~Re:discovery~
The prefix re- means “again” or “anew.” Encouraged to re:discover the eucharistic essence of the practice of Communion, I am brimming with excitement as I start anew, all over again, in the experience of Communion. For weeks I struggled to write a final paper for my most recent course out of fear that the antagonism I’ve developed towards the Lord’s Supper would literally explode onto the pages. But today, re:freshed by the invitative Spirit of God, I am now able to enthusiastically communicate the ground swell of passion and joy God is planting in my soul regarding the Lord’s Supper. The assignment, to develop a plan by which I, as a primary spiritual care-giver, would nurture more effective spiritual formation, community and identity within my faith context proved more difficult than I originally had anticipated. But creating a plan was not the struggle. After all, marketed logistics and strategies for nurturing effective ministry are innumerable in Christian circles. But seeking God’s intention for the plan and deciphering his will for me in that plan halted the completion of the paper on several occasions.
To near frustration, I have chosen to listen to more than the cerebral in this exercise. And, as a result, this assignment became more than an academic exercise. As I write this paragraph I re:cognize that the Lord has encouraged me to re:concile my soul to my Savior’s hands and heart through the practice of Communion.
So while not the most eloquent of poems, the words in the last post, written for the assignment, reflect the freedom and joy of my re:newed embrace with God through the re:membrance of Communion. And it is this re:freshed embrace of koinonia with God that I want to share within my ministry setting. As I consider what impact Communion may have in my ministry context, I am certain that through the re:telling of the Communion story, through the re:living of the Lord’s passion and resurrection, through the re:leasing breath of the Holy Spirit, I eagerly anticipate God to accomplish his nurturing work.
In this series of nine postings I hope to offer a re:newed re:flection on the practice of Communion for those who, like me, were finding frustration in what should be a wonderful practice.
Thanks, Paul. Communion is so rich. I missed that fact for most of my life. Only recently has the practice started to make some real sense to me. I think that this next generation of the church will re:discover Communion and make it a central part of who we are as communionities. Com-Union. Unity together. That’s not how I used to practice communion at all. It’s cool to hear that all across North America there are followers of Jesus who are approaching the Lord’s Supper afresh. Glad to be walking through all this with you, my brother.
i’m excited to hear more on this ken. i did something similar in Rupert to what we did at THAW a few years back with Jeff Kuhn. it was very well received and people began to understand how something so profoundly simple is quite simply profound.
i look forward to learning what God is putting in your heart through these re:generative posts…