Saturday, March 21, 2009

communion

Something I long for, but seem to too rarely experience is communion with other people. I would define communion as being in fellowship with others on a level that touches the deepest and most significant part of who we are.

On some important human levels we can have communion potentially with any other human being. And that's important, and not something we should despise. We are all made in God's image, even though broken or cracked through sin. We have much in common with others.

But what I'm thinking of today is the communion we're to have among those of us who are "in Christ": in union with God through Christ by the Spirit. Having a common purpose as Christ's Body in this world.

I do enjoy the communion I have daily with my wife, Deb. We share as those who are one flesh. So we can share with each other what is in our hearts and thoughts, and just be together in loving companionship and communion. Learning to see and let our differences complement rather than divide each other. And blessed in that we are also one in Christ.

I also enjoy the communion I find weekly at our church gathering. All kinds of people gather, with all kinds of differences. Some of those differences that can be, and in this world are divisive by nature. Yet we are one and in communion because of Christ. The Spirit in love brings us together, and we find the basis of our fellowship to outweigh any and all such differences.

Communion with God through Christ by the Spirit is what I long for more of. And this includes communion with God's people. We remember this monthly, and for those who want to, weekly at our church gathering, as we gather around bread and "wine", in remembering and proclaiming the Lord's death by our participation together, of this "meal." This ends up being not only a personal matter between ourselves and God, but a matter between each other. Indeed this practice is called "communion" for good reason. As we recognize and acknowledge the Body of our Lord in both the elements used, and in our union together in Christ by the Spirit.

We were made to live in communion with God and with each other. Nothing less will satisfy us. And by the Spirit through Jesus we need to learn more and more about our life together in God. Being taken up into the love life communion of the Trinity, as participants by grace in that.

What other words might you like to share on communion? Or whatever else you might like to say here.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

you expressed this in a way that made me think about communion more.

Lulu said...

I was thinking about this last Sunday actually, being back at my uni church where everyone goes forward for Communion rather than it being passed row by row and I decided it was an amazing expression of our church community - everyone was doing the same thing all together, and all around me I could see people worshipping and praying together, or catching up, or just taking some time out to listen to the band. I shamelessly people watched and wondered what communion meant to each of them!
x

Ted M. Gossard said...

Nancy,
Thanks. We all need to think on it more. At the heart of our faith.

Ted M. Gossard said...

Beautiful Intellectual,
Yes. I think worshiping together, corporate worship, is indeed vitally important. We are blessed through seeing others worship. And we're to be worshipers together. Not only a personal matter between ourselves and God.