Searching Sabbath 16: The Lord’s Supper

One more Adventist doctrine I don’t find particularly controversial … although there is plenty of controversy within Christianity over it!

I know the amount of comments I get on these videos varies from “lots” to “none,” but I think in writing a blog post to go along with this video on this topic, what I’d really like would be to toss questions back at you, the readers. If you’re a Christian, what does the Lord’s Supper/Communion/Eucharist mean to you? Do you see it as having a mystical and/or sacramental value, or purely as a memorial of Christ’s death? And most importantly … why do you believe this?

I’m also curious (since I know lots of people who read my blog aren’t Christians) about how it looks to outsiders. The ancient Romans accused Christians of being cannibals (or so I’ve heard) because they claimed to eat the body of their god. Does Communion seem to you like a harmless arcane ritual, or a weird cannibalistic feast?

I’m also interested in a lot of the debates I didn’t have time to get into at all in this vlog — like, open versus closed communion. I’m actually offended when I visit a Catholic church and am barred from Communion — I find that a terribly divisive attitude to take towards the Lord’s table, though I try to soothe myself by saying that it doesn’t mean the same thing to Catholics that it does to me, thus for them it would desecrate the ritual to open it up to those with whom they’re not truly “in communion.” I did take Communion in a Catholic church once though … at the funeral of a co-worker of whom I was very fond. I felt sad and wanted both to feel touched by God and to honour my friend. I don’t think he was the type of Catholic who would have minded, but I’ve always felt weird about having done it.

I also wonder what others think about the “how often” question … and, of course, I’m happy to answer any questions that others may have about the way we Adventists practice communion, including our somewhat unusual service of footwashing. So, please fire away in the comments — this project is far more interesting to me when others participate!