This sunday I went to church with my Grandpa, and I woke up early to go to the "breaking of bread" service. The majority of this time from 9 - 10 is spent in silence, with an occasional hymn request or word of encouragement from someone in the congregation. It is a great time to hear what God is teaching others and the silence is refreshing. So often churches are focused on the order of worship that we don't leave any time for individual prayer or contemplation.
Anyways, this service always ends with taking communion. As I took the bread and the cup, I thought about what I wrote in the previous blog entry, and I think I finally understand why communion is so important. Before this, I had felt that communion was just a tradition that we keep, more like a ritual than anything else. However, now that I have begun to realize the significance of knowing nothing but Christ and him crucified, I am beginning to comprehend why Christ would establish a tradition of remembering his death. Communion is way to ensure that we don't lose sight of the sacrifice Christ made for us. Its not just about remembering what happened, its also about visibly displaying the central belief of the church. Now that I understand this, communion is something I will definitely look for when I am looking for a church home in the future. A church that brings out bread and juice as a reminder of the death of Christ is less likely to water-down the gospel, as I'm afraid many churches have begun to do.
