Come Back To The Table

"This do in remembrance of me." What does "this" even mean? To most of us brought up in church, upon a proficient grasp of phonetics, the phrase has been read thousands of times in default mode. We have gone through the motions of communion so many times that it no longer holds great significance for us. With rare exception, the elements are forgone and little recognition of the absence prevails. However, a premise that continues to be expanded for me will not let me alone. Thus, I write. While I am no one of reputation in the spiritual community, I compose this post in hopes that someone else may stumble across it by providential means, and that a seed will be planted to provoke heart changing thoughts. In less ritual-driven houses of worship, the communion table is typically saved for special occasions or specific holy days in the Christian church, namingly Easter and Christmas. So twice annually, we more purposefully observe what should continually be at the forefront of our spiritual consciousness. (This doesn't mean I think we should take communion every week, btw.) As a follower of Christ who believes we are sincerely approaching the second coming, I'm beginning to see another side of this table. If you will allow me, I'm challenging you to think outside the traditional box for just a moment... When Jesus served His disciples at the last supper, He told them the bread was representative of His body that would be broken, and the wine was as His blood that would be poured out. He instructed them to continue the practice and to do it in remembrance of Him. We remember the power unlocked from that sacred suffering when we partake of the elements, but as current events continue to unfold, the actual word "remember" has taken on a new meaning to me. To dismember something, you're tearing it apart. So if you were to re-member a thing, you would be putting it back together again, correct? For those belonging to the household of faith for any number of years, the schisms and dividing lines between us are very evident to see. In fact, they seem to grow on a daily basis depending on the issue. I ask you this; if we are truly the Bride of Christ, what does this say for us? Have we allowed ourselves to willfully be dismembered by harsh,religious ideas that trump the law of love? And bringing it even closer, have we created hostile houses of fellowship? Are we so put out with fellow congregants or those in leadership, that we have nullified our acts of worship? Hostilities have been poured out throughout Christendom, and now they are spilling over onto streets worldwide. Our nation is not exempt from this and if the church cannot come together as ONE body, it will worsen. Yet there is power in unity, which leads me to the next word, "communion". Right away, the etymologist in me hears two English words, come and union. However, it is a word of French and Latin derivatives, with the most poignant usage coming from the ecclesiastical community. Com - "with,together" and Unus - "oneness,union". You can see where I'm going with this, the table of communion is where we can be put back together again both individually and corporately. Healing is the children's bread, and we are symbolically partaking of the bread of life. The wine/juice is a reminder of the blood that was spilled for our healing, His wounds for our wholeness. His suffering for our peace(nothing missing, nothing broken). When we are corporately whole, we can move in unity. It begins in the local congregation and spreads from there. When we are united under the banner of Christ, regardless of denominational variations, we can truly function as one unit. So I'm inviting you back to the communion table. The table of healing, the table where the Body is put back together again, the table of unity. This do in remembrance of Him, He is waiting!