exclusive!

main entry: sac`ra`ment
function: noun
1 a : a Christian rite (as baptism or the eucharist)
that is believed to have been ordained by Christ
and that is held to be a means of divine grace
or to be a sign or symbol of a spiritual reality

i don't know if this falls in the category of ecclesiology or theology, but i've been thinking about communion a lot lately. here are some more (relevant) big words: consubstantiation, transubstantiation, and memorialism. weren't those fun?

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a story:
rochelle and zach were sitting across the aisle from me yesterday when the servers began to pass out the communion elements. she's 8ish, he's 6ish. their mom was chasing after buzz, who is 4ish. i sat with them and realized i didn't know what to do. would it be ok with their mom if they took communion? i know both of the kiddies and they seem to engage sunday school lessons with a heart for understanding God. but it's still not my call, right? since they already had the wafers, i elected to explain the elements and let them decide. i later talked to their mom about it and it all turned out ok. but i was struck: when you're not a kid anymore, when your mom isn't there to make the call, who does?
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while my opinion on the nature of communion itself is definitely under construction, i am beginning to lean toward a more-than-just-a-symbol view of the sacrament. even if that weren't the case, though - even if i firmly held that communion was merely symbolic - i'd still be faced with this question: "what is our role in preserving the significance and power of this sacrament?" the apostle paul teaches that i have a responsibility to treat communion seriously by never partaking unworthily.

but when it comes to what my church's role is, i'm realizing that it all comes down to stewardship: as a faith community, the higher your view of communion, the more you'll want to be careful about what you do with it. so, maybe it's ok - even important - for a church to be discerning about who partakes. (if you disagree, you'll probably supply "discriminating" where i wrote "discerning.")

i don't know where the line is, but there's an important distinction to be maintained between being open to newcomers (on the one hand) and being so seeker friendly that we bend over backward to avoid the appearance of exclusivity (on the other).

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case study #1
sometimes when the tithe is taken up, someone will clarify that visitors shouldn't feel any pressure to give. i hope it's not just a matter of not wanting to offend: this is an appropriate clarification about commitment to a faith community. there are forms of worship which are expected of church members and regular attenders but were never meant to be extended to everyone in the building. tithing is one of them.

case study #2
before i was baptised, i went to several classes on the theology and history of the practice. i wrestled in prayer. and, as i stood in that tank before the congregation, david horsey asked me if i believed and trusted in the saving work of Christ on my behalf. all of that is entirely appropriate if baptism is to be taken seriously.
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however, at a baptism, you don't often have people feeling left out if they don't get dunked. on the other hand, offense is a very real possibility when communion is a part of the service. but if partaking in communion isn't the same as singing or tithing or listening to a sermon or going to a bible study - if it's something more, as i'm beginning to believe - maybe we need to be more wary of offending God by how we treat it.

i'm not claiming that i know of a sensitive way of dealing with this, and i'm certainly nervous about requiring church membership or profession of faith before communion is permitted. but we absolutely need to decide, as individual churches, how we will deal with this issue. and, no matter what we decide, we need to be better teachers.

communion isn't for everyone. not because having an exclusive club is fun, but because we are de facto stewards of the sacraments. and all stewards are held to account.

"i sent an exclusive to every paper in town."
~lina lamont in "singin' in the rain"