Last night I had the wonderful chance to spend some time with my wife and three ministry colleagues who I value very much both as friends and colleagues. One of the things we ended up discussing was Holy Communion. We all agreed that it’s worthwhile for all Wesleyan Methodist congregations to understand how our denomination understands Communion. Allow me to explain.
Photo: Dale Campbell
As Wesleyans we follow in the footsteps of John Wesley and have a high view of Communion. John Wesley was accused of being a subconscious Romanist (Roman Catholic) because of his views on Communion, though he didn’t quite go all the way to the Roman Catholic view. I’ve got to admit I’m proud of that accusation and own it myself. You can read a more extensive post I wrote on how I personally view communion but here I want to briefly and simply lay out three things we believe are taking place as we participate in Communion.
1. We remember what Jesus did for us on the cross and look forward to the hope of new life present in the Resurrection and promise of all things being renewed. In this we fulfill Jesus request to do it in remembrance of him (Luke 22:19). This is the retelling and recapturing of our imagination to shape our identity over and over again.
2. We unite with the universal Christian Church throughout history and at present. Whether we all believe ourselves to be united or not, Communion is the meal (even with all the different views of it) that has stood at the center of communal Christian practice since Jesus’ last supper. So when we take it we kneel with the whole Church throughout time.
3. We participate in the Real Presence of Jesus. We believe in Communion as a sacrament – a means of grace. Through it we willfully open our lives to the grace of God and we believe him to be truly present in the elements. Through it we say yes to the Spirit’s transforming power and we express our desire to be shaped by Him. We believe (as freaky as it may sound to some) that we participate in his flesh and blood as we consume the elements of bread and juice/wine. We believe that those things are mysteriously present (John 6:53-59) in some way that we cannot properly explain, so we engage in a silence about the technicalities of what occurs.
One of the sermons John Wesley gave on Communion was titled The Duty of Constant Communion. It was where he spoke to some of the objections of participating in it regularly and encouraged those who listened to him to participate in it ‘constantly’. He and his brother Charles also introduced a practice of congregational singing as the Eucharist took place. For this they wrote a whole lot of hymns to be sung during that time. These hymns reflected their theological views on the matter. Some of the lyrics from a couple of John Wesley’s hymns drive home my third point of Communion:
The cup of blessing, bless’d by thee,
let it thy blood impart;
the bread thy mystic body be,
and cheer each languid heart.
The grace which sure salvation brings,
let us herewith receive;
satiate the hungry with good things,
thy hidden manna give.
And from another hymn:
Come Holy Ghost, thine influence shed,
and realize the sign.
Thy life infuse into the bread,
thy power into the wine.
Effectual let the tokens prove,
and made by heavenly art,
fit channels to convey thy love
to every faithful heart.
These can be found here. I’ve quoted from Hymn 536 and 537. They reflect the Eucharist liturgy Wesley would have known and loved. It also drives home that he believed there was plenty more happening than simply remembering Jesus’ death. I’m with him.
In the life of Wesleyan Methodist churches, Communion has a special place as the central communal sacrament. In my view, the more those in our congregations understand this, the better. Our communal act of worship will be all the richer for it.