Theology Blog

The sacrament comes when God transcends and invades ordinary elements for the greater purpose of revelation and forgiveness.

I think we have lost sight of the power of the sacraments in our American culture and church today. Our reaction against ritual even though we crave the comfort of routine, combined with a poor job by the church to train us in the sacraments has lead to this place in my opinion. I too have my own biases because communion is a deeply spiritual experience for me. I could participate in communion on a daily basis and I suspect that this would still be the case (how sad is it the many churches only practice communion once a month) because communion is not about me. It is in the sacrament (and the Bible, and the world) that God reveals himself to us. We are in constant need of that revelation. Whether we are ready or able to admit it or not, we need to know God, we want to know God. Communion also reminds us of forgiveness, not just God’s forgiveness of us, but our need to forgive others and even to forgive ourselves. We come to communion to remember the story, to remember Christ, but also to re-member; to reconnect with the God of the universe and His reality. We do this together because we all need it, but participating in communion together can also focus and strengthen our community. How is it the bread & wine or juice can be so powerful? It is only by the power of God. Perhaps you might think that these elements are just bread and juice and we are making too much of it, but if we were all honest, we desperately desire to see more of God in the ordinary.