June, 2025

A member of a congregation I once served told me she had missed worship the previous
Sunday because she had been at a family reunion. The whole clan had attended a small country
church before heading to a park they had reserved for a picnic. This member reported how that
church’s pastor had stood at the altar with his back toward the congregation during every hymn.
She wondered what that meant. I saw that pastor later and asked him about it. He explained that
because of that family reunion, there were twice as many people as expected for worship on that
communion Sunday. They didn’t have enough pieces of bread prepared, so during the hymns, he
stood there breaking every piece of bread in two!
This Sunday will be the first communion for some of the children among us. Tim Sandifer
has been preparing them to respect the bread and the juice as the body and blood of Jesus. Like
many of you, I did not receive my first communion until after I was confirmed. That practice made
it feel as if communion was a reward earned by our studies and our promises to follow Jesus. The
truth is that none of us ever earns the blessing of Christ’s presence in this sacrament. It is a gift,
freely given. Scripture reminds us that Jesus welcomed children into his presence even when the
disciples tried to turn them away. (Matthew 19:13-15) I am glad many churches no longer require
those who receive communion to be baptized or confirmed.
We are planning to again offer the option of common bread or wafers for the communion
meal. The wafers represent unleavened bread, like the matzah Jesus shared with his disciples at the
Last Supper. That Passover meal was a reminder of the escape from slavery in Egypt, when the
Hebrews were in such a hurry that they did not have time to let their bread rise. Wafers, therefore,
remind us that Christ’s death and resurrection have provided us with our own escape from the
powers of sin and death. Common bread represents the everyday nourishment of the people of
faith, like the loaves and fishes Jesus multiplied to feed the 5000. Common bread reminds us that
Christ’s presence provides spiritual nourishment the way ordinary bread provides physical
nourishment. Whichever form of bread you receive, it signifies that Christ’s power can still live
inside of us and that Christ welcomes all to join in the heavenly banquet being prepared for us.
Peace,
Rev. Tim Darmour-Paul