Can You Celebrate Communion Like That?

I have seen a number of discussions about communion on social media recently. Some of them got pretty heated and I got involved in at least one of them myself.

t should not be surprising that people get worked up about communion. Some of the biggest disagreements between Roman Catholics and Protestants is about what exactly happens to the bread and wine. Even among the reformers there were some strong feelings. Luther Zwingli disagreed to much about that nature of communion that they could not bring themselves to shake hands despite all of the other things they had in common.

As I have observed (and participated) in some of these debates, I have seen three basic questions come up. I will attempt to address all three to the best of my ability.

What can be used for communion?

I grew up as an Anglican. We celebrated communion every week and we used a common cup that contained wine mixed with water. I later joined a Pentecostal church, where we celebrated communion monthly and we used small crackers and little cups of grape juice.

How much freedom is there in what we use? Could we use cut up hot dog buns and fruit punch? What about donuts and coffee?

If we were trying to duplicate what the earliest Christians did, it would be matzah bread and wine. If we really wanted to be like them, we would include it as part of a larger meal rather than tacking it on to a regular service.

I find something attractive in using real wine (even though I’m a Baptist) because of the tradition that goes back to Jesus. However, I also understand that for many people it is problematic to have alcohol involved for various reasons.

I think something close to bread, whether a wafer, piece of naan bread or even regular sandwich bread is good. I also think that cup should bring to mind the image of blood. It doesn’t have to be grape juice but blue raspberry juice might be odd.

Having said that, even donuts and coffee, if that was available and it it was done out of reverence is not out of the question. My only concern would be doing something like beer and pizza just for the shock value. It really comes down to where our hearts are at.

Who can administer communion?

Certain denominations take a strong stand that only clergy can administer communion. While I see the logic behind that, it is difficult to find the biblical support. First of all, there is nothing like professional clergy in the New Testament. While there were leaders in the church, it probably took a while before the system of elders and deacons evolved. There is no indication that that administering communion was the role of a specific position.

An important aspect of my own Baptist tradition is the priesthood of all believers. We focus on that as all believers having direct access to God without a human intermediary. But it also suggests that all activity, including administering communion and baptizing is available to all believers.

Where can communion be administered?

This question has come to prominence during the pandemic as some churches moved to online services. For some people, these services were basically online teaching with musical accompaniment and were not that big of a leap, even if they would prefer to be in person. Others of course rejected the online services completely.

Even if one was open to receiving a Bible lesson online and listening to recorded worship music, what were you to do with communion? Some churches that embraced online services completely, postponed communion until they were able to meet in person again. Others led communion online and invited people to join in at home.

In one of my online debates with a fellow Christian, this statement was made to me: “But taking ‘communion’ at home isn’t debatable at all. It’s clearly sinful.” Those were strong words. he didn’t just disagree with it, he actually thought it was actively sinning against God.

I did have to chuckle when I first read this because the early Christians never celebrated communion in church buildings (as none existed) but always celebrated it in homes. So obviously it can’t be sinful to celebrate communion in a home.

But I do know what he meant. He was trying to say that communion must be celebrated in community and not in isolation. he actually used the word “congregation.” That’s a tricky word. It literally means those who congregate. How many people have to congregate before you have a congregation?

I will say that in principle I agree about the importance of community to communion (the words are cognate). When I have recorded an online service and I receive communion by myself with no one else in the sanctuary, it is never the same as when I am celebrating with the rest of the congregation in the same room at the same time.

But how many people are needed before communion is considered valid? There are some families in a household that are larger than some congregations. Do the people have to be physically unrelated?

Some of the most meaningful communion services I have participated in was in a nursing home room with two residents. Another powerful one was when I taught a course on 1 Corinthians at a Christian university and we celebrated communion as part of the class even though none of us attended the same church.

I have no problems with people having certain convictions about communion. However, very little details about how exactly communion is to be celebrated are given in the New Testament. Really the only detailed account is found it 1 Corinthians 11. The warning that Paul seems to be giving there is not celebrate it without showing love toward one another.

So hold onto your convictions. But be careful who you are calling a sinner or a heretic or a fool. Most of the things on this topic that people feel so strongly about are things that the Bible is silent about. We must look at these issues with humility.