The Cup of Communion

I love communion services. I think I always have. For most of my life, grape juice was used. It wasn't until a few years ago that I began to attend Anglican services and have wine for communion. Not only was there wine for me, but there was also a communal cup. It is a closer way to celebrate and something that I enjoy a lot more.

The Eucharist is the meal that fills me the most in the week. It brings into deeper communion with myself and with God. Around the same time that I found the tradition that allows for that in my life, I also discovered the one that brings me into deeper communion with those around me. Strangely enough, the cup will hold the same thing.

A few nights ago I had the chance to stay up and talk with some of the people I work with. After a relatively long day at work (they really all are) we had the chance to sit down and share communion with each other. There was no one presiding over the offering of the elements to each other, but we shared wine and crackers. The strange part about that, with all the lack of ceremony that night, there was nothing that would have brought me close to both God and those around me. We did not gather to officially worship or give praise. We simply came together as part of a community.

It's strange how something so simple, like sitting down with a glass of wine and having the chance to talk will bring people together and create community. We opened ourselves to each other in order to bring each other closer and I'm not sure if we even realized it. Over a glass of wine and some simple food, we created our own communion and our own community. I don't think it gets much better than that.

Communion is the sacred meal in my faith and for many others. It is important and I do enjoy the tradition and ceremony of the church. I also enjoy the simple communion that we often ignore and think is less important than one that is formal. We should take the chance to have communion with each other, even if it is only over a cup of coffee. It is really important and just as fulfilling. It calls us to be closer to ourselves, closer to God and closer to each other. Exactly the way we were meant to be.