Leslie Leyland Fields describes herself as “an award-winning author of eight books, a regular columnist and contributor to Christianity Today, a national speaker with Ambassador Speaker’s Bureau, and a sometimes commercial fisherwoman with her husband and 6 children, all of whom live on Kodiak Island, Alaska.” Her latest “Stones to Bread” column in Christianity Today (March 2012) asks the question “if we have such an extravagant Savior, why are our Communion meals so paltry?” She sums up her response with these words:
I hunger, spirit and body, for the day when our Communion tables are freed from regimentation and parsimony, images of cautious, lugubrious, measurable redemption so unlike the real table God has set before us. Let us find ways to extend the table to a fuller meal . . . (p. 44).
So What?
Whether a local congregation celebrates Communion / the Lord’s Supper / Eucharist every week, once a month, once a quarter, at some other regular interval, or even irregularly those who are regularly present are well aware of what it means in the life of this fellowship. The table can easily be reduced to something smaller than it is.
- How would you characterize the role of Communion / the Lord’s Supper / Eucharist within the larger life of your congregation?
- What are a few specific ways the fullness and richness of the meal could be better emphasized and appreciated?