Finding Faith ... in First Communion class

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since becoming the clergy leader at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn., in November 2017, I've written a monthly column for our church newsletter. This column originally published in the April 2019 FLC Newsletter.

Me with my 2019 First Communion class.

This year, on Wednesdays during Lent, I get the privilege of teaching First Communion classes to a couple of our young students here at Faith Lutheran. We’ve had one class so far at the time of this writing, but oh what a class it was!

For the first class, I wanted to be sure that the kids participating really knew why they were being hauled to the church on a Wednesday evening to go sit in some classroom to talk with the pastor. After all, it was a fairly nice evening, and I can imagine that a couple of preteens might have wanted to do a lot of things that didn’t involve sitting at the church!

But, turns out that I was wholly surprised that both of the students showed an interest in the topic, asked great questions and we ended up having a delightful conversation about the Lutheran sacraments of baptism and communion.

And, even though I had worked through the material regarding communion that I shared with the students several times in preparation for the first class, I found myself growing more and more excited about it the longer the students and I talked about it.

Seriously, just for a minute, think about just how miraculous communion is! … At his Last Supper, that sacred moment Jesus had with his disciples, Jesus commands us to take and eat the bread, his actual body, and then tells us to drink the wine, his actual blood, actions that cleanse us and offer us all forgiveness for our sins. … And now, every time we commune together around our altar, there Jesus is, physically present in the moment and communing right alongside us.

Isn’t that remarkable? … Actually, isn’t that miraculous! … Christ, who died for our sins, is right there in that moment celebrating our forgiveness with us and making the moment unbelievably holy. … So, I find myself asking: Why aren’t we excited about communion more often? … Admittedly, I get an electric charge that runs through my body every time I serve you communion, but last week’s class even gave me goosebumps thinking about the miracle of communion.

So, in honor of our First Communion class, I thought it appropriate this month to share with you eight reasons to get excited about communion. Maybe after reading this list you might approach communion the next time with a little more excitement too!

Without further adieu, here are eight reasons to get excited about communion!

Because communion gives us a chance to remember. The actual physical elements of communion -- the bread and wine -- remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made for our lives. Each time we take a physical piece of the bread, and drink the wine, the physical touch of both elements serve to remind us that through our communion, Jesus forgives us all of our sins … long before we even commit them!

Communion is about eating and drinking. I don’t mean this flippantly, but communion is also all about eating and drinking, the actual eating of Jesus’ body and the drinking of his blood, acts that forever link us to his death some 2,000-plus years ago, but also link us to his forgiveness, as well. This is why I think that the very act of eating with others, be it family or friends or even strangers, brings us closer together, closer to each other and to God. It reminds us of that intimate Last Supper that Jesus had with his loved disciples. So each time we break bread together it is holy moment, thanks to Jesus.

This should come as no surprise, but communion is about forgiveness, as well. … Duh, you might be thinking! … But I thought about this leading up to our first class, and it dawned on me how many might forget this as they step up to the altar: Sometimes the special moments in our lives, such as communion, can become monotonous, and we can forget the importance of them. … So, yes, communion is to remind us about Jesus’ forgiveness too!

Giving thanks. Yes, communion is also about giving thanks, and more specifically, giving thanks to God and Jesus for giving us the the bread and wine, the two physical elements so important in making communion one of our sacraments. In the celebration that is communion, we are giving thanks to God for all that he has given us and promises us yet in the future.

Speaking of celebrating, that is another reason that we should be excited about communion. Communion is a celebration, not only because Jesus is right there at the altar, celebrating with us, but because we are celebrating that God loves us so much that he gave us his only son. … Now that sounds like a pretty good reason to celebrate!

Communion is also about being together. Just as it’s important to celebrate communion for the role it plays in absolving us of our sins, it also gives us a holy reason to gather together and continue building our relationships in faith. Jesus tells us that the way to his Father is through him, and the way to Jesus for us is through others. In other words, communion is about celebrating our relationships with others, an important part of the new kingdom we all look forward to being a part of!

Communion is about looking to the future. We celebrate the future because God promises us that one day we all will be in that new kingdom, free of disease and hurt and pain. And, maybe even most importantly, for eternity we will be together with all people from all time, literally all of the saints who have passed before us. All of our loved ones, and all of the remainder of God’s faithful as well. … Can you even begin to wrap your mind around this promise? You will finally be reunited with all of your loved ones, and no one will suffer ever again! … So, yes, communion is most definitely about the future.

Finally, communion is about right now. We should be ecstatic about communion because it also strengthens us for today. But what does that mean exactly? Great question! … Just like Christ loved us, communion strengthens our own inner spirit to serve God right now, this very minute. No more putting it off! … In a practical manner, communion strengthens us to go out to practice our Christian love of others, in the similar vein that God and Jesus love us.

So there you have it! … Eight reasons to get excited again about your next communion! My challenge to you this month is to study this list a bit, and see if it doesn’t help increase your appreciation for communion. I know it certainly did mine, and it’s made me all the more excited about our next First Communion class session next Wednesday!

Until next month, may the spring sunshine radiate warmth in your heart and melt away the remnants of winter! God bless!