Was just off to set up for our Hotspot yesterday on Communion, but read this on a fellow All Souls-ers' blog which is fab. Having written about their previous experiences of receiving (and once distributing) communion, they write:
Each time, there has been a common thread. That solemnity. The focus on my sin and Jesus's sacrifice for me. The profound disbelief that someone would/could/should do that for me.
Until a couple of weeks ago. For my second time ever, I was given the task of dishing out the bread and wine at my church during one of our gloriously messy "kids-in" communions. Now my understanding isn't good enough to tell me if my experience of this was "theologically correct", however, aside from the occasional mistake of loosing track of who I was supposed to give wine to next and nearly pouring the wine down some poor chaps front, I had quite a profound experience.
I felt like I was at a party. I spent the entire time grinning from ear to ear, thoroughly enjoying the gloriousness of the church family, my family, joining together in this meal. I watched the various people come up. One particular sight that warmed my heart was the image of Dad's with small children under their protective arms, receiving prayers.
I couldn't help but smile. I felt like we were celebrating something. Celebrating our connectedness in something glorious, big, beautiful, awesome in it's bigger-than-us but connecting-us ... ness.
Amen and Amen is all I can say :o)
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