, we see something incredible. We see the Disciples (soon to be called the Apostles), gathering together with other fellow believers, as well as new believers, and sharing meals and prayer time together. Not just that, those that had property and other wealth were selling it so that all could have something together. Now, I do not believe that we have to go to this extreme in order to have fellowship with God and with each other. But, it is an incredible example. Not just for us, but back then in the early church, too. God used this communal love and sacrifice to get the attention of others.
That brings me to this afternoon. After the Protestant service, I sat down to eat lunch with two of the Chaplains and one of their Chaplain's Assistants. We talked about quite a few things, most of which had to do with either our theological backgrounds, what we thought about the worship service that morning, what our hopes for concerning the Bible Studies that were coming up starting next month, etc. After worshiping God together and celebrating the Eucharist, that flowed into our conversation while we ate. Not only did we get physical nourishment through the food, but we also continued to gain spiritual nourishment as we reflected on our shared Christian faith. Though we have different theological and denomination backgrounds, that pales in comparison to our shared love for and faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. I walked away from lunch feeling very full. Not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually.
Is that not how it should be? Should we not celebrate with joy God's grace for our lives? Should we not celebrate our brotherly love for each other? Should we not take joy in encouraging each other, to learn from each other? As a popular hymn goes, “They Will Know we are Christians by our Love.” Should we not have love for each other and mutually encourage each other? That doesn't mean we have to 100% agree with each other. But, because of our love for each other, we can learn from our differences and focus on what we do have in common.
Whether we are more introverted or extrovert (psychological concept concerning how a person processes information (internally vs. externally) and how they recharge emotionally (alone vs. with people)), we all need time with others. God created us to need companionship with others. That is, to fellowship, to develop a deep and meaningful relationship with others. Note, I did not say “romantic or sexual.” A friendship can be deep and meaningful without being romantic. Think of the relationship that two best friends, between a parent and child, etc., can have? They share personal ideas, hopes, fears, with each other, and learn from each other. As they share together and do things together, they grow closer emotionally and spiritually. This is the kind of thing that all of us Christians need to strive to do. Although we will not always agree, we still need to purposely do this. Although there will always be people in our community, even in our churches, whose personalities annoy us, we can still learn from each other.
I encourage each of you to take time each week, and spend quality fellowship time with others. It can be just a few minutes, or it can be an afternoon. It can be a quick but meaningful chat at the coffee pot, it can be a walk from one meeting to another, or it could be a lunch or dinner conversation. Seek to be available to God to be a blessing to others in this way. To share your love for God by being an active presence in their life. Let yourself be open with them and listen to their openness with you. Not only will you be a blessing to them, but they will also be a blessing to you.
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