The topic of this letter is a little out of place. I should have written about this in November! That said, in November I took a Sunday off and one of our Deacons presided over communion (which had not been previously blessed) and I wanted to write and explain this decision and do a bit of teaching about the Lutheran theology around communion.
In the Lutheran church, the only people who are currently authorized to preside over communion are ministers of Word and Sacrament (pastors) and the reason for this is not that we have magic hands. Pastors are not (get ready for a big church word) ontologically different from lay people (meaning, we do not possess differences in the structure of our being that would make us more capable of turning ordinary bread and wine into Jesus’ own body and blood). I am just like you in every single way except that the church (you all) have set me aside for the purpose of making sure that this meal happens in a way that is in accordance with the teachings of the church and the heart of Jesus Christ, the true host of the meal. Got that? The only thing that gives me the authority to preside over communion is that the church set me aside to make sure it happens and that it happens well.
The reasons for this go all the way back to the early church. In the book of 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, Paul writes to the church in Corinth and implores them to get their act together when it comes to hosting the Holy Meal. Apparently some members of the community were gathering early, consuming the meal and not leaving any for the other members of the community. In other words, they were leaving people out of the meal and hoarding it for themselves. So the church put pastors and priests in charge to make sure that this does not happen - to make sure that this table is one that is open to all who desire to partake in the Lord’s supper.
However, now a days, when not every church can afford a pastor, this rule that insists that the Lord’s Supper be presided over by a pastor can be a road block to participating in the meal. It is almost as if the rule has backfired - if you don’t have a pastor, to make sure that communion is done in good order, available to all who come to eat, then you cannot have communion at all!
Therefore, a debate is taking place across the church and across denominations about whether or not it is necessary for a pastor to preside over communion or whether or not it might be appropriate for bishops to give special permission for trained lay people to preside over communion in the absence of a pastor.
In the past at St. Peter’s, when a pastor has not been present for communion and the Deacons have led worship, the pastor has blessed the bread and the wine prior to the service. I have done this on one or two occasions. In preparation for my most recent absence last November, I reached out to the bishop and he and I agreed that this practice of pre-consecrating the bread and wine communicates that the thing that make the meal holy is my hands, which I’ve already told you is NOT how this works. We believe that what makes a sacrament a sacrament is the command and subsequent promise of Jesus (Do this in remembrance of me) along with ordinary elements (bread, wine or water in the case of baptism) done in the context of community.
So, in November, Bishop Dave gave special permission to Deacon Greg Lommen to preside over communion for only that one Sunday, in my absence. Greg and I got together, we walked through the entire communion service, we practiced and talked about what everything means and why we do it and I felt perfectly comfortable entrusting this ministry to him that day.
This may not have been the most riveting newsletter article I’ve ever written, but I want you to know why I do what I do, and why the church does what it does the way it does.
God’s peace,
Pastor Bekki