Communion

Communion

Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

1 Corinthians 11:26

Amish churches observe Communion twice a year. Communion days are filled with solemnity as the members of the community remember Christ’s sacrifice in the Lord’s Supper. In some Amish communities everyone wears black.

The first sermon of the day reflects on the Anabaptist ancestors who were martyred for their faith. Then, at some point in the middle of his message, the preacher clears his throat and begins the retelling of the gospel story, starting with Adam and Eve. One by one all the major Bible stories are retold. As one preacher finishes a story, the next preacher picks up where the first left off. The service lasts most of the day, and around noon members of the congregation go out in small groups to eat a simple meal before returning. Only after all the stories are shared does the congregation partake of the elements of Communion.

As the bread is passed and the cup is shared, the preachers describe their relation to the Amish lifestyle. Each member is like an individual kernel crushed and made into flour and then kneaded together to make bread—many joined together to become one. Likewise, with the wine, each grape gives up its individual identity to become wine.

Part of the Communion prayer reads: “And, so that we do not doubt Thy grace, Thou hast not only revealed it in the holy gospel, but also Thou does particularly assure us of forgiveness of sins through Holy Communion, which thou has desired to establish for the strengthening of our weak faith, through the remembrance of Thy beloved son Jesus Christ as a visible pledge and seal of Thy grace, so that we can thereby be assured of the great benefit of our redemption, likewise also of the saving communion with His body which was crucified and His blood [which] was shed for us.”

May each of us approach our observance of Communion with a true realization of what we have—salvation, community, eternity—because of what Jesus has done.

Dear heavenly Father, my thank-you is not enough, but I thank You again.