Are you missing the communion Table yet? I guess it depends on the frequency you celebrate communion in your church. For us, we normally share the bread & cup weekly.
You might miss communion, also, based on how you practice it. One of our members bakes the bread fresh, each week. I feel a little spoiled just thinking about how good we have it in our church... We don't "pass the plate" where we worship either. We have a table in the rear of the room in which we gather, and we walk back to the table to celebrate communion together. We have some people who quietly stay in their seat and reflect, we have others who walk around and talk with others, others will hug or laugh together, basically we experience a lot of freedom in how we practice communion.
BTW: Even though we are streaming our sermons live on Facebook each Sunday for the time being, I will say, how we share communion at New Song is what makes our experience on Sundays unique and memorable.
In my over two and half decades of practicing Christianity, thanks to the coronavirus, this is the longest I've gone without participating in communion. Which leads me to point out, if your tradition or heritage practices weekly communion, but you are sheltering in place, what should you do about taking communion?
The simple answer is, follow your conscience, which hopefully is being led by the Spirit. Whatever you decide, it shouldn't be led by guilt, shame, or fear.
I believe that communion, celebrating the Body & the Blood of Jesus is best shared in a community setting. I think we have to have a community present to share communion, kind of like how you can't baptize yourself. I don't think experiencing the Table is the same if you are alone. I would say it would be like ordering your steak to go, but with all of the restaurants being closed these days and only offering take out...
The legalistic voice in our heads might claim you "have" to observe communion no matter what, but is that really the heart of the matter? If communion is about unity, about communing, about being the Body, then wouldn't that require a gathering of believers?
But what if I'm "stuck" at home with my family, isn't that enough? Sure, it certainly is, and I wouldn't take away from the value of a family devotional time. I would ask though, are we taking communion in that context to follow the "letter of the Law" more so than taking it to celebrate the idea of community?
I personally feel like when we travel out of town as a family and we aren't able to attend a church worship service, it feels more like legalism than Christianity to get some crackers and grape juice and "have" communion. I feel the same way about our present "sheltering in place" situation. Therefore, I'm waiting until we are back together as a church until I take communion.
You'll have to make your own call, and I'm sure you will do what you think is right. I do not think how you handle this temporary situation is a salvational issue, but I do think there are a lot of people who usually take communion weekly who are grieving over this issue. I hope these rambling thoughts I've shared here are somewhat helpful. I think we can all agree, when the virus clears up and we all are able to gather again, the next time we share communion, it will be special and very much appreciated.
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