Our church has a tradition in which we teach First Communion classes on Wednesday nights during Lent before our family style dinner and the worship service begins. It’s quite a spiritual evening!
Five weeks of classes, culminating with the students’ celebratory first partaking of communion with the rest of the congregation on Maundy Thursday, the day we set aside to celebrate Jesus’ initiation of the Last Supper. Palm Sunday is the traditional beginning of Holy Week, and Maundy Thursday takes place the day before Jesus’ crucifixion. Matthew 26:17-29 documents the night in which Jesus gathered his closest disciples with him for a Passover meal, and created the basis for what we now call “communion,” or the “eucharist.”
At the end of the dinner, we are told that Jesus takes a loaf of bread, blesses it, breaks it, gives it to his disciples around the table and says, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then Jesus grabs a cup of wine, thanks God for the blessing, and says, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
That historical basis for communion is what we study during our “First Communion” class. Each year is special, as the makeup of the class is always different. This year I will remember because there is only one student, a young boy who is fervently anticipating the night in which he will get to participate in his “First Communion.”
Last year during Lent, he enviously watched his older sister take part in the class. And for the past year, each time I served communion to his mother and sister, he would intently watch. Then, as I next blessed him, he would whisper, “I can’t wait for First Communion!” His excitement has grown with each passing week, and now, he stands just a mere three weeks away from his spiritual milestone.
Last Sunday, as I served his mother and sister communion again, and reached to apply a blessing to his forehead, I could see his eyes widen in anticipation. “Just two more weeks until my practice First Communion,” he whispered to me. “Yes,” I whispered back to him, “and what a wonderful night that will be!” He can’t even wait just to practice the act of communion!
Serving as a pastor you witness many holy moments. But getting to journey with this young man as he has prepared to receive the “Lord’s Supper” for the first time with his larger faith family will forever stand out as a lasting memory.
One of the assignments I issue each year to our “First Communion” students is to ask their loved ones about their “First Communion” memories. The beautiful stories they bring back weave a heartwarming tapestry of communion’s importance to so many.
What are your memories of your “First Communion,” my dear friends?
Devlyn Brooks is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and serves Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at [email protected]