Vicar's View

November 2007

I recently served as communion assistant for the first time…ever. I‘ve done other stuff in worship throughout the years, but it just so happens that I had never served as communion assistant until I signed up to do it just the other day. I have certainly done my share of thinking about the theology of communion a lot in the past two years at seminary. My classmates and I have talked about serving communion until we were blue in the face. We have poured over every nuance of why we do the things we do around the communion rail and the reasoning behind all of it.

Actually being involved with communion as a server, all of sudden all of that theology became quite real. It was a powerful and moving experience to see people‘s faces as I watched God‘s forgiveness travel from the chalice I was holding into their cup. To speak the words, "The blood of Christ, shed for you." To hear an occasional response, "Amen." To be in close proximity to something so sacred and personal, yet communal; it‘s almost beyond words. I was so glad that I had that opportunity to be physically involved in real life-changing ministry after being cooped up in a classroom for two years thinking about it. At the same time, I am so grateful for the knowledge I have now about communion that helped make it such a rich experience for me.

It really got me thinking about thinking vs. doing. I believe both thinking and doing are vitally important to anything you tackle in life. One isn‘t necessarily better than the other, and you certainly need both in order to accomplish what‘s ahead of you. Is there something on your heart today that you‘ve done an awful lot of thinking about that needs doing already? Or are you about to rush into doing something without thinking? I pray that God gives you the patience and courage to do both!

Vicar Craig