Eucharist: the Holy Meal

The holy meal holds many meanings.  

We remember that Christ shares in all of our suffering and the suffering of the earth.  We hope, then, that this meal is healing for us.  

As this bread was once many grains of wheat, we hope that God’s people, broken into nations and denominations, will all join together in peace to share in the abundance of our planet.  In partaking of the cup and the bread, we are reminded of the ways that the earth provides for us.  Without our planet and its health, we have no clean water or grain.  As we take sustenance from this meal, both physically and spiritually, we are reminded of our responsibility to the earth and our role as stewards of creation.  As this meal exemplifies our relationship with Christ and with each other, we also recognize how it draws us into reciprocity with the planet.  

We remember the ministry of Jesus and are reminded of the diverse spiritual community he created.  

The Eucharistic meal has been shared from the earliest moments in the Christian movement in a variety of ways and in a variety of communities.  We take our part in that beautiful web.  This meal draws us together with our brothers and sisters in different times and places and reminds us of Jesus’ radical act of inviting everyone to the table.  

All are created in the image of God and equally qualified to take part in the spiritual meal and experience it in ways that are meaningful to our own hearts while entering into this act of community.