Mahatma Gandhi is reported to have said: “If Christians had
actually done what Jesus taught us to do—namely, love our enemy—the world would
long have been transformed.” How true. There is one thing, however, that most
Christians do as Jesus taught. “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it,
and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in
remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19). They celebrate the Eucharist.
In the past three weeks I was able to celebrate the Last
Supper in two different countries. I shared the memory of the broken body of
Christ in two different languages, two very different worship services, and yet
a common experience.
On July 2, I attended a Celtic Evensong service at St.
Thomas Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. People entered the
cathedral-like sanctuary reverently with little exchange of greetings. Many
arrived early and sat in silence, waiting for the service to begin. A few
minutes before the designated time to begin, a classical flute and piano duet played
to continue the meditative mood. The church was packed. Nearly 500 people were
in attendance.
July 20, I attended the Charismatic church of my
sister-in-law in Übeschi, Switzerland. People entered the lobby and everyone
greeted each other and struck up conversations wherever they went. The
conversations continued into the sanctuary, with people walking up and down the
aisles to find more conversations in which to engage. Suddenly the band began
to play and the worship leader started singing. The congregants (sort of) settled
into their places in the sanctuary. The church was about 60% full. Because of
summer vacations about 175 people of the normal 250 had gathered.
Beginning with the way congregants gathered to each worship
experience, the two services couldn’t have been more different from each other.
At the Episcopal Church, everything except for the short homily and the hymns was
printed out on a program, which was four pages long. The printed word ruled the
service. In contrast, the Charismatic Church had nothing printed, no program,
no hymn books, few people consulted Bibles for biblical references. Although
the songs were projected on to two large screens, few people referred to them,
as the four or five songs that were repeated various times were familiar to the
gathered community. To use anything printed seemed to suggest that it would
inhibit spontaneity.
In the Episcopal service, everyone stood or sat together as
indicated in the printed program. All the assembled people did everything
together. In the Charismatic service, some people stood during the songs, some
people sat. Some raised their hands in worship, some did not. Some spoke in
tongues during one of the songs (which seemed to be designated for that
purpose), some did not.
In the Episcopal service, there was a pastoral prayer during
which time people could go to the front to place a candle at the altar for
their unexpressed special prayer needs. I was surprised at the number of people
who went forward to do so. I was also surprised that at the Charismatic service
there was no pastoral prayer offered. In fact, in contrast to the many prayers
offered in the Episcopal service, all written of course, there were few prayers
during the Charismatic service.
In the Episcopal service, the homily couldn’t have lasted
more than eight minutes. It was clearly not the central part of the service.
Yet the service lasted over an hour and a half. In contrast, the sermon for the
Charismatic service was clearly central to the gathering. It was nearly
forty-five minutes long, nearly half of the hour-and-a-half service. Most of
the rest of the Charismatic service time was taken up in congregational
singing. There were only a few congregational songs in the Episcopal service.
One thing that both churches had in common, however, was the
celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The way the elements were administered was
somewhat different, but the same scripture verses were offered. In the
Episcopal church we were given a wafer and real wine. At the Charismatic
service we were offered real bread and grape juice. In the Episcopal church
everyone went forward to receive the elements, while in the Charismatic service
the elements were distributed to the congregants in their pew.
In spite of the few differences in the celebration of the
Eucharist, the same Jesus was lifted up. The same unity of the body of Christ
was felt. The same openness to share the sacred meal was evident. I felt a
sense of transcendent awe in both services, especially at the celebration of
communion. I also felt the imminence of the incarnate God in both services as I
partook of the bread and the cup. Both experiences made me feel united with all
the other congregants in what Gandhi called the “love-force,” or the
“soul-force.” This is the soul-force that helps us to love our enemy.
These memorials of Christ’s death are celebrated the world
over in many more than the two languages, and two different countries in which
I experienced them recently. Yet Christians themselves remain divided—divided
to the point of hatred in some instances.
If Christians the world over remembered what we have in
common instead of how we differ, we would make huge strides toward unity. Celebrating
the Eucharist together would be one way to do this.
From celebrating the Lord’s Supper together, we could take
the next step to embody what the poster from Mennonite Central Committee
implored us to do: “Let The Christians Of The
World Agree That They Will Not Kill Each Other.” Only
then will we be true followers of Jesus. Only then will Christians have an
answer to Gandhi’s challenge.
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