It is one of the stories that we have told for thousands of years. Jesus, on the night before he was arrested, sat at table with his disciples. While they were eating, he took bread, blessed it and broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “This is my body, given for you, whenever you eat it, remember me.” In a similar manner, after they had eaten, he took a cup, filled it, blessed it and gave it to them with the words, “This is my blood, shed for you. Remember me when you drink it.”

For our people, however, it is much more than just a story of something that occurred long ago and far away. For us, it is a sacrament that we have shared in our churches as a celebration of community and a sign of our connections to one another. It is something that bridges great distances of time and space and joins us together with other believers throughout the entire span of the church.

In some congregations, the sacrament is shared at every gathering. Many Christians celebrate it every week. In other congregations, the celebration is a bit less frequent. As a pastor, it was a practice that I shared in formal worship and in simple home ceremonies. I have a simple kit that allows me to take communion to those who are not able to come to the church to share in the formal ceremonies. The prayer of consecration and the words of institution are part of my memory and can be said without the need of opening the book of worship.

Even after all of those years of officiating the sacrament, or perhaps because of all of the years of officiating, the celebration of Holy Communion is an important part of my life and my practice. The tradition in the congregation we now belong to is very similar to that of the congregation we served for the previous 25 years. We celebrate communion on the first Sunday of each month. We also celebrate it on significant other occasions. We celebrated as we worshiped in our church here yesterday and the celebration made me think of the people in Rapid City and the times we shared the sacrament in that place.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused people to rethink the sacrament. In the early days of the rapidly-spreading disease there was a bit of doubt about how the illness was spreading. People were afraid of contact. We sanitized surfaces on a regular basis. We washed our hands over and over. Some folks wore gloves to avoid contact. Those who prepared food were masked and gloved to prevent contamination. The simple practice of placing pieces of bread on a plate and filling tiny communion cups was brought into question. How can we continue our practice without risking exposure to illness?

For months, we celebrated communion in our home, using the food and beverage at hand while we worshiped over social media. The celebration held its meaning, but it wasn’t the same as being together with other believers. Now that we are sharing in hybrid worship, with some of us present in the sanctuary and others worshiping online, we received individual portions of bread and juice in compostable containers as we filed from the sanctuary.

Long ago a controversy arose in the church over the practice of communion. The worry was that the sacrament might be contaminated by an officiant who was somehow unworthy of celebrating. Perhaps that person was not qualified, or had betrayed the community in some way. Perhaps that person had committed a serious sin. Perhaps, through ignorance or improper training, the officiant didn’t use the right words or didn’t observe the sacrament in the manner that had been handed down throughout the centuries. There were all kinds of ways to imagine that the sacrament could somehow be performed in a manner that was less than perfect. After extensive debate and heated argument the church decided that the meaning of the sacrament was beyond the actions or words of the one officiating at the table. The faith of the community was stronger than any individual priest or minister. Furthermore, one does not “earn” a place at the table, but we are all invited, as flawed and imperfect human beings, through the Grace of God.

We don’t have to be doing everything right for the depth and meaning of the sacrament to be present. We bless. We eat. We drink. We remember. It is at once simple and incredibly complex.

Yesterday in our church, after the blessing and the prayers, we lingered in the sanctuary to listen to the postlude. It is a custom we have observed in other congregations and a congregational practice in our Rapid City church. We all sit and listen to the postlude, then we get up. This is not the practice of most of the members in our church here in Washington, but we are comfortable just sitting and listening as others depart the room. That meant that we were among the last to receive the bread and cup, which were given as members exited the sanctuary. It also meant that the traditional prayer of thanksgiving after the meal was not part of the formal liturgy. Individual members were trusted to offer our own prayers after receiving the bread and cup.

I notice things like that after a lifetime of sharing the sacrament. It might not be the same for other worshipers. But noticing it does not detract from the experience. Receiving communion is an emotional experience for me. I feel connected to friends and colleagues around the world who also celebrate. I feel connected to fellow Christians in other congregations who are also celebrating. I feel connected with those whose lives on this earth have now ended and who are a part of the communion of saints. We are a community that is bigger than any one celebration, bigger than the present moment. Our communion is an acknowledgement of that community. With simple words, simple elements and simple actions we touch one another in Christ and are renewed. Thanks be to God.