Easter Greetings Dear People of Bethlehem,
I’ve been reflecting on the Gospel story that we heard a few weeks ago, the one where Jesus appeared to two of his disciples traveling on the road to Emmaus. They didn’t recognize him at first, even after walking with him for many miles, and hearing him explain the scriptures to them with great detail and insight. It wasn’t until they shared a meal with him, and Jesus broke the bread, that their eyes were suddenly opened and they recognized him for who he truly was.
This story clearly has strong parallels to the last supper, when Jesus instituted the gift of Holy Communion. Believe it or not, there are many churches that have very strict rules about who is and who is not allowed to participate in communion. Some are unspoken, implied rules, but some churches actually print it right there in their bulletins – a list of rules and “if-then” statements about who is welcome at the table. Some congregations require you to be members of that particular church or denomination, while others will allow non-members to commune as longs as they check in with the pastor ahead of time. Those of you who come from different denominational backgrounds might not be surprised by this – you very well may have visited or belonged to a congregation that held some of these practices.
And while they each have their reasons and rationale, you won’t find any such rules here at Bethlehem. We practice what is called “open communion” which means that any and all are welcome at the table. If you’ve communed every Sunday for the past 50 years – you are welcome. If it’s your very first-time setting foot in a church – you are welcome. If your one-year-old reaches for some bread (and we check with you to make sure that it’s okay) you better believe that Pastor Laura and I are going to hand it to them. Part of the reason for this approach is because of what happened on the Road to Emmaus. Communion is a sacrament in the Lutheran Church, which means that we consider it to be what is called a “means of grace” or a way that God imparts grace into our lives. And if Jesus chooses to make himself known to someone in the bread and the wine of our Sunday morning communion practice, just as he made himself known to those two disciples all those years ago, then we do not want to be the ones standing in the way of or preventing that from happening. Now that certainly doesn’t mean that we don’t believe in the importance of education and things like First Communion training – communion is one of the most sacred practices of the church and it’s important for people to understand what it is that we are doing. But understanding is not a prerequisite for experiencing, which is why, here at Bethlehem, we proudly say that all are welcome!
Blessings, Pastor Sam