Sticky Questions.. Point 3

[ada]

1. Imagine the people who Jesus invited to his table? Who do you think they were? What were their religious persuasions? Who might those people be today if Jesus were having a banquet?

 

I believe God excludes and excluded no one; that exclusion and inclusion are human terms and human understanding (fear mongering, social and/or political control, monetarily driven, etc). There is neither, there is only a global unity of all people under God (regardless if people believe in Him or not, or how they believe in Him).

 

The people today that Jesus would invite to Him would be everyone. If He had to choose, I think He might bring together the leaders of all the world's religions to feast together, as an example to us all.

 

 

 

2. How can we best express an open table that includes all people in our respective churches?

 

"Church reform" I suppose. In other words, by not having exclusion/inclusion criteria for celebrating the Eucharist in our church and/or religious services; By inviting all people to the Lord's supper. This cannot strictly apply to the Eucharist at the tail of a service though... to preach an exclusionary sermon or preach an exclusionary faith and then say "All are welcome" would be hypocritical in nature.

 

I believe the Christian religion, especially churches, is in desperate need of reform in this area to return to God's high standard of love.

 

 

 

3. What guidelines or restrictions, if any, do you think there should be regarding those included at your communion table?

 

The only guideline should be that the spirit of God has moved them to partake in the supper (it's a feast with God, so really if you don't feel personally invited and/or moved by God to partake, why would you bother?), and this is a personal guideline that no one can judge but the person in question; it is not open to subjective or external monitoring. Inclusion / Exclusion criteria are not of God in my book.

 

The invitation to the supper comes from God, not man (which includes the Church).

 

 

 

4. Who, if anyone, do you believe should be excluded, or who do you wish would be excluded from the Lord's Supper in your church?

No one.

 

For the record, this is basically the same question as #3. If there are guidelines who you include, naturally those guidelines also exclude others as well (if you only include those baptized by water, you automatically exclude those who are not). This question seems redundant... I think the addition of "in your church" at the end was meant to perhaps distinguish it from the previous question, but if you think about it, why would we talk about our guidelines for inclusion and not apply them to how we feel in our own churches? So I stick with "redundant" on this one.

[Jake]

I don't think I am really following you on this one, ada. There is a rich history and tradition in the church concerning the Eucharist and the Last Supper. The way it is practiced in some churches does involve an us/them directive that I also disagree with wholeheartedly, but there is an underlying spirituality to it that goes much deeper than a secret handshake among club members. I would be interested in how you celebrate the Eucharist, or Last Supper. What are your personal motivations behind it? Is it a communion of fellowship for you, or is it a deeply personal event in harmony with the God of your understanding?

[ada]

Is it a communion of fellowship for you, or is it a deeply personal event in harmony with the God of your understanding?

 

My motivations would be the latter... personal event in harmony with the God of my understanding. I'm sorry if something I said was unclear. I can think of no way to clarify it other than that Thank you for asking!

 

For the record, due to my Agoraphobia, I do not currently take communion and have no intentions to do so in the foreseeable future. I believe communion is completely about personal relationship and personal understanding, and my relationship with God is not hindered by it's absence because God understands my limitations better than I do, luckily.

 

Cheers!