Communion Capri Sun Style

Communion is often romanticized. It’s been practiced different ways by different churches over the years, but on a whole we tend to think of it as a unifying force between divergent traditions. Which it is, the act anyway. The actual celebration of communion is not so much a multi-cultural ritual as it is a specific cultural artifact, showing distinction between cultures over time.

These thoughts came to me as I was walking through The Cloisters looking at medieval religious ware. I was giddy and kind of geeking out. I love this stuff. Anyway, I stumbled upon a 13th century set of communion ware that was three pieces, not the tradition goblet for wine and plate for bread. The third piece was a straw for sipping the wine from the goblet during communion, something the placard explained came into vogue during the 1200s (see picture).

This taking of communion is foreign to us. I don’t really like the idea of drinking communion from a straw. It would remind me too much of Capri Sun. Yet, the “in vogue” nature of the 13th century straw raises questions about how our communion preferences and styles are influenced by our larger culture:

Hows do our communion preferences and styles look different?

How do we begin to think of communion that is something that changes over time?

What does it mean for us as a church that the practice of communion is in flux?

In the end, I think these are important questions to entertain. Thinking about the answers to these questions point us to the overwhelming inadequacy we have as humans to sustain and support the sacraments, practices, and disciplines of the church without the power of the Spirit to guide us through the trends, tests, and trials of time. Most importantly, no matter the answers to these questions, the act of taking communion may change, but the spiritual gift of communion is the same: community with God, with our local church and with all followers of Christ.