Instant Communion? – Vacation Week Repost

“Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”  These words are familiar to every Christian who will recognize them as the words that Jesus spoke as he instituted the Lord’s Supper prior to making the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.  For centuries, all around the globe, Christian’s have been partaking in the Lord’s Supper or Communion in remembrance of our Savior.  This is one of the most solemn and moving rituals that the Church practices.  As such it is usually treated with the reverence and respect that this occasion deserves.

But in our modern day society we sometimes focus on instant gratification.  When did we get so concerned about convenience that we are worried about making our observances of these sacraments quick and easy for everyone involved?  When did we relegate the observance of the Lord’s Supper to something we are supposed to do, so let’s just make it quick, simple and get it over with?

Distributed exclusively by Broadman & Holman, the Fellowship Cup is a ready to serve, prefilled communion cup; that contains 100% grape juice and an unleavened wafer under the top seal. The second seal reveals the juice.

The cup fits into standard communion cup trays and no refrigeration is needed. Cups are guaranteed fresh if used by the stamped date on the box. The “one pass” serving method allows for extra time with less trays to pass. Box of 100.

This is the description given for a product that my son found on a website selling Christian supplies.

Some of you may be startled by the fact that these cups contain grape juice, but since I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church, grape juice was, and still is, our “wine” of choice for these occasions.  But there is something else that I find more than a little disturbing about this entire product.

Now I understand that this product may have its purpose.  I understand that the convenience of having communion cups pre-filled with the wafers included may be a big help to someone who is doing missionary work and does not have access to the traditional supplies and fresh water.  What I don’t understand is the last sentence in the description.

The “one pass” serving method allows for extra time with less trays to pass.

This company is not advertising this product as a way for missionaries to hold communion when it would otherwise not be possible.  They are advertising this product as a time saver and a convenience.  To me this is advertising this product as “Communion for lazy folks, when you don’t really feel like putting in the effort to prepare communion, use our quick and easy communion kit.”

Doesn’t God deserve more than this?  When did we become so busy and so important that we cannot take the time to pass the communion plate with the wine (or grape juice)  and then come back around a second time with the bread (or wafer)?  I know that preparing the communion table takes time and that it takes effort to clean it up afterward, but isn’t this the least that we can do to remember the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us.

He deserves more than us just “phoning in our support.”  After all, He didn’t take any shortcuts when He sacrificed Himself for our sins.  Aren’t you glad that Jesus didn’t decide that dying on the cross was just too much trouble.  He hung on the cross and endured all of the pain and suffering so that we might be cleansed of our sins.  He defeated death and arose on the third day so that we could have an everlasting life with Him.  Aren’t you glad he didn’t decide that it would be easier just to take a nap, get up in 3 hours and call it done.

Participating in Holy Communion is an honor that we should not take lightly.  We partake of the cup and the bread to remember that Jesus did not take the easy way out.  He did not take shortcuts.  Should He expect any less of us?

Are we minimizing the importance of our sacraments by making them too 21st century?

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