New things...

Did you know that the world "communion" appears nowhere in the English NIV text? Now, the words "fellowship" and "participation" are together found a lot in the NIV text in the Old Testament and New Testament. Of course, you have words that come out of "communion" such as "union", "commune" and "commUNITY" with a little stretch...LOL
Anywho, these words fellowship and participation must be thought of when describing what we call The Lord's Supper. Not only does Jesus "commune" with and "host" such an event, we do the same as brothers and sisters as "participants" in this Lord's Supper. We are not the host, but we do serve just as Jesus serves/participates.
As participation occurs, that means we also SHARE this meal together. This means therefore that we SHARE Christ as host/server/fellow participant of this same meal. Jesus makes this very clear in the Last Supper..."this is my body(bread)...this is my blood(cup)"...what does this "sharing" mean? It means together, talking, singing, praying, "partnering", joyous sharing with each other, JESUS! How can you "participate" or partner with some one if you don't spend time speaking to them? How can you know who they truly are? How can you be involved with someone if you keep to yourself and not share yourself? How can Jesus be host/particpant/server to people who don't have a relationship with each other?
In my opinion, the Lord's Supper we SHARE today is NOT a participation or a partaking of each other, it is a participation in individuality and self-piety and solemn attitude of guilt and shame. It is certainly NOT a joyous occassion...it is rote and too ritualized to make any sense of "fellowship" one with another. And yes there are times for such attitudes as guilt, shame, confession, repentance, but not at the "Table"! Additionally, we may be sharing spiritually and by ourselves, but this Lord's Supper Table was never supposed to be about the "individual"...it is about the "community" of God's people.
If you look back at OT times and focus on their altars and mealtimes, you see a contrast...the altar is serious, meant for penance and consecration. The mealtimes or "tables" are meant for celebration and joy! We don't come to an altar when we eat the Lord's Supper, we come to a TABLE! It is to be joyous, celebratory, community participating and partaking one with the other, together...
I will bring more to you later as I learn more and struggle more with such topics...this is my next sermon series and trust me when I say I will struggle because this is not what I was taught growing up either...pray that I can "Preach the Word--being prepared in season and out of season; correcting, rebuking, and encouraging--with great patience and careful instruction"....